WordPress MU

I am completely new to admining blogs. We have just installed (not me but a tech person) WordPress MU on our site (still in DEV) and I have to get things setup.

I am not sure where to begin! Is there a MU tutorial? I have been reading as much as I can find but when I am in our blogs I am not sure if I am in the MU admin or a blog admin section.

We are working on getting a top, right sidebar and footer setup so the blogs can sit in the middle to the left.

I have to get the blogs setup with some themes that match the look and feel of the site. I am thinking I will also want to provide some plugins.

The sidebar that is part of the blog that features favourites etc... can I make that sit on the left side or is it setup to only be on the right side of blog entries?

I also need to make sure all users can create a blog. When I look at the online admin area I see the option to set this up but I am not sure what each means. What is a user vs a blogger?

Disabled
Enabled for all. Blogs and user accounts can be created.
Enabled for users only. Only user account can be created.
Enabled for blogs only. Only logged in users can create new blogs.

Any first steps you can offer will be very much appreciated!

Helen

If you have never used WordPress before, WordPress MU is going to be a nightmare to manage and administer. I (and I'm sure other people will too) recommend that you start with WordPress first. WordPress is just the single install whereas WordPress MU is the multi-user install.

The MU Forums, while everyone is nice and respectful, will not spend much time helping you in terms of starting out because it is assumed that you have a broad understanding of just the basic WordPress first. It's like taking Algebra, the teacher isn't going to each you addition and subtraction. I say this not to be mean, but rather as advice.

The single user WordPress forums will also be much more available to assist you in learning about WordPress and how to use it.

There really isn't too much documentation about how to use MU other than what you can find in the forums and maybe a few sites. It's done on purpose from what I've read.

Helen, I'm canadian AND a parent AND an MU admin. :D

"Is there a MU tutorial?"

Not really. My site is a start.

" I have been reading as much as I can find but when I am in our blogs I am not sure if I am in the MU admin or a blog admin section."

At the top LEFT in the admin area, if it says the name of the MAIN blog, then you are in the main blog admin area. THe Site Admin MENU is accessable from *any* blog backend. So it's not really seperate.

"We are working on getting a top, right sidebar and footer setup so the blogs can sit in the middle to the left. I have to get the blogs setup with some themes that match the look and feel of the site. ... The sidebar that is part of the blog that features favourites etc... can I make that sit on the left side or is it setup to only be on the right side of blog entries? "

All thsoe things are theme-dependant. If you want a unified look between the main site area (the main blog and front page) with the user's blogs, then they'll have to have the same theme. Moving the sidebar requires editing the theme.

And NO you can't do that from the admin area. :)

"I also need to make sure all users can create a blog. When I look at the online admin area I see the option to set this up but I am not sure what each means. What is a user vs a blogger?"

This is just for signup. A user just has a username, period. THis is helpful for visitors that want to be a part of thing to leave comments etc (if that is set) and don't want a blog. All users can create a blog at any time by re-visiting the signup page, unless you've chosen "Enabled for users only. Only user account can be created."

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

Edited to add: Also, I get from your questions, you might be expecting it to ask more like a traditional CMS. It's not quite like that. :) Helen, you're essentially adding something like wordpress.com to the site. What CMS are you running now and how will MU be integrated with it?

And for other answerers, the site she's involed in is quite huge. click thru and see. Single WP isn't gonna cut it. (although I agree wholeheartedly that if you're not familiar with WP, it's gonna be a steep learning curve. ANd yes, I'm for hire. ;P)

Thanks everyone. uugh! Andrea - thanks for your reply. We have some resources available to us so I will start there. I think this is a bit bigger than I was expecting - but I will have to take the bull by the horns and learn!

Helen

Yeah, it IS bigger. :D But seriously, if you have questions or need clarification, just ask.

if you're not familiar with wordpress, start at the codex:
http://codex.wordpress.org

That will answer a lot of the basics.

I had a feeling that what Helen wants is on a big scale. My recommendation to try out WordPress first is to get familiar with the software and then work up and not be her end goal. But either way, sounds like she has plenty of talented people to help. :)

I did agree. :D And have you checked out the site linked to her name? that'll give you an idea how big it is.

(ie; HUGE. Backed by a HUGE company.)

I did. Too bad it's removed now!

Thanks again everyone. I have signed up for a wordpress blog and played around. It has helped me to see what a stand-alone blog looks like. Not sure what happened to my profile but the site is CanadianParents.com. We have a great group of people but this project is mine to figure out for the most part - so I appreciate all of your help.

Andrea - I love that you are Canadian and a parent! I have read a bit on your site but am doing it a bit at a time so I don't get too overwhelmed!

Helen