Imagine working hard on your WordPress website for hours, only to realize that the new update you just installed has broken your site. All your hard work goes down the drain, and your website no longer functions as it should. Sounds like a nightmare, right? This is where a staging environment comes into play.
A staging environment is a separate platform where you can safely test and develop your website without breaking the live site. I’ll show you how to create and use one for testing and developing WordPress websites.
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Key Takeaways About WordPress Staging Sites
- Definition: A WordPress staging site is a separate platform where you can test and develop your website without affecting the live site.
- Benefits: Key advantages include safe troubleshooting, practicing new features, team collaboration, and maintaining site security and stability.
- Setup with Hosting Providers: Many hosts like SiteGround, WP Engine, and Bluehost offer easy-to-use staging tools directly in their services.
- Using Plugins: Staging plugins like WP Stagecoach, WP Staging, and BlogVault provide simple ways to create a staging site if your host doesn’t offer this feature.
- Manual Setup: For complete control, you can manually create a staging site using a subdomain or subdirectory and migration plugins like Duplicator.
Before starting the setup process, let’s explore what a staging environment is and why you should use one.
WordPress Staging Site: What’s That?
A WordPress staging site is a separate environment for testing changes to your website safely. It acts as a complete copy of your live site, letting you try out new plugins, themes, or designs without risking changes to the live version.
Staging sites offer a safe space to fix issues without affecting your website’s user experience. This tool is vital for developers, designers, and content creators who need to ensure everything works properly before going live.
A staging site is hidden from the public and accessible only to the website owner and team. Once you’re happy with the changes on the staging site, you can push them to the live site. This ensures a seamless and efficient development process.
The Benefits of Using a Staging Site
Staging sites are essential for WordPress website owners due to their numerous benefits:
Debugging and Troubleshooting
A staging site is a great tool for debugging your website. Test new features or changes without affecting your live site. Identify and fix issues before going live, saving time and effort. Prevent any negative impact on performance or user experience.
Practicing and Testing
It’s a great way to test and practice new features or changes. You can play with layouts, designs, and functionality without worrying about consequences. Seeing how your website will look and behave with the changes helps you make informed decisions about what to implement on your live site.
Collaboration and Feedback
Share the staging site with team members or stakeholders to facilitate collaboration and feedback. This allows others to review and test changes, providing valuable insights to improve your website’s quality and effectiveness.
Security and Stability
A staging site boosts your website’s security and stability. Test updates or changes to ensure they work with existing plugins, themes, and configurations. This helps prevent conflicts or issues, safeguarding your site’s performance and data security.
Different Ways to Setup WordPress Staging Site
There are several ways to set up a staging site for your WordPress website. I’ll explain them in detail.
Setup a WordPress Staging Site With Your Web Host
Many web hosts offer staging tools for creating a staging site with just a few clicks. Popular providers like SiteGround, WP Engine, Hostinger, and Bluehost include these tools. If your host provides this feature, you’re fortunate as it’s the easiest and most convenient method.
The setup steps differ between hosts but generally include:
- Log in to your web host account and navigate to the staging site feature. For some hosts like Bluehost, and WP Engine, you will need to log in to your site’s admin dashboard and click on the Hosting name from the left panel, and then you will see the Staging option.
- Once you are in the staging section, click ‘create staging’ or the relevant button. This will clone your live site and create a staging environment for you.
- Once the clone is ready, you will be given a link or button to access the staging site. You can make changes on the staging site and check if everything works properly after each update.
- Once you are satisfied with the changes, you can push them to the live site by pressing the ‘Deploy All Changes’ or “Deploy All” button available in the staging section.
Note that the process may vary depending on your web host. Here are detailed guides for setting up a staging site on major web hosts.
Utilize a Staging Plugin
If your web host doesn’t offer staging tools, you can try a plugin like WP Stagecoach, WP Staging, or BlogVault. These plugins copy your live website, letting you make changes without impacting the live version.
Install a staging plugin on your WordPress site. After activation, create a clone of your live site with a few clicks. Follow the plugin’s specific instructions to set up your staging site.
Here are the official tutorials for setting up staging sites with popular staging plugins:
How to Create a Staging Site for WordPress Manually
If you’d rather set up a staging site on your own, you can create a subdomain or subdirectory on your hosting account and install WordPress there. This method needs technical knowledge and can take time, but it gives you complete control over your staging site.
Steps to manually create a staging site:
- Log in to your hosting account and create a subdomain or subdirectory for your staging site.
- Install WordPress on your subdomain or subdirectory.
- Use a migration plugin like Duplicator or All-in-One WP Migration to copy your live website to your staging site.
- Once your staging site is set up, you can start testing changes and updates.
Here’s a quick guide on how to manually create a WordPress staging site: