{"id":15027,"date":"2021-04-16T09:52:55","date_gmt":"2021-04-16T16:52:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sfwpexperts.com\/?p=15027"},"modified":"2021-05-25T00:21:39","modified_gmt":"2021-05-25T07:21:39","slug":"how-to-create-a-staging-site-in-wordpress-step-by-step","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sfwpexperts.com\/how-to-create-a-staging-site-in-wordpress-step-by-step\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Create a Staging Site In WordPress (Step-By-Step)?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
Adding a new WordPress theme or plugin or making changes to your WordPress website design can involve a number of risks. When we say risk then it means it can break your existing website, impact your WordPress website user experience, crash, and more. Many WordPress users claim that even while making small changes in their website the whole website crashed. It may sound terrific but it happens with most of the users and there are high chances that it can happen with you as well. <\/span><\/p>\n Well, we are not trying to create panic, but it’s something that happens frequently with most WordPress users. If you are getting your website design by an experienced WordPress website design company<\/a> then they might warn you about these issues during the project delivery time. However, if you are creating the website on your own then there are high chances that you might come across these types of issues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Now you must be thinking what\u2019s the solution for it? Well, to work in a safer environment you need to make all the changes in the \u201cStaging Site\u201d. But the question comes down to what staging site? What is the importance of using a staging website? How can one create a staging site in WordPress?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If you are scrolling the internet to find the answer for the same then you have landed on the right article where we are going to highlight some of the important points on why using a staging site is needed more than ever? And how you can create a staging site in WordPress with the help of a plugin as well as a hosting provider. SO make sure you stick till the end of this article.<\/span><\/p>\n Table Of Content:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n If you are running the WordPress website for a long time then you must have encountered a situation where you tried updating the WordPress plugins<\/a> or the theme and it results in the website getting crashed or a whistle screen. Well, you are not the only one, as there are many WordPress users out there who frequently come across these types of problems because they make the changes without checking the compatibility or knowing what will happen if they make the changes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n There are WordPress users out there who love experimenting with themes and plugins. They even look to add custom WordPress theme<\/a> and functionality in their WordPress website but making these changes in the live website can create problems like blanks screen. Well, today every WordPress user knows that these types of issues occur when the plugin or the themes are not compatible with the WordPress version you are using.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There are times when plugins that you are installing on your website may not be compatible with the themes in your WordPress website. Or the themes you are changing might not be compatible with the plugin in your WordPress website or the WordPress itself. There are a number of factors that could affect the compatibility with themes and plugins. That is the reason why an experienced WordPress web design company<\/a> looks for every small requirement or we can say prerequisite in the initial phase so that you don’t have to make any major changes after the website is made live.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So no matter whatever issues you are facing after making changes in your WordPress website the best solution to all those is having access to \u201cStaging Website\u201d.<\/span> By creating a staging website you will be able to get an exact copy of your existing website where you get full freedom to test multiple plugins, themes, and other changes without harming your existing live website. The changes you make in the staging website will only be visible to the person making the changes or have access to the staging website. This way you will be able to test multiple things on your website without harming your live website user experience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But the question comes down to how do you create a staging site in WordPress? If you are looking to find the answer from the same then you have landed on the right article where we will highlight multiple easy using which you can create a staging site in WordPress. There are different options to set up a staging website in WordPress. We will be highlighting all of them in the coming paragraph. Apart from that, we will also be highlighting the importance of using staging sites. So let’s start with understanding the basics of a staging site.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A staging environment or staging site is nothing but the replica of your live WordPress website that is solely created to test the changes before implementing them in the live website. That means if a WordPress user wishes to add or remove any new plugin, install the new theme, add custom codes in the WordPress backend, or make any small or major changes in the WordPress website design, it can be carried out in the staging site.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n By having the staging site you get full freedom to test multiple changes before you publish them on your live website. If you are managing a complex website that drives more traffic and conversion<\/a> then having access to staging sites will play a major role in mitigating the risk that you might come across by publishing these changes directly into your website design. It can also be used to troubleshoot problems that your WordPress website might face while running on the internet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Because the issues found on your live website will be present in the staging website as well so by making changes like deactivating plugins, analyzing themes, or more can be done in the staging website to test whether the problem is getting resolved or not. Once you successfully find the solution in the staging site then you can implement the same changes in your live website. This way you will be able to eliminate the risk that most of the WordPress users come across while making the changes directly into your website.