Multi sites: should I use Craft 2 locales, or go with Craft 3 alpha?

Question

I have a couple of imminent projects that will need some type of multi-site support. One is a large project that will need to share data between at least 3 sites. Where data is entered in one site and displayed on all. I've setup many sites in EE with MSM so I'm familiar with that method but never done this with Craft. I have read a few articles about how to set this up using the local function and modifying core files. I've also read about how this will be built into Craft 3.

So my question is - what route would any of you recommend taking? If I use the locale method will that the work be invalidated when Craft 3 comes out? Or is it advisable to go with the Craft 3 alpha hoping it's stable enough for production? I'm not sure when it will be released or if plugins will be compatible.

Answer 1

Brandon has stated (on the CraftCMS Slack channel, so, sadly, not easily linkable here) that custom locales will automatically translate to sites when upgrading from Craft 2 to Craft 3.

At this point, Craft 3 is still in developer preview and not recommended for production sites, so I would recommend developing in Craft 2 and updating when a stable, final version of Craft 3 is released, along with any compatible versions of plugins that you need for the site(s).

Due to the changes in Craft 3 (many of which are still in flux) plugins will need to be re-written to be compatible with it. Depending on the developer and the complexity of the plugin, this may take some time.