WordPress Multisite options
I am working on improving the user interface for multisite as part of the WordPress core group.
https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/multisite/
Every Tuesday there is a chat in the slack channel #core-multisite.
https://make.wordpress.org/chat/
The user interface and features in Multisite have not changed for a while.
I would like to see an improvement in this area so I went ahead and made this post (which will also change as new ideas come forth).
Thoughts on improving multisite
Which options should greet the user just after having installed a new multisite?
Should we use tabs to differentiate between them?
Here is a wireframe start point with inspiration from JJJ and Flow way to create a network.
Network Admin:
General
A wireframe for Network General Settings
User Registration, Site Registration and Manage site or perhaps Site Manager
Which options?
Other tabs?
Other ideas?
Network admin
All Sites
Which fields should it contain?
Existing All sites screen uses: Path, Last Updated, Registered, Users
Additional fields could be Theme and Active Plugins.
What other features could this screen have?
Here is an example from Network Manager Tools plugin.
Network Site Information from the plugin Network Manger Tools
Network Admin:
All sites -> Edit site
The tab Plugins is added to the edit site location when Network Manager Tools is activated.
What should be done with this section?
Network All Sites -> Edit Site
Should we rethink how multisite is done?
Got ideas you want to share?
The Existing WordPress multisite user interface.
– Network Settings.
– Add new (Site)
– All Sites.
– Site Properties: Info, Users, Themes and Settings.
Below you will find screenshots of the existing multisite user interface.
After having installed a Multisite and enters Settings -> Network Settings the following options awaits.
Multisite Network Settings
Going to My Sites -> Network Admin -> Sites and clicking Add New you will see a screen similar the below.
Add New Site
Network Admin -> Sites -> Add New
After having added a few sites the All Sites screen can look something like this:
Network Admin -> Sites -> All Sites
Clicking the site name directly or clicking Edit in the quick Edit bar the various properties of the selected site will be seen. Clicking the various tabs leads to Info – Users – Themes and Settings.
The site Info screen:
Network Admin -> Sites -> All Sites – Site property – Info
The site Users screen:
Network Admin -> Sites -> All Sites – Site property – Users
The site Themes screen:
Network Admin -> Sites -> All Sites – Site property – Themes
The site Settings screen: (be warned it is very very long).
Network Admin -> Sites -> All Sites – Site property – Settings
Great overview! It is helpful to see it all laid out in screenshots like this.
That settings page is a tough one. I always actually wondered why it is even there with every option laid out in an editable way like that. Some of them are nice administration settings but some could break sites. Single site does not have a comparable page, probably for a reason.
Maybe there should be some talk about what can be removed and what should really be included in a UI like this. Especially when so many of them just end up as non-editable “SERIALIZED DATA”.
Thanks Marty!
I very much agree. We need to go through the various settings and see what we can do with them and how they are to be presented.