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Remember making these changes directly into your WordPress website will expose your WordPress website to a huge risk. So by now, you might have a good idea about what a staging website is. Next, we will be highlighting some of the important points on why you need a staging website. But before that, we would like to differentiate between the common environment used in the website design and development industry.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n People that are landing on your website might be able to see only the final product but every site owner knows the plenty of work that goes behind to make the website look aesthetically\u00a0pleasing, highly intuitive, and user friendly. Most experienced website design company<\/a> make use of multiple environments to ensure that the website works fine when the user lands on it. Apart from that working with these environments also helps in identifying and eliminating potential risks that can harm your website badly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Working with multiple environments allows developers as well as users to work independently on a project without harming the live website. That means multiple people might have access to your website depending on the role or different developers might be working on your website so making changes directly into the website can damage the live website. That is the reason why they make use of different environments or sites without impacting the live website. Not only that but using different environments can also help in testing multiple elements of the website. So let’s start with understanding the basics of different environments:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The local environment or the local site is created on a local machine or server and doesn’t make use of any hosting because of that the website is always offline. These local environments are generally used by the designers and developers to create and test multiple designs on the website. The website design carted on the local server is only visible to the developer and is considered one of the most cost-effective and efficient ways to create a testing environment without spending more money on multiple environments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Apart from that, using a local environment for your website offers another benefit of being independent on internet connectivity which means one can easily work on any project whenever they need.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The development environment is generally used by developers to test new updates, features, changes, and more. This particular environment has the latest iterations of all the code that developers might be working on. That is the reason why it’s widely used by developers to test the effectiveness of the feature, design, and more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A staging environment is one of the popular environments that is being used by the website to test the final design for its effectiveness. It acts as the bridge between the live environment and the development environment. Before making any website live for users and search engines, designers and developers make use of staging websites. That is the reason why it is considered the last step in the development process before any website is made live.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The main role of the staging website is to check whether the changes made in the previous environment are working the same before it is made live or updated on the live website. Most of the time the changes made in the development process fail to perform the same in the live website when implemented directly into it. That is the reason why developers make use of the staging environment that allows them to ensure that changes are right or not.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If there are any bugs or any other type of flaws present on the website then you will be able to eliminate those issues and bugs. So that it doesn\u2019t affect your website user experience (UX)<\/a>. That is the reason why it is also considered a quality assessment step. If you are getting website development by a website design agency then they will also be using the staging website to showcase your whole website before it’s made live on the internet for your potential customers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Live or the production environment is the live version of your website that will be accessed by the user as well as a search engine. If you have successfully tested your website in the above environment then your live environment will be bug-free which will lead to a better and flawless user experience. Like other environments, users can also make changes in the live website but adding new features, codes, and more directly into the live or production environment can harm your website.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n That is the reason why we recommend you to test the new features in the above-mentioned environment and then implement them in the live or production environment to offer a great digital experience to your prospects. Yes, you can make changes in the live environment as well but we don’t recommend making any major changes instead you can make changes in the text content and more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n By now you must have a good idea of the different environments the WordPress web design company<\/a> works in to create a highly effective and attractive website for the business. Before we start highlighting different methods using which one can create a staging website in WordPress we would like to start with highlighting why it\u2019s essential to create a staging website.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A staging website is one of the crucial aspects of every website, it might not be used or very often used while creating a new website. But when it comes to making changes or updates in the future then a staging website can save your WordPress website as well as your business from various risks that can directly impact the performance and conversion of your WordPress website.