A siteaccess is the context in which a request is executed. It allows you to match a particular context, the siteaccess, based on how the site was accessed: uri, domain, uri part, etc.

eZ Platform allows you to maintain multiple sites in one installation using a feature called siteaccesses.

In short, a siteaccess is a set of configuration settings that is used when the site is reached through a specific address.

When the user accesses the site, the system analyzes the uri and compares it to rules specified in the configuration. If it finds a set of fitting rules, this siteaccess is used.

What does a siteaccess do?

A siteaccess overrides the default configuration. This means that if the siteaccess does not specify some aspect of the configuration, the default values will be used. The default configuration is also used when no siteaccess can be matched to a situation.

A siteaccess can decide many things about the website, for example the database, language or var directory that are used.

How is a siteaccess selected?

A siteaccess is selected using one or more matchers – rules based on the uri or its parts. Example matching criteria are elements of the uri, host name (or its parts), port number, etc.

For detailed information on how siteaccess matchers work, see Siteaccess Matching.

What can you use siteaccesses for?

Typical uses of a siteaccess are:

• different language versions of the same site identified by a uri part; one siteaccess for one language
• two different versions of a website: one siteaccess with a public interface for visitors and one with a restricted interface for administrators

Both the rules for siteaccess matching and its effects are located in the main app/config/ezplatform.yml configuration file.

Use case: multilanguage sites

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