Do you run multiple WordPress websites? If so, you‘re in good company. Over 60% of all websites on the internet use WordPress. And many site owners operate a portfolio of WordPress properties to serve different audiences or purposes.
For example, you might have a main business website built with WordPress, along with subdomains for your blog, online course, documentation, or regional branches. Connecting these sites together can provide a better experience for your users while simplifying administration on the backend.
Imagine if customers who purchased your online course were automatically logged in to your members-only community site. Or if content updates you made on one site were instantly synced to other relevant sites. This is the power of connected WordPress sites.
In this guide, we‘ll explore three ways you can integrate multiple WordPress sites, along with step-by-step instructions. Whether you have two sites or ten, keep reading to learn how to create a cohesive ecosystem.
Why Connect Multiple WordPress Sites?
There are many scenarios where it makes sense to connect multiple WordPress sites:
🤝 Membership sites and online courses can connect the main sales site to members-only content and community subdomains
🛒 Ecommerce stores can provide exclusive perks, support, and content to customers across multiple properties
🌐 Multinational brands can sync content across regional sites while maintaining consistent branding and user experiences
📈 Growing businesses can cross-promote and scale WordPress sites while preserving a unified architecture
Here are some of the key benefits of connecting your WordPress sites together:
1. Seamless User Experience
Connected WordPress sites allow users to navigate between them without creating new accounts or logging in multiple times. By syncing user roles and permissions across sites, you can personalize the experience for each customer.
2. Simplified Administration
Instead of managing user registrations for each WordPress site separately, you can automatically sync new sign-ups and account changes across your ecosystem. This saves time and ensures a consistent access control framework.
In addition to syncing user databases, you can also connect content, data, and functionality between WordPress sites. For example, an ecommerce store could display real-time inventory pulled from a separate warehouse management system.
According to a study by WP Engine, 57% of WordPress sites are using two or more plugins to extend functionality. Connecting your sites expands what‘s possible with plugins and custom code.
4. Scalability
Whether you plan to add more WordPress sites over time or already have a network of properties, connecting them together will make your operations more scalable. Centralized user and content management streamlines maintenance as you grow.
Now that we‘ve covered the benefits, let‘s look at three ways to connect multiple WordPress sites together.
Method 1: Uncanny Automator Plugin
The easiest way for most people to connect multiple WordPress sites is with a plugin. Our recommended solution is Uncanny Automator. It‘s the leading WordPress automation plugin, with over 100,000 active installations.
Uncanny Automator lets you create "recipes" that connect multiple WordPress sites. A recipe consists of a trigger and one or more actions. When the trigger event occurs on one WordPress site, the corresponding action is automatically performed on another site.
Common recipes include:
- When a user makes a purchase on your WooCommerce store, register them for an account on your membership site
- When a user completes a course lesson on your LMS site, unlock a secret discount on your main ecommerce site
- When a user fills out a contact form on your lead generation site, add them as a subscriber in your email marketing platform
The beauty of Uncanny Automator is that it requires no coding skills. You can use a visual, drag-and-drop interface to create recipes in minutes. Let‘s walk through the process of connecting two WordPress sites.
Step 1: Install Uncanny Automator on Both Sites
Start by purchasing an Uncanny Automator license for the number of sites you need to connect. Then install and activate the plugin on your first WordPress site. Repeat the process on your second site.
Step 2: Create Your First Recipe
On your first WordPress site, navigate to Automator > Add New to create a recipe. Choose "Logged-in users" as the recipe type if you want it to fire only for registered users. Otherwise, select "Everyone."
Give your recipe a clear name like "Sync new user registrations to Site 2." Then select your desired trigger. Uncanny Automator supports dozens of popular WordPress plugins and apps.
For example, you could select "WooCommerce" as the integration and choose the trigger "A user completes, pays for, lands on a thank you page for an order with a product." Then specify the product that the customer must purchase.
