Adding a site
This page is for the owner who wants a second brand, a regional site or a campaign microsite on the installation the organization already runs. One Exponential installation can serve many sites: each is a siteaccess, a way into the installation with its own name, address, language list, design and start page, usually sharing the code and the database (One installation, many sites). Your partner and host do the technical steps; you provide the decisions, the domain and the content.
Contents
- Is a new site the right answer?
- What the business must arrange
- The steps, and who does them
- Teams and shared content
- The first month
Is a new site the right answer?
| You want | Often enough | A new site when |
|---|---|---|
| A campaign | a landing page with a time rule (Landing pages with layouts) | it needs its own domain and design for months |
| A language | a language siteaccess (Adding a language) | the market needs different content, not a translation |
| A department's pages | a folder and a section | the department is a separate brand to the public |
| A partner or member area | a members-only section (Member areas and registration) | it needs its own address and sign-in |
What the business must arrange
From One installation, many sites:
- To do: Domain names: registered and pointing to the server.
- To do: Certificates: every host name the brand uses is covered by HTTPS.
- To do: Analytics and search console accounts per brand, if you measure brands separately.
- To do: Legal pages per brand (imprint, privacy notice, terms), written by the brand owner.
- To do: A brand owner who approves content and the launch.
The steps, and who does them
Summarized from the same page:
| Step | Who |
|---|---|
| 1. A folder for the brand under the root | editor or site builder |
| 2. A settings directory for the brand: name, address, start page, design | developer |
| 3. The brand added to the list of siteaccesses, its host or path mapped to it | developer or administrator |
| 4. The host name in DNS, the web server or Velocity, and the certificate | hosting |
| 5. Caches cleared and the new address tested | administrator |
| 6. The brand added to the administration's site list, so previews and links can use it | administrator |
The exact settings are on Setting up several sites in one installation. A test host or staging address lets you see the brand before it is public.
Teams and shared content
- Each brand has its own start page and menu; editors work in the brand's folder, and roles can keep them there (One installation, many sites).
- Content can be shared across brands on purpose, by a second location or by relations (Shared content across brands).
- Each brand can have its own design, built on the design fallback chain (Per-brand designs).
- Settings, logs and caches can be kept per site (Per-site settings and logs).
- Links between the brands: Cross-site links.
Update the Team roles worksheet: who edits which brand, who approves.
The first month
- To do: The weekly routine covers the new brand (Weekly owner routine).
- To do: Search statistics are recorded on the new public siteaccess, if you use them.
- To do: The sitemap of the new brand is generated and submitted (XML sitemaps).
- To do: Backups and monitoring cover the new host name; ask your host.
- To do: The full Multi-brand checklist is done.
Related pages
- Multi-brand planning
- Multisite on one installation for hosts
- Planning multisite and multilingual projects
- Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.
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