Before I get to reviewing the product itself, here's an overview of what it purports to do. WordPress Mass Installer is a software program designed to make it quick and easy to install multiple wordpress blogs on a website. There are some good reasons to install multiple WordPress blogs, instead of using the categories which WordPress already gives you, not least of which is so you can give each different subject its own theme by using different templates. So does WordPress Mass Installer (WPMI) actually work?

INSTALLATION:

If you know how to ftp files to your webserver and to set the correct permissions, and have the ability to setup a database on your server then installing WPMI is incredibly simple. WordPress Mass Installer has its own installer script, which is as simple as putting the url into your browser and filling in the form fields with the correct data. After you hit the install button the script goes to work and sets up the WPMI software ready to go to work.

USAGE:

The interface inside the WPMI administration area is very intuitive, if you have used WordPress blogs before then it will be easy for you to make the switch to WordPress Mass Installer. The first screen you get after you log into WPMI contains just three buttons to start with - "Add Blogs", "Edit Access Info", "Logout". The second two buttons are simply to change your WPMI admin password ("Edit Access Info") and to logout of the admin area ("Logout") so they really are intuitive, no great secrets lurking there.

On hitting the "Add Blogs" button you are taken to a screen where you can setup one or multiple blogs. It's as simple as putting the information for each blog into a form field, and for multiple blog creation all the instructions are written beneath the form field boxes to tell you how to separate each blogs details in the text box (it's easier to do than describe believe me). Within just a few minutes you really can have multiple WordPress blogs up and ready to add posts to.

ADDING BLOG CONTENT:

This was the part I was most skeptical about before I purchased WordPress Mass Installer because it's all very nice having multiple blogs, but managing them could be a nightmare. Once again though I was surprised at how easy WPMI made it to update the content on each blog. Once you have a blog set up, the initial login page will have changed and have the blog(s) listed in a table below the main buttons we talked about above. You can then edit the blog, add content, change settings, ad permanent pages etc. by clicking the "Manage Data" link to the right of the blog title you wish to work with.

As with everything else in WPMI there are clear instructions for adding new content or changing the wordpress blogs settings. It's quick and easy to add one or multiple posts to any of your blogs, once you are in the manage data area, click the "view posts" link, and then there are once again instructions for how to separate multiple posts and copy and paste them into the editing area. This is one area which could have been simplified slightly, as you have to make sure you are in the "View Posts" mode before you can add content, even though the text area is available all the time, I found myself typing in the box, then it wouldn't respond because I hadn't gone to the posts mode. But this is a minor niggle you soon get used to.

ADVANTAGES:

The main advantage of this software over installing the multiple wordpress blogs yourself, using Fantastico or manual methods, is that you have only one database to backup, one login to remember for all your blogs, and one central interface to learn.

You can edit the template files from within the WPMI control panel, making it easy to add Adsense, or affiliate ads to the page layouts. You can also change the look of each blog independantly, which makes for a more pleasant looking site than using one blog and categories where your theme may not suit one of the categories subject matter.

DISADVANTAGES:

Some of the advantages could also be its disadvantages, if a hacker gains access to your password (it does happen) they can wreck all the blogs. One database lost or corrupted loses all your blogs (backup regularly and this can be avoided) and all your work. The front page of the site you install WPMI into changes to show the most recent blog you worked on, but you may see this as an advantage as promoting one page means all your blogs can eventually be found.

OVERALL:

If you are blogging, or building content sites for Adsense or affiliate programs, then WorPress Mass Installer is an ideal solution. It's already well known that search engines love blogs because of the constantly updating content, so using something which makes it easier to create blogs is advantageous. WPMI is easy to use, probably about the easiest script I have ever installed, and does exactly what it says it will. It would have been nice if more theme templates were included, but a quick Google for "WordPress theme" and this becomes a minor gripe rather than a mark against it. In short if you want to put up multiple blogs, then WordPress Mass Installer is a must have, and it's ideal for using up the myriad of Private Label Rights articles you may have to create content sites for Adsense revenue.