Step 3: Create a Webhook
The next step is to define an action to perform when the trigger occurs. Since you want to connect to your second WordPress site, select "Webhooks" as the action integration.
Choose "Send data to webhook" as the action. This will send a ping to your second site with the data from the user who performed the trigger on your first site.
Now open your second WordPress site in a new tab or window. Navigate to Automator > Add New to create a corresponding recipe on the second site. Select "Webhooks" as the trigger integration. Choose "Receive data from webhook" as the trigger.
Copy the unique webhook URL on your second site. Then switch back to the first site and paste this URL into the webhook action you created in Step 2.
Step 4: Map Data Between Sites
Now you need to specify the data to send through the webhook from the first site to the second site. Click the "Test" button to pull in the available data from the trigger on the first site.
Use the dropdown menus to map data like the user‘s first name, last name, email address, and username to fields in the webhook payload. This allows you to port the data over to the second site.
Step 5: Define Action on Second Site
On your second site, you‘ve already configured a webhook trigger to receive data from the first site. Now you need to create an action to perform with that data.
For example, you might choose "WordPress" as the action integration on the second site. Then select the action "Create a user." Map the name and email data from the webhook to create a new user account on the second site.
You could also select an integration like "MailChimp" to add the user to your mailing list, or "Paid Memberships Pro" to assign them a membership level for access to restricted content.
Step 6: Activate Both Recipes
Once you‘ve saved the trigger and action on both sites, activate each recipe. They are now linked together. The next time a user performs the trigger action on your first site, they will automatically be registered or granted access on your second site.
Uncanny Automator is a powerful tool to streamline user management across multiple WordPress sites. By setting up key recipes, you can create a frictionless experience for your customers as they navigate between sites.
Best of all, Uncanny Automator plays well with all major WordPress plugins and third-party apps. The Pro version supports over 90 integrations. This gives you the flexibility to connect your sites to your CRM, email marketing tool, Slack workspace, and more.
As Keith Perhac, CEO of SegMetrics, puts it: "Uncanny Automator is the glue that connects your WordPress sites and makes everything work together seamlessly."
Method 2: WordPress Multisite
WordPress Multisite is a feature that allows you to create a network of sites from a single WordPress installation. All the subsites reside in subdirectories or subdomains of the main site.
For example, if your main site is yourwebsite.com, you could create subsites like:
- yourwebsite.com/blog/
- yourwebsite.com/forum/
- yourwebsite.com/courses/
Or using subdomains:
- blog.yourwebsite.com
- forum.yourwebsite.com
- courses.yourwebsite.com
The key advantages of WordPress Multisite are:
- 🧩 All sites share the same WordPress core files, themes, and plugins
- 👥 Users only need one account to access all sites in the network
- 🔄 Updates to themes, plugins, and WordPress core can be pushed to all sites simultaneously
However, there are also some potential drawbacks to consider:
- 🚫 Not all plugins are compatible with Multisite installations
- 🔒 Multisite can be more difficult to secure, since a vulnerability in one site could compromise the entire network
- ⚠️ Scaling servers for traffic spikes is more complex with multiple sites on the same infrastructure
According to WordPress.org, only 36% of WordPress installations are running Multisite. The single site architecture is more flexible and suitable for most use cases.
You might consider WordPress Multisite if:
- You need to host a large network of related sites (50+)
- You want to use the same set of themes and plugins for all sites
- You‘re comfortable with the technical aspects of managing a Multisite network
Setting Up WordPress Multisite
To enable Multisite, you‘ll need to add some code to your wp-config.php and .htaccess files. See the official Multisite setup guide for detailed instructions.
Once Multisite is configured, you can add new subsites by going to My Sites > Network Admin > Sites from your main site‘s WordPress dashboard.
Then install and activate your desired themes and plugins across the network. Users can be added and managed from the Network Admin area as well.
Compared to Uncanny Automator, WordPress Multisite offers less flexibility to mix and match plugins between connected sites. However, it‘s a good solution if you need to spin up a large number of similar sites quickly.
