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By default, Drupal places the configuration synchronization directory within the site's files directory, using a hash as part of the folder name, for example: sites/default/files/config_HASH.

The HASH is a long string of random characters. This makes accessing configuration via the web more difficult (though not impossible). The sync directory location can be changed after installation.

Note that by default, Drupal stores configuration management data in the database. To enable a file-based workflow, you must modify both settings.php and services.yml.

This must be done before installing Drupal, as switching back to database-based configuration after enabling file-based storage is complex. If you need to enable configuration in files after site installation, you must first export your configuration and save a copy in the active config directory before enabling file-based config management.

You’ve built a Drupal 8 site and want to host it on your server
or
You’ve set up a Drupal 8 site on your remote server and want to work on it locally

Drupal 8 is Different

Up until Drupal 7, it was a relatively simple process: copy all the files, copy the database, and you're good to go.
With Drupal 8, CMI – Configuration Management Interface – comes into play and must be handled appropriately.

Drupal includes a feature that allows you to serve separate, independent websites from a single codebase. Each site has its own database, configuration, files, and base domain or URL. While this documentation is still being expanded, please refer to the relevant documentation for Drupal 7 in the meantime.

The following guide outlines the steps needed to configure a Drupal 8 multisite setup. This guide is a work in progress and includes only sample configurations. Other options—such as HTTPS, different web servers and databases, or advanced virtual host configurations—are available.

The primary reason to use a Drupal multisite setup is to save time when managing multiple Drupal sites running the same core version. Every time a new core update is released, you only need to update one codebase instead of each individual site. However, there are drawbacks. These can be mitigated if you use the Aegir hosting system.

The following is an example of a multisite structure in Drupal 8. For simplicity, other core Drupal folders and files are not listed.

(See original discussion at #3004496: Improve Composer multi-site compatibility.)

While there are various considerations to keep in mind when deciding whether to use Drupal's multisite feature, here are some common reasons developers choose it:

Drupal Accessibility Features

More Semantics

Drupal 8 includes many instances where we’ve implemented more semantic HTML5 elements that can be used by assistive technologies. We’ve extended this by incorporating WAI-ARIA landmarks, live regions, roles, and properties.