In the event you want to host multiple WordPress sites on one hosting account a little bit of planning and setup is needed. This outlines how the majority of most hosts work. If the setup does not match your hosts options, its recommended to contact your host for the exact instructions.

STEP 1: Web Root Directory: Locate your hosts web root directory either through your hosts cPanel or FTP. On most hosts this is named “public_html“. Make sure it is empty of any Core WordPress Files files such as “wp-admin”, “wp-content”, “wp-config.php” etc. It is ok if you see files like 404.html or .htaccess just be on the lookout for an existing WordPress setups. If any core WordPress files do exist back them up and remove them.

STEP 2: Create Site Directories: Each WordPress site you setup will need to have its own directory off of the Web Root Directory. Typically this is representative of a separate directory for each domain name you own, but is not always the case. Below is an example of how you might create the directories. /public_html/mysite1/(wp files)
/public_html/mysite2/(wp files)
/public_html/mysite3/(wp files)
STEP 3: Create Databases Each site will needs is own database. Typically the best practice is to name the database similar to the directory (which is most cases is the domain name).

STEP 4: Create Add-on Domain The bulk of most major hosts will have a feature called “Add-On Domain”. This simply lets you map a domain name you own to a specific directory in your “Web Root Directory” created in step 1. A simple search on your hosts web-site will show you how to enable this. The process for most hosts is typically very straight forward. For a list of approved Duplicator hosts click here.

STEP 5: Install Duplicator Package Once you have the directory and database created and mapped. You are ready to run install a Duplicator package to the new location. For a quick start on this process click here.