Multisite Integration

Last updated: January 26, 2026

Integration with WordPress multisite network and the extrachill-multisite plugin.

Network Overview

ExtraChill theme serves the active sites in the WordPress multisite network (Blog ID 6 unused):

  1. extrachill.com – Main music journalism and content site (Blog ID 1)
  2. community.extrachill.com – Community forums and user hub (Blog ID 2)
  3. shop.extrachill.com – E-commerce platform with WooCommerce (Blog ID 3)
  4. artist.extrachill.com – Artist platform and profiles (Blog ID 4)
  5. chat.extrachill.com – AI chatbot system (Blog ID 5)
  6. events.extrachill.com – Event calendar hub (Blog ID 7; calendar engine comes from external Data Machine + datamachine-events plugins)
  7. stream.extrachill.com – Live streaming platform (Phase 1 UI) (Blog ID 8)
  8. newsletter.extrachill.com – Newsletter management and archive hub (Blog ID 9)
  9. docs.extrachill.com – Documentation hub (Blog ID 10)
  10. wire.extrachill.com – Automated news feeds directory (Blog ID 11)
  11. horoscope.extrachill.com – Horoscope functionality (Blog ID 12)

Plugin Dependency

Required Plugin: extrachill-multisite (network-activated)

The theme integrates with multisite features but does not implement them directly. All multisite functionality provided by the extrachill-multisite plugin.

Multisite Features Used

Cross-Site Search

Function: extrachill_multisite_search( $search_query )

Plugin: extrachill-search (network-activated)

Searches across all network sites or specified sites.

Theme Integration:

// In search template
if ( function_exists( 'extrachill_multisite_search' ) ) {
    $results = extrachill_multisite_search( get_search_query() );
}

Returns: Combined array of:

  • Main site posts
  • Community forum topics and replies
  • Site identification metadata
  • Contextual excerpts

Community Activity Widgets

Theme Implementation: Centralized shared helper library performs direct bbPress queries with multisite blog switching

Locations:

  • /inc/core/templates/community-activity.php – Shared helper library with reusable data and render functions
  • /inc/sidebar/community-activity.php – Sidebar wrapper calling shared helper with sidebar-specific styling
  • Homepage grids are plugin-owned via extrachill_homepage_content (theme keeps the shared helper + sidebar wrapper)

Architecture:

  • Centralized Helper: extrachill_get_community_activity_items() and extrachill_render_community_activity() functions provide reusable library
  • Community Queries: Queries community.extrachill.com for bbPress topics/replies.
  • Activity Display: Displays community activities with 10-minute caching
  • Direct WP_Query for bbPress topics and replies
  • Uses switch_to_blog() and restore_current_blog() for cross-site access
  • Manual forum URL construction: https://community.extrachill.com/r/{forum-slug}
  • User profile URLs via ec_get_user_profile_url() from extrachill-users plugin (community-first)
  • 10-minute WordPress object cache (wp_cache_get() / wp_cache_set())

Blog ID Resolution:

$community_blog_id = function_exists( 'ec_get_blog_id' ) ? ec_get_blog_id( 'community' ) : null;

if ( $community_blog_id ) {
    try {
        switch_to_blog( $community_blog_id );
        // Query bbPress data
    } finally {
        restore_current_blog();
    }
}

URL Patterns:

  • Forums: https://community.extrachill.com/r/{forum-slug} (NOT /forums/forum/)
  • User profiles: https://community.extrachill.com/u/{username} (via ec_get_user_profile_url(), community-first)
  • Author archives: https://extrachill.com/author/{username}/ (via ec_get_user_author_archive_url())
  • Topics: Standard get_permalink() works for topic URLs
  • Total member counts: Pulled from Blog ID 2 via count_users() when rendering online stats

Theme-Level Multisite Functions

Theme uses centralized shared helper library for community activity display:

Shared Helper Functions:

// Get activity items from community.extrachill.com (blog 2)
$items = extrachill_get_community_activity_items(5);

// Render activity with custom styling options
extrachill_render_community_activity(array(
    'items'          => $items,
    'render_wrapper' => false,
    'item_class'     => 'sidebar-activity-card',
));

Data Function: extrachill_get_community_activity_items( $limit )

  • Queries blog ID 2 (community) for bbPress activities
  • Returns array of activity items with full metadata
  • 10-minute WordPress object cache

Render Function: extrachill_render_community_activity( $args )

  • Customizable HTML structure and CSS classes
  • Accepts pre-fetched items or fetches automatically
  • Configurable wrapper, item styling, and empty states

Multisite URL Structure

Main Site: extrachill.com

  • Posts: /category/post-name/
  • Pages: /page-name/
  • Archives: /category-name/
  • Authors: /author/username/

Community Site: community.extrachill.com

  • Forums: /r/{forum-slug}/ (short URL format)
  • Topics: Standard WordPress permalinks
  • Users: /u/{username}/ (bbPress profile format)

Cross-Site Links

Theme generates community links using standardized patterns:

