Future-you will thank present-you for a single page of notes. This guide suggests what to document so recovery and changes are faster and less error-prone.
What to document
- PHP version (and pool) per site
- Special Apache vhosts or non-default config
- Where backups and logs live
- Any “temporary” workarounds that became permanent
Payoff
- Faster recovery when something breaks
- Fewer repeated mistakes and “why did we do it that way?” moments
FAQ
Where should I keep this doc?
Wherever the team will actually use it: a wiki, a repo README, or a shared doc. Keep it close to runbooks or monitoring so it’s visible during incidents.
What’s the minimum useful set?
Per site: domain, docroot, PHP version/pool, and one-line “gotchas.” Plus server-level: key config paths, backup location, and how to restart Apache and PHP-FPM.
Related
- PHP version drift on multi-site servers — why documenting PHP versions matters
- Hosting multiple WordPress sites on one Apache server — multi-site boundaries to document