I apologize for the long post.
I am trying to set up a multisite Drupal 7 install for a company that runs several websites from a set of common tables. I am new to Drupal, so before I dive in, I'd really like some feedback on how best to set up the files.
I am also hoping that a feature based description will help others looking to build a multisite install. The instructions I've seen online never seem to fit my needs.
I am on Hostgator's Linux/php5/MySQL/cPanel installing Drupal 7
Features I need:
-Multiple URLs: could be subdomains OR unique. Up to 6 sites, including 2nd language sites
-Each site has it's own look and feel.
-Mobile templates available for each site, determined by The Mobile Theme Module.
-I can allow common log-ins to my choice of sites.
-One core install that can be updated easily, including themes and modules.
-A 'DEV' site for each URL that can be easily moved to the live site, and use the same code base. Maybe 'dev.mysite.com'
-Usage stats thru Google Analytics
-I need to configure each site for SEO, meaning smart url's, meta tags, meta descriptions, page titles, etc.
Right now, all I have is a single empty site (no content) installed in public_html. Here is what I am thinking of doing:
/public_html/
core install
--/sites
--/sites/all
--/sites/all/themes: all go here
--/sites/all/modules: all go here
--/sites/default
--/sites/devSite1
--/sites/frenchSite1
--/sites/site2
--/sites/devSite2
--/sites/sites.php -> $sites['dev.site1.com'] = 'devSite1';
$sites['site2.com'] = 'site2';
$sites['dev.site2.com'] = 'devSite2';
etc.
I would set DNS for all sites to point to Hostgator public_html
First, does this config make sense?
I would think that a shared set of themes/modules would make sense here, but I am unclear about how I would modify the themes to suit my needs. I've read that I can create a subtheme and place it in site2/themes folder. Is this a preferred method? Also, do I need to do anything during install to make this work?
If I go with a single db, would I put an exact copy of settings.php in each site folder? What would I do during the installation to make this work?
About the dev sites: If I build new content, or new theme mods, how easy is it to move to the production site?
Lastly(!), How involved are upgrades? I've read here (http://groups.drupal.org/node/205783 and http://drupal.org/node/1244642) about putting the Drupal core into it's own folder and using symlinks within the site folders to manage updates. My understanding is that I would normally have to take my sites offline to upgrade, which I don't want to do. Is this overly complicating things in my situation?