I’ve recently switched a number of sites over to HTTPS using Really Simple SSL. For the most part, everything went very smoothly but I ran into one problem when moving a multisite installation across. For the record, the installation was subdirectory rather than subdomain, though I don’t think that was the issue.

After installing and activating the plugin on a subsite, I tested the front end and received the ‘Too many redirects’ error message, meaning the page wouldn’t load. I tried a couple of the Really Simple SSL settings without any effect, checked that WPML wasn’t running as apparently that can cause problems, and read through the checklist here: https://really-simple-ssl.com/knowledge-base/my-website-is-in-a-redirect-loop/

I then realised that the site was running the WPMU Domain Mapping plugin which, since WordPress 4.5, is redundant as far as I can see. So I disabled the plugin and followed the article here – Mapping a domain on WordPress 4.5+ Multisite. That cleared the redirect loop.

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We found one case on multisite when using the new domain mapping feature that required an update to the wp-config.php file. You may find after mapping a custom domain to your multisite subdomain that it is no longer possible to get past this error message. In order to resolve this, add the following line to your wp-config file:

define('COOKIE_DOMAIN', false);

We’ve found that this seems to solve the problem.

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To use the new feature, your multisite installation will need to have a dedicated IP address and you’ll need to point the DNS of your domain to map to this IP address. So, let’s say as an example, we have a multisite installation with its root domain at mymultisite.com. You created a sub-site at subsite.mymultisite.com which you’d like to map to mysubsite.com. To do this:

1. Log into the domain registrar’s control panel for mysubsite.com and update the DNS records so that the A records for mysubsite.com are directed to the dedicated IP address for your multisite.
2. In your multisite network settings, click on Sites to list all the subsites.
3. Select the subsite you wish to map, e.g. subsite.mymultisite.com.
4. In the Site Address (URL) field, enter the full URL to the domain name you’re mapping to (e.g. http://mysubsite.com).
5. Click Save Changes and that’s it.

One thing to remember is that DNS changes don’t usually happen immediately so after making the change in step 1, you might find you have to wait several hours, even up to 48 hours, for the new DNS records to propagate.

Mapping a domain in WordPress multisite without a dedicated IP

It’s also possible to map domains in WordPress 4.5+ without a dedicated IP address and without a plugin. To do this:

1. Ensure that the nameservers of your root domain, e.g. mymultisite.com, are set to your host nameservers. This will allow you to manage the DNS in cPanel or other hosting environment.
2. Set the nameservers of your subsite domain, e.g. mysubsite.com, to the same nameservers as your host nameservers.
3. Add your subsite domain as a parked domain or alias of your root domain. (See below).
4. In the Site Address (URL) field, enter the full URL to the domain name you’re mapping to (e.g. http://mysubsite.com).
5. Click Save Changes and that’s it.

As with the method above using a dedicated IP, you’ll need to wait several hours for all the DNS changes to take effect.

Adding your subsite domain as a parked domain or alias

If you’re using the method without a dedicated IP, you will need to park your subsite domain against your root domain. To do this in cPanel:

1. Log into your root domain account
2. Click on Parked Domain (this might now read Aliases)
   
3. Enter your subsite domain under the heading ‘Create a new alias’
   
4. Click Add Domain and your domain will be added as an alias.
   

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