Setting up a blog is simple enough; install WordPress and start. Or is it?
WordPress installed, I considered that this address is not just mine. My family is also interested in blogging, and a good installation should make space for them. Then, I am bilingual, working in two languages and occasionally more; a good site should make room for that, too. Finally, all this use of a site for multiple blogs and languages means the permalinks – the permanent URLs of pages and posts – have to be thought through.
So, returning to that easy installation of WordPress:
- Install WordPress
- Move wordpress files to a separate directory to keep the file management clean;
- Configure a multisite installation; it will support multiple blogs, for different people and languages.
- Install the multilingualPress plugin; there are many different ways to set up a multilingual site, but this a good free option for a multisite.
- Set the names of blogs so as to have a convenient, sensible URL for each blog and each language: boisvert.me.uk for the main blog in English, boisvert.me.uk/fr for its French translation, then for future blogs written by other users, boisvert.me.uk/<username>, boisvert.me.uk/<username>-fr, etc.
- Test the installation on a first few posts and translation.
Simple enough, but still a reminder to never underestimate a computing job.