Installing WordPress MU on GoDaddy - Yes! It Can Be Done!

As a real estate broker, I have been toying with the idea of using WordPress MU (multiple user) to handle my single property web sites.  One WordPress Installation, One Hosting Fee To Pay,  Many Different Blogs.

So, one of the first questions was .... could I do it on GoDaddy?  If you search the web and the WordPress forums, you'll find a lot of conflicting information.  And some people saying it can't be done, period.

Well, I did it.  And it is not Rocket Science.  :-) 

This is my Holiday Gift to the WordPress World.  ( Here's a downloadable, printable copy in PDF format:  http://www.bob-taylor.la/InstallingWPMUonGoDaddy.pdf )

Forget everything else you have read.  This is how I installed WordPress Mu on GoDaddy:

There are just four key items:

1. Use the "Deluxe" hosting plan
2. Purchase a "Dedicated IP Address"
3. Use PHP5 (not 4)
4. Add a wildcard record to A (Host)

To implement, login to your GoDaddy Account.

If you have already purchased a domain name and  a hosting plan for your MU site, these are the changes you need to make:

Click Hosting in the left column, under "My Products".

In the "Hosting Account" column, click on the particular domain name that you plan to use for the MU installation.

In the "Account Details" right column, click "Upgrade/Downgrade Hosting Account".  Upgrade the account to  "Deluxe Hosting - Linux" .   Yes, it costs about $2.00 more per month than Economy Hosting.

Then click "Apply Dedicated IP Address".  Dedicated IP Hosting is an additional 2.99 per month, on top of the per month hosting rate. 

Choose a time period, and proceed to check out.

Leave GoDaddy and wait.  It takes a few hours for the  Dedicated IP Address to get setup.  Once it is setup, you will see the information in the right side "Account Details" column.  Make note of the numerical IP address. 

After you purchase the Dedicated IP Address, you might need to go back to the "Account Details" right side column and click "Apply Dedicated IP Address" again.  (If the item in the column already reads "Remove Dedicated IP Address, do NOT click it!)

After the Dedicated IP Address is set, click on "Domain Manager" in the left column under "My Products". 

Click on the particular domain name that you plan to use for the MU installation.

Click "Total DNS Control and MX Records"

In the A (Host) section, click the "Add a New Record" button.

You are going to create a wildcard host record in addition to the @ host record.  Type an asterisk * in the "Host Name" box.  Type (or better yet copy and paste) the numerical dedicated IP address in the "Points to IP Address" box.

Now  return to the "My Products" column, click "Hosting".  In the "Control Panel" column, click "Manage Account" beside the particular domain name you plan to use for the MU installation.

Click "Content" , then click the "Addon Languages" icon.

Make sure you are using PHP5.  Change the setting, if necessary.

There is one more step to take at GoDaddy, a step which is necessary for either a MU or single user installation:

At the "My Products" column, click "Hosting".  In the "Control Panel" column, click "Manage Account" beside the particular domain name you plan to use for the MU installation.

Click "Databases", then click on the "MySQL" icon.

Click create database

Create the database name and password.  Tip:  I use the same name and password as I created for the hosting account.

After the database is set up, it takes a few minutes, click the pencil icon.

Select and copy the "Host Name".  Paste it into a simple text file, and keep it handy.  You will need it to complete the WordPress MU installation.

The rest of the process follows the much same steps as installing the single user version of WordPress on GoDaddy:

FTP the WordPress files to your host server. 

Run the  WordPress install function.  If you installed WordPress in the root directory of your server host, simply going to from http://www.mysite.com/ will open the WordPress installation page.

The Host Name you copied earlier; paste it into the "localhost" box when prompted by the WordPress installation function.

 The screens shots in this post are no longer current, as both WordPress and GoDaddy have changed their appearance, but the information is still valid:  http://www.queenofkludge.com/installing-wordpressorg-on-godaddy-yes-it-can-be-done/

Legal Disclaimer:  This works for me.  I cannot guarantee it will work for anyone else.  Use at your own risk!

And since you've managed to read this far, here are a couple of the single property singles hosted on one of my WPMU installations.  I haven't mapped the domain names yet, I haven't really tweaked their appearance.  But, hot damn, they are working! (The theme is Chris Pearson's NeoClassical with some serious hacking)

 http://2109lomavista.bob-taylor.net/  UPDATE:   Moved to http://2109lomavista.bob-taylor.info/

http://6044laprada.bob-taylor.net/  UPDATE:  Moved to http://6044laprada.bob-taylor.info/

http://1823gillettecrescent.bob-taylor.net/   UPDATE:   Moved to http://1823gillette.bob-taylor.info/

And theme is changed to a customized version of "White Cappacino".