Working and making updates on a live WordPress site can be dangerous. And it\u2019s not a matter of whether you\u2019re a skilled enough coder to do it. That’s where staging environments can help – learn how in this article.<\/p>\n
There are any number of things that could go wrong when you issue a new update to a plugin, or attempt to code a new feature in by hand.<\/p>\n
Anything you do that affects the code of a website presents an opportunity for something to go wrong on the frontend. And that\u2019s not something your clients or their visitors will be too understanding of.<\/p>\n
This is why we use staging environments. If you\u2019re in the business of developing WordPress sites, then staging environments need to be part of your process.<\/p>\n
In this article we’ll look at the benefits of using staging environments, when you should use them, and how you can easily get started with them – inside and outside of WordPress.<\/p>\n
Continue reading to learn more, or jump ahead using these links:<\/p>\n
Let’s kicks things off with\u2026<\/p>\n
A staging environment is typically hosted on a private subdomain of your WordPress site for the purposes of building and testing.<\/p>\n
Why do it this way? There are many reasons.<\/p>\n
Consider these:<\/p>\n
A blank canvas<\/strong> from which you build a new website or create new pages you plan to add to an existing website. This way, your clients, managers, or anyone else who feels like weighing in before it\u2019s appropriate to do so<\/a> are prohibited from seeing your work until you\u2019re ready to share.<\/p>\n Test new WordPress, plugin, or theme updates<\/strong> on a mirror image of a live website. Updates are first handled on the staging site. Upon confirming that no issues are present, you can move forward with them on the live site.<\/p>\n Implement code or design updates<\/strong> on a mirror image of a live website. This is especially helpful if you\u2019re attempting to code a new feature on your own and are nervous about the repercussions of something breaking as a result.<\/p>\n Clone a live website<\/strong><\/a> to save time developing a similarly structured WordPress site from scratch.<\/p>\n Stage a website pre-launch<\/strong> in order to conduct QA and testing. Team members, clients, and other project stakeholders are then given a link to the frontend of the staged site for review.<\/p>\n Test new coding techniques<\/strong>. You can use a copy of a website that already exists or use a sample website to test out theories or to hone your implementation process before adding it to your workflow. You can also use this as a training platform for new developers on your team.<\/p>\n Build basic prototypes<\/strong> for the purposes of demonstrating a suggested design or feature to the client. This way, you don\u2019t have to try to explain the idea you have for a landing page or a new checkout process or whatever it is you\u2019ve thought of. Instead, you mock it up here and give them a way to experience it first-hand and avoid any potential miscommunications<\/a>.<\/p>\n There are also a whole lot of other benefits in using staging environments for these purposes:<\/p>\n Bottom line: staging sites are meant to maintain the integrity of the live sites displayed to visitors, allowing you to safely and privately work behind the scenes.<\/p>\n A staging environment setup largely depends on what its purpose will be.<\/p>\n If you intend on using it as a training or experimentation platform, you have freedom to do whatever you want.<\/p>\n If you intend on using it for a different, specific purpose, such as implementing WordPress updates, revising design and code, or adding new pages, then what sits in staging needs to be identical to the website.<\/p>\n This means having the same:<\/p>\n To set up a mirror image of your WordPress site in the staging environment, you can use one of three means: the manual method, through a managed WordPress host, or by using a WordPress plugin.<\/p>\n We\u2019re gonna take a look at all of these, starting with\u2026<\/p>\n Like it sounds, the manual method is very hands-on, and consists of the following steps:<\/p>\n Refer to this post for full details, instructions, and screenshots on how to set up a staging environment manually<\/a>.<\/p>\n While the manual method has you working within the control panel to set up a staging environment, Managed WordPress Hosting handles the job for you.<\/p>\n This is without doubt, the speediest and most stress-free method of the three. It cuts out pretty much all of the work on your part.<\/p>\n It also means you\u2019ll incur the cost of procuring the services any host provides. But chances are good if you run a site or agency, you already know the value of managed hosting. Of course perspective is unique, and it\u2019s always up to an individual to decide.<\/p>\n Most managed WordPress hosting plans with the providers above come with one-click or pre-made staging areas.<\/p>\n Creating a password-protected staging site on your server generally requires little more than logging into your hosting account and proceeding to the appropriate page.<\/p>\n Pushing updates from a staging site to the live server is beyond easy with this option. Just one click and your staging environment will go live.<\/p>\n Here’s an example of how the process works with WPMU DEV Hosting.<\/a><\/p>\n Creating a Staging Site Through WPMU DEV\u2019s Hosting<\/strong><\/p>\n This process could not be simpler or quicker.<\/p>\n\n
<\/a>How to Set up a Staging Environment for Your WordPress Site<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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<\/a>#1 The Manual Method<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\n(This will automatically create a subfolder on your WordPress site.)<\/li>\n<\/a>#2 Through Managed WordPress Hosting<\/strong><\/h3>\n