User Profile Links (via extrachill-users plugin):

// General profile links (mentions, avatar menu, “View Profile”) should resolve to community when possible.
$user_profile_url = ec_get_user_profile_url( $user_id );

// Article contexts (bylines, “More articles by…”) should use the explicit author archive helper.
$user_author_archive_url = ec_get_user_author_archive_url( $user_id );

Forum Links (manual construction):

// Forum URL pattern: /r/{forum-slug}
$forum_url = 'https://community.extrachill.com/r/' . get_post_field('post_name', $forum_id);

Topic Links (WordPress standard):

// Standard WordPress permalinks work for topics
$topic_url = get_permalink( $topic_id );

Authentication

Managed By: extrachill-multisite plugin

Theme does not handle authentication. WordPress native multisite authentication provides seamless login across all .extrachill.com subdomains.

Site Identification

Search Results: Site badges identify result source

Function: extrachill_search_site_badge( $site_name )
Location: /inc/archives/search/search-site-badge.php

Used in search results to identify which site results came from.

Blog/Domain Resolution

Theme Pattern: Theme uses canonical helper functions for blog/domain resolution.

  • Runtime blog/domain mapping uses ec_get_blog_id() / ec_get_domain_map() from extrachill-multisite/inc/core/blog-ids.php.
  • Numeric mapping is permitted only in .github/sunrise.php (executes before WordPress loads).

Implementation:

$community_blog_id = function_exists( 'ec_get_blog_id' ) ? ec_get_blog_id( 'community' ) : null;

if ( $community_blog_id ) {
    try {
        switch_to_blog( $community_blog_id );
        // Cross-site operations
    } finally {
        restore_current_blog();
    }
}

Network-Wide Features

Provided by the extrachill-multisite plugin:

  • Cross-Site Data Access: Native WordPress switch_to_blog() and restore_current_blog()
  • Real-Time Search: Direct database queries eliminate REST API overhead
  • Network Security: Admin access control across all sites
  • License Validation: Cross-domain ad-free license checking
  • Unified Authentication: WordPress multisite native user authentication

Theme Multisite Integration Points

1. Search Template

Location: Provided by extrachill-search plugin via extrachill_template_search
Integration: Theme still outputs search header + assets before handing loop control to plugin

2. Post Meta Display

Location: /inc/core/templates/post-meta.php
Integration:

  • Uses ec_get_user_author_archive_url() for main site bylines
  • Uses ec_get_user_profile_url() for community/forum identity links

3. Community Activity Components

Location: /inc/core/templates/community-activity.php
Integration: Centralized shared helper library with reusable extrachill_get_community_activity_items() and extrachill_render_community_activity() functions. Queries community.extrachill.com (blog ID 2) for bbPress activities via switch_to_blog() with 10-minute caching. Sidebar rendering lives in /inc/sidebar/community-activity.php; homepage grids now live in plugins via extrachill_homepage_content.

5. Search Site Badges

Integration: extrachill-search plugin injects badges alongside each multisite result entry so users know which network site provided the content

Direct Database Access Pattern

Theme directly accesses bbPress data from community.extrachill.com for activity widgets using WordPress multisite functions:

Multi-Site Pattern:

$community_blog_id = function_exists( 'ec_get_blog_id' ) ? ec_get_blog_id( 'community' ) : null;

if ( $community_blog_id ) {
    try {
        switch_to_blog( $community_blog_id );

        // Direct WP_Query for bbPress data
        $query = new WP_Query(
            array(
                'post_type' => array( 'topic', 'reply' ),
                // ... query args
            )
        );

        // Collect activities
        // ...
    } finally {
        restore_current_blog();
    }

    // Manual URL construction
    $forum_url = 'https://community.extrachill.com/r/' . get_post_field( 'post_name', $forum_id );
}

Graceful Degradation

The theme assumes network plugins are active in production and uses function-existence checks before calling into other plugins. If a dependency is inactive, the integration point simply does not render.

Performance Considerations

Caching:

  • Community activity uses a 10-minute WordPress object cache.
  • Search caching is owned by the extrachill-search plugin.

Efficiency:

  • Cross-site reads use switch_to_blog() with try/finally.
  • Blog resolution uses ec_get_blog_id() (single source of truth) and avoids ad-hoc numeric fallbacks.

Why This Architecture

Community Activity Display: Unified activity feed sourced from community.extrachill.com
Centralized Helper Library: Reusable functions eliminate code duplication across widgets
Direct Database Access: Theme directly queries bbPress data for optimal performance
WordPress Native Functions: Uses core multisite functions (no abstraction overhead)
Blog ID helpers: Runtime code uses ec_get_blog_id() for clarity and centralized mapping (numeric mapping is reserved for .github/sunrise.php).
Manual URL Construction: Avoids bbPress function calls for forum URLs
Plugin Integration: Leverages extrachill-users for intelligent profile routing
Caching Strategy: WordPress object cache provides 10-minute cached results
Performance: Eliminates plugin abstraction layers for community activity display

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