Do you run multiple WordPress sites? Are you sick of managing them separately? Especially all those updates? Deliverance is at hand, my friend. Behold, the WordPress network.

You can set up any ordinary WordPress site as a WordPress network. Once you do (and there are so many good reasons why you should), your next step is to review the slight changes in the administrator screens.

After that, you can start creating new sites and installing plugins and themes with reckless abandon. A WordPress network makes it almost too easy.

If you use more than one CMS, you've probably gotten confused by how they (mis)use terms. WordPress has plugins, Drupal has modules, and Joomla has both. Are they all talking about the same things?

Yes and no. But mostly no.

Why is why, at long last, these arcane mysteries have finally been clarified. Behold, the CMS Term Table!

In one single, simple, table, you can see what WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal actually mean by jargon like plugin, module, widget, theme, template, and even component.

Never again will you make the deadly faux pas of mentioning a "WordPress module" or a "Drupal widget". Those years of uncertainty are finally over. Illumination awaits! Visit the CMS Term Table now.

A wise web developer will live by the ancient proverb: "Never hack core."

If you're not sure what core is (as opposed to plugins or modules) here's an easy definition. Core is what you get when you download the main program.

Plugins and modules are (usually) the bits that you have to add and enable separately.

Why the distinction? A couple reasons:

• Core is usually much more reliable and secure than any plugin or module. With a good CMS, you can trust core, but you need to choose plugins or modules more carefully.

• Because core is so secure, you should never touch the core code, no matter how awesome the change would be.

Can you guess why? If not, find out why you should never hack core.

Are you running more than one WordPress site? Or wishing you were? Consider setting up a WordPress "network".

A WordPress network can save you a lot of time, because you can maintain lots of WordPress sites in one place.

True, setting up a WordPress network might be a slight time investment. If you've never edited configuration files before, you may be in for a moderate adventure.

But once you hunt up the elusive wp-config.php, the rest of the setup shouldn't be too hard. Have a look at at this WordPress multisite tutorial, and start thinking about simplifying your sites.