Publishing a WordPress Multisite Network and Subsite

Publishing a WordPress Multisite differs from launching a standard single-site installation. Because the entire network shares the same codebase and database, updating domain addresses requires precision across both configuration files and the database.

The launch process falls into two distinct scenarios depending on whether you are launching the entire network (the primary site) from a development domain to production, or making an individual subsite publicly available.

Publishing the Entire Multisite Network (Primary Site)

When the entire Multisite network has been developed under a Seravo development domain (e.g., example-c.seravo.com) and you are ready to point it to the final production domain (example.com):

1. Verify Server Routing

Notify Seravo Customer Support of your primary domain well in advance if you did not provide it during your initial order. Seravo's nginx server must know about the domain beforehand so it can accept incoming traffic and automatically issue an SSL certificate.

Note on Subdomain Networks (*.example.com):

If you are running a subdomain-based Multisite, request our support team to install a wildcard SSL certificate on your primary domain. In addition to standard A/AAAA records, configure the following in your DNS management:

Wildcard routing (* pointing to Seravo)
The CNAME validation record (_acme-challenge) provided by our customer support, which enables Let's Encrypt wildcard verification and automatic renewals.

2. Update the Address in wp-config.php

The primary domain for a Multisite network is hardcoded into the site's wp-config.php file (located at /data/wordpress/htdocs/wp-config.php).

Open the file via SSH or SFTP and locate the following line:

define( 'DOMAIN_CURRENT_SITE', 'example-c.seravo.com' );

Replace the development address with your final production domain without the https:// prefix:

define( 'DOMAIN_CURRENT_SITE', 'example.com' );

3. Update Database URLs (Search-Replace)

Run a search-replace command via SSH to update internal links, media paths, and global network tables (wp_blogs, wp_site) to the new production address:

wp search-replace 'example-c.seravo.com' 'example.com' --all-tables
wp-purge-cache

4. Point DNS Records to Seravo

Once the configuration file and database have been updated, update your domain's A and AAAA records (as well as the CNAME record for the www subdomain) to point to Seravo's server cluster. Once DNS propagation takes effect, Seravo's automation will issue a Let's Encrypt SSL certificate, and your site will be accessible to visitors.

Publishing an Individual Subsite

If your network is already in production and you have developed a new subsite ready for launch:

1. Verifying the Domain and SSL Protection

Check the domain configuration depending on the URL structure your new subsite uses:

The subsite uses a subdomain of the primary domain (e.g., helsinki.example.com):
If a wildcard certificate is installed on the primary domain and a * DNS record points to Seravo, the new subdomain will work immediately and will be HTTPS-encrypted automatically. You can proceed directly to step 2.
The subsite uses a custom, independent domain (e.g., anothersite.com):
The domain must be routed on the server and updated in the settings:
1. Ensure the domain is added to Seravo's server routing (contact support) and its DNS records point to Seravo.
2. Update the new URL in the Network Admin under the subsite's Info tab as well as the Settings tab (siteurl and home).
3. Run a database search-replace targeted strictly to this subsite:

wp search-replace 'https://example.com/subsite' 'https://anothersite.com' --url=anothersite.com --all-tables wp-purge-cache

For comprehensive instructions, see: Multisite Domain Mapping and Configuration

2. Setting the Subsite as Public

Finally, verify that the subsite is set to public and accessible to search engines:

Navigate to the top toolbar: My Sites > Network Admin > Sites.
Locate the subsite and click Edit.
Switch to the Attributes tab.
Ensure the Public checkbox is ticked, and verify that the site is not set as Archived or Trash.
Access the subsite's own dashboard under Settings > Reading and verify that Discourage search engines from indexing this site is unchecked if you want the subsite to appear in search engine results.

Troubleshooting and Exceptions

The site cannot be accessed via a browser after making changes:
Once addresses are updated in the database and wp-config.php, the site will no longer load under the old development address. It will become reachable as soon as your DNS records point to Seravo and have propagated globally.
Redirect Loop (ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS):
Check that DOMAIN_CURRENT_SITE in wp-config.php does not contain an https:// prefix or a trailing slash (e.g., use example.com, not https://example.com/).
The site redirects to wp-signup.php:
WordPress does not recognize the incoming request URL. Make sure the domain has been added to Seravo's server routing and that the exact domain is configured in the wp_blogs and wp_site database tables.
Login to a subsite is blocked (Cookie Error):
If a subsite uses its own custom domain and login attempts fail with an error about cookies being blocked, add the following line to wp-config.php:
define( 'COOKIE_DOMAIN', $_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'] ?? '' );.
A subdomain displays an SSL insecure connection warning in the browser:
The primary domain is likely missing a wildcard certificate (*.example.com), or its CNAME validation record (_acme-challenge) has not yet propagated in DNS. Contact Seravo Customer Support to request the certificate.