How to Store WordPress Plugins & Themes In Godaddy’s WPMU Environment

The very title of this article might make you think that it’s going to be about installing and configuring the WordPress environment that you buy from GoDaddy. But, you’ll soon find out that it’s not that simple. In this guide, we will tell you about what is sometimes known as WordPress Multi-User environment or WPMU for short. 

What Is WPMU?

WPMU stands for WordPress Multi-User. So, what is it? Essentially, it’s where you can install multiple versions of WordPress, along with other plugins and themes that you purchase from wordpress.org. It used to be known as WordPress MU and it was developed by Automattic, the company that owns WordPress.com. The name WPMU was introduced in 2012.

It is a bit like the many different flavors of Linux that you can download and install on your computer. For example, you can download and install WordPress 4.0 on your computer, then you can purchase a ‘slice’ of that environment and install WordPress 4.1 on it. That way, you’re not limited to the official WordPress versions that you find at WordPress.com—if you’re feeling adventurous, you can use a different version and take advantage of its special features. We’re obviously not talking about replacing your production site here, but it might be fun to have a “test environment” that you can take advantage of when developing and debugging your site. 

Should You Get WPMU?

The short answer is yes, if you’re planning on storing lots of WordPress content on your site. The longer answer is that it depends on your specific needs. If you’re looking for SEO, then you might want to avoid WPMU, as it was designed with that in mind. But if you’re looking for a free dedicated IP that you can use for hosting other sites, or you just want to have a second copy of WordPress installed on your server, then WPMU might be a good choice for you. 

Because it’s free, open-source, and it’s compatible with the vast majority of web servers out there, it might be the perfect fit for your small business’ website. Just keep in mind the differences in how the different environments work, and what features they offer. For example, if you compare it to WordPress.com, you’ll find that WPMU has a much more limited feature set—but it’s still extensive enough to get the job done. 

How Do I Install WPMU On My Site?

Whether you decide to go with WordPress.com or WPMU, the procedure for installing the software is largely the same. After you’ve downloaded and installed WordPress, you’ll need to configure it with a MySQL database and a web host. For the purposes of this tutorial, we’re going to assume that you’ve already configured your site with a MySQL database and you’re now ready to launch WordPress—but if you’re not quite there yet, don’t worry, continue reading.

To get started with WordPress MU, you’ll need to visit the WordPress.org website and register for an account. Once you’ve done that, you’ll be taken to the dashboard, where you can enter the login details for your new WordPress account. Remember these details because you’ll need to paste them later when you’re configuring WordPress for multi-user use.

From here, you can begin installing and activating the different plugins and themes that you want to use on your site. In this example, we’re going to use the Beaver Builder theme from StudioPress, as it’s the most popular and best-rated theme on WordPress.org at the time of this writing. Once you’ve installed the theme into your site, you can begin using it immediately. To get started, visit your site administrator panel and click on the Theme tab. From here, you can click on the Activate button to set the theme as your active theme. If you want to learn more about the theme, you can click on the link provided to be taken to its page on WordPress.org. 

Where Do I Store My WordPress Plugins & Themes?

Now that you’ve got WordPress installed and activated on your site, it’s time to figure out where you’re going to store your plugins and themes. The default location that WordPress stores its plugins is inside the wp-content folder. This is where WordPress looks for plugins, whether they’re stored locally on your computer or remotely. If you want, you can upload these folders to a publicly accessible area of your site (such as a Dropbox folder or Google Drive folder) so that others can get access to them when they need to. Alternatively, you can install and activate the plugins manually, one by one, which is a bit more work—but it’s also more secure.

The same goes for your themes. In order to keep your themes organized and easily accessible, you might want to store them inside a dedicated folder on your computer. Then, you can upload this folder to a publicly accessible area of your site (such as Dropbox or Google Drive) so that others can get access to them when they need to. 

How Do I Manage My WordPress Plugins & Themes?

Once you’ve stored your plugins and themes inside a dedicated folder on your computer, it’s time to figure out how you’re going to manage them. You can download all of the plugins and themes that you’ve stored to your computer, but this can be a bit cumbersome when you’ve got a lot of them. Fortunately, WordPress comes with a built-in plugin that lets you manage your plugins and themes easily. 

This plugin, named WordPress Plugin Manager, is where you can browse through and activate all of the plugins that you’ve downloaded to your computer. It’s also the place where you can delete plugins that you don’t use anymore. To access this plugin, visit your site administrator panel and click on the Plugins tab. From here, you can click on the Plugin button to be taken to a list of all the plugins that you’ve installed on your site. To activate a plugin, simply click on the Activate button next to it in the list. 

If you decide that you no longer need a certain plugin, you can simply click on the Deactivate button next to it to remove it from your site. From here, you can also locate and download any additional plugins that you might need for your site.