How feasible is it to set up say up to 5 different websites/urls which have largely the same design save for different colours and maybe button positions in different areas here and there that use a single CMS.

 

So for example lets say there are 5 different flavours of the same drink brand, and the brand wanted a site for each of those but use one CMS to be able to update all of them. Each site would have largely the same features.

My initials thoughts:

 

- I think they would all have to be on the same server

 

- have 5 different templates/themes for your CMS

 

- As for domains you would probably have to use domain masking or whatever it's called so mastersite.com/strawberry-flavour becomes stawberry-flavour.com

 

I don't know just guessing really

Hi robcub,

 

If the websites were identical in terms of layout you switch stylesheets depending on the URL you access. Just a thought.

 

BenTheDesigner

^ Yh that's a good point, you could do that with a little bit of PHP definitely..

makes you wonder why there isn't an advanced option for the page you're editing that allows you to choose a different default stylesheet.

Thank you JamesW, BenTheDesigner and EvSouL. Actually I wonder if WordPress MU maybe the answer. All sites will be on the same server.

Expression Engine has something called a Multiple Site Manager (commercial license) which enables you to administrate several domains (and associated CMS + templates) from a single interface.

Thanks sunwukung, that's good to know. I don't have any experience with EE personally, though, although I would like to.

The wordpress theme K2 has (or rather had ~0.97 :S now on 1.03) an inbuilt sub-theme switcher. I also think it works with WPMU so you could have 5 blogs using the same K2 and on each blogs option page you could have it set as a different theme.

 

Alternatively this could definitely be used with K2 and makes for a lightens the load for a singular DB have one set of code and use a different database depending on what URL accesses the code. Here are some really good starting points on WP Installing Multiple Blogs. Downside of this is the user base isn't shared which chained websites might want. (Point of interest: avoid Lyceum its not very active, but it is a jooly good attempt!)

 

Hopefully this helps.

Thanks, Allstar, that is definitely helpful. And thanks for the link about installing multiple blogs on WPMU. Although, I would say I understand how to do in completely, even in theory. But I guess there's only one way to find out...