Multisite domain mapping allows you to map a custom domain to a subsite in your multisite network. This is a useful feature if you want to have individual domains for your subsites instead of subdomains (e.g. sub1.example.com) or subdirectories (e.g. example.com/sub1).
To do this in some earlier versions of WordPress, you had to use a plugin, but as of WordPress 4.5, this is now a built-in feature of WordPress multisite.
This guide assumes you’re familiar with and already running a multisite network with a custom domain configured for the main site. If not, check out our guide for creating a multisite network.
If you have an existing multisite with mapped domains in your site’s database and you’re just looking to set up those domains in MyKinsta, you can skip down to the Add a Subsite Domain to MyKinsta and Point DNS section below.
Create a New Subsite
If you already have an existing subsite you want to map a domain to, you can skip this step.
Log in to your multisite network’s WordPress dashboard as the Super Admin.
In the My Sites menu near the top left corner, go to Network Admin > Sites and click the Add New button.
Enter your new subsite’s details in the fields provided and click the Add Site button. The Site Address will either be a subdomain or subdirectory of the main site’s domain. Don’t worry; we’ll change this to the custom domain in the next steps.
Repeat these steps as needed to add any additional subsites.
Map a Custom Domain to a Subsite
To map your custom domain to a subsite, on the Sites page, hover over the subsite URL and click on the Edit link that appears.
In the Site Address (URL) field, replace the existing URL with your custom domain’s full URL. Be sure to include the full URL to the domain, including the protocol (e.g. https://example.com). It’s generally recommended to use the non-www version of the domain here. We’ll make sure the www-version of the domain is redirected in the next section.
Repeat these steps as needed to map custom domains to any additional subsites.
Add a Subsite Domain to MyKinsta and Point DNS
To add your subsite’s custom domain to MyKinsta, log in to MyKinsta, go to WordPress Sites > sitename > Domains, and click the Add Domain button. Enter your custom domain (you can also enter multiple domains separated by commas), click the Add domain button, and complete the steps to verify and point your domain to Kinsta. For more details, see our guide for How to Add a Domain to a Site on Kinsta.
SSL and Forcing HTTPS
At Kinsta, our Cloudflare integration includes free SSL certificates for all verified domains. When you add and point your domain to Kinsta, a free SSL certificate is generated.
If you need to update any URLs from HTTP to HTTPS, you can do that with the Search and replace tool in MyKinsta.
The last step is to force HTTPS by redirecting HTTP to HTTPS, which you can do on your site’s Tools tab in MyKinsta.