Method 3: Hyperlinking
The simplest way to connect multiple WordPress sites is to just link between them. This is an easy win to help users discover your related content and resources. It‘s also good for SEO.
For example, you could add links to your other key sites in your main navigation menu or the footer. This lets visitors know about your other properties and allows them to navigate between them.
Another option is to add a "Related Sites" or "More Resources" section to your sidebar. Use clear, descriptive anchor text to tell users what they‘ll find on your other sites.
The downside of using simple hyperlinks is that users will need to log in or create accounts on each site separately. Unlike Uncanny Automator or WordPress Multisite, this method doesn‘t actually sync user databases in the backend.
However, even if you implement one of the other methods in this guide, it‘s still a good idea to include prominent links between your WordPress sites. This improves discoverability and reinforces your brand family.
Best Practices for Hyperlinking
Here are some tips to keep in mind when linking your WordPress sites together:
- Use clear, specific link text so users know where the link goes
- Place links in expected locations, like the navigation menu or footer
- Open links to other sites in a new tab, so users don‘t lose their place
- Nofollow links to sites you don‘t own or control to avoid SEO penalties
- Monitor broken links regularly and update or remove them promptly
If your WordPress sites are hosted on separate domains, you‘ll also want to add cross-domain tracking code to preserve analytics as users move between them. See our cross-domain tracking guide for instructions.
Other Methods to Connect WordPress Sites
In addition to the three methods above, there are a couple other ways to integrate WordPress sites. However, these require more technical expertise to implement and maintain:
REST API – The WordPress REST API allows developers to send and receive data between sites using custom code. This could be used to sync content, user details, or other information in real time. However, you would need to build and test these integrations yourself.
Single Sign-On (SSO) – SSO solutions like OAuth, OpenID, and SAML provide a secure way for users to authenticate across multiple websites with a single login. However, consumer SSO setups can be challenging to configure. It may be overkill if you only need to connect a few WordPress sites.
For most WordPress site owners, we recommend starting with Uncanny Automator or simple hyperlinking. You can always explore more advanced solutions as your needs evolve.
Tips to Manage Your Connected WordPress Sites
Once you‘ve integrated your WordPress sites, here are some tips to keep things running smoothly:
- ✅ Test your integrations regularly to make sure data is being synced properly between sites.
- 🔄 Keep plugins and themes updated across all sites to maintain compatibility and security. If using Multisite, you can update everything from the network admin dashboard.
- 🔥 Optimize performance by using a fast WordPress hosting provider and implementing caching and CDN solutions.
- 🔒 Implement security best practices like SSL certificates, strong passwords, and brute force protection on all sites.
- 📊 Monitor key metrics like traffic, user registrations, and revenue across your connected sites. Use UTM codes to track referrals between properties.
By proactively managing your WordPress ecosystem, you can create a cohesive experience for users while driving more engagement and revenue.
Putting It All Together
We‘ve covered three ways to connect multiple WordPress sites:
- Uncanny Automator plugin to sync user registrations and other data between sites
- WordPress Multisite to create a network of connected subsites
- Hyperlinking to direct users between your related sites
Each approach has its own advantages and tradeoffs. Most WordPress site owners will find that Uncanny Automator offers the best combination of flexibility and ease of use.
By connecting your WordPress sites, you can provide users with a seamless experience as they navigate your ecosystem of content and products.
Plus, you‘ll save time and headaches trying to keep user databases and permissions in sync manually across sites. Everything just works together, automatically.
To get started, we recommend identifying 1-2 key workflows that span across your WordPress sites. These could be user journeys like:
- Purchasing a product and being granted membership access
- Registering for a webinar and receiving a branded content download
- Completing an online course and unlocking an exclusive discount
Then use Uncanny Automator to connect those sites and automate the desired actions. Over time, you can add more recipes to deepen the integration.
The end result? More satisfied users and more profit for your business.
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