WordPress MU

I currently use wordpress to run my website, example.com. I have a good core readership, and would like to allow my niche audience to create their own blogs at blog.example.com.

Now I am well aware that Wordpress MU can accomplish this for me. What I am wondering is if I do a fresh install of wordpress MU, what will my main page (example.com) look like (before I do anything to it)? Will it just look like the standard wordpress install site?

I'd prefer to keep example.com looking exactly like it does now, but simply add a link to the menu for users to create a blog, and I'm wondering if that's realistic...or will I need to completely redesign the Wordpress MU install to make it look like my current Wordpress site?

I guess a better way to word this would be, can I install Wordpress MU, but still have a wordpress theme set up on the main example.com page, keep the content the same as it is now, keep my own blog on that page, and just allow users to create blogs clicking a link?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Yes.

when you install MU, it looks like a regualr WP setup with a slightly different homepage, ie, those links to signup. The main page is actually the main *blog*, so if you take your current theme as-is and put it in MU's theme folder and select it on the main blog, users won't be able to tell the difference. import your posts into it and there you go.

Users will have their blogs at theirusername.yourdomain.com. if you installed MU at blogs.yourdoamin.com, your users would have username.blogs.yourdomain.com or blogs.yourdomain.com.username.

Caveat: if you use the main MU blog as your new blog, the default permalinks insert a /blog/ in there. You can do a light hack to take that out tho.

What you want is doable and easy tho.

Thanks a lot Andrea! That's exactly what I needed to know...

This brings me to my next question, but I'll post it in a new thread since it's unrelated.