How to set up a multi-user website

Web developers need to be aware of setting up multi-user websites that allow many users to sign up at a time and to create independent websites or web applications on their own. Various web applications offer powerful, easy-to-use interfaces to set up multi-user websites. This article provides a guide to setting up a multi-user website.

Setting up a multi-user website

Multi-user websites can be set up only for games wherein any user who is online and logged in can enjoy the games. Similarly, a content management platform allows many users to share and manage documents or to create independent websites of their own using a common installation. For example, Wordpress MUs allow setting up multi-user websites on the Wordpress platform. Multi-user memberships
Register as a user on the Wordpress.com website and then log in using the username and password. Click on the "settings" tab and then click on "general". You can allow other users to register on your website by ticking the check box that says “Anyone Can Register” that is beside "Membership”. Then, set the “New User Default Role” to “Subscriber”. This role allows only limited permissions for the registered users. Log out of your site and login again to check whether the registration link is active. Notify people who may want to access your website about this feature update. Multi-user permissions and roles Just like single-user access, any registered user online can edit the subscriber-permitted sections if the feature is enabled. In addition, you can allow the users to edit their individual profiles and to also post comments. Similarly, you can set the user role as “author” for creating content or as “editor” for editing while also creating content. “Administrator” access is quite powerful and gives global control. Multi-user website plugins
Wordpress multi-users (MUs) who have administrator access can install plugins or widgets to add powerful features to the website within a few seconds. However, other subscribers can only choose plugins that are made available by the administrator of the multi-user website.

Popular multi-user websites

Apart from Wordpress, other website applications also allow multi-user access. Some of the most popular applications are listed below.
WSCreator This is a powerful multi-user website application that is based on WebSiteAdmin which is one of the leading content management systems. It allows new users to register and to create independent personal websites with ease. JMS multi-sites This web application is an extension of Joomla and allows user-sharing and multi-site creation using the same installation. It allows registered users to share existing Joomla files and folders or to create independent websites.

Popular multi-user website applications

Many multi-user websites already exist on the web and are quite popular among people. Online games, content management and sharing platforms and discussion forums are some examples.