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A staging website can be helpful in making changes to your WordPress website in a safe way. As mentioned earlier, the test environment offers your full freedom to test every small change before making it live on your website. This way you will be able to eliminate the right of breaking your existing WordPress website design. Most WordPress users make use of staging websites to test new codes because when it comes to WordPress if you have a custom-coded website design then playing out with codes can break the whole website\u2019s functioning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Before making anything live on your WordPress website you can test it out in the staging environment because many times the plugins and themes updates might not be compatible with the latest version of WordPress. Updating them directly into your website without testing it in the staging environment can cause a lot of problems in the backend as well as in the front end. If you have already used the local environment earlier then you must be familiar with how the staging environment can help you to make changes without damaging the original website.<\/span><\/p>\n There are few important reasons why every WordPress website owner should make use of the staging site for their website lets take a look at them:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One of the reasons why it is essential to add a staging website as it helps in avoiding the common problem like downtime that generally occur when WordPress website users make changes in their website design. In today\u2019s competitive marketplace where every business understands the importance of a site visitor and no one wants to lose them at any cost. This Is the reason why websites spend hundreds of thousands of dollars creating an attractive and conversation-centric website design as well as a marketing strategy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Mainly when it comes to site downtime there are high chances that you might end up losing users that can be converted into potential customers. With the help of a staging website, you can avoid these mistakes as you will be testing every small element and code to ensure that your website does not introduce these types of problems. When a website goes down it either fails to load or displays a message website under construction. These types of messages can directly affect your website\u2019s reputation and deflate website visitor confidence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A website downtime will not only impact your website user experience but there are high chances that your website ranking might get affected as well. With the help of a staging site, you will be able to test the compatibility of WordPress plugins and themes so that your website is always up and running without any flaws.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If you are looking to know more about the WordPress website design mistakes that you should void then make sure to check our article on 14 Common WordPress Mistakes Every User Should Avoid In 2021 (For Better Outcome)<\/a><\/p>\n Well, most of the time businesses give access to the website depending on the person\u2019s role. Well, it’s common to expect this from all the companies\/businesses using WordPress as their backend. But many times businesses come across issues when the user having access to the WordPress backend commits a mistake unwantedly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Yes, most of the time new users are not aware of how to access the website, and even if you direct them on how they can work with the WordPress dashboard there are high chances that a person having access to the backend might commit some or other kind of mistake after we all are humans.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To avoid these types of mistakes businesses have started to use the staging website as the training ground where users can make any number of changes without disturbing the live WordPress website. Whether it\u2019s making small changes in the WordPress backend or uploading a full-length blog, one can easily learn how to use the WordPress backend without hammering the website with the help of a staging website. <\/span><\/p>\n This way you will be able to eliminate the potential risk that occurs when a WordPress site owner offers access to the WordPress backend to the new WordPress user. If you are getting your website design by an experienced WoprdPress website design company<\/a> then they be offering you detailed guide on how your agents and partners can access the background.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There are high chances that if you are continuously making changes in your website design then you must have hired a web developer. Or if you have any partners then you might have to update them with the changes you’re making in your website design. Well most of the time the feature and functionality you are adding to your website might sound right to you but what about others? Implementing a new feature or functionality is not an easy process as it takes a lot of back and forth and if you’re using the plugin then installing and activating it can be easy but final results are always unexpected.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Adding the new feature directly into your website can be liked by your but not by your higher authority or partner. With help of staging websites, you can avoid making changes directly to your website WordPress. Instead, you can make use of the staging website, a replica of your live website to add the same feature and showcase it to your higher authority on how it appears in the website and whether it will help the site visitor or not. Even if you wish to make changes in your WordPress theme<\/a> then also you can make use of a staging website to analyze the effectiveness of the theme.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A staging site is a place where WordPress website owners get full freedom to break every small thing to defy the cause of the problems. In today’s competitive marketplace where businesses are totally focused on growing the business, it becomes difficult for site owners to identify the breaking point or vulnerabilities in the website until it occurs. <\/span><\/p>\n Not to mention but today the internet space is filled with vulnerabilities and various malicious activities. So you can\u2019t expect your WordPress website to escape from them. That is the reason why WordPress website maintenance<\/a> plays a crucial role in WordPress website maintenance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Having access to the environment where you can break things in your website with any repercussions, to find the issues in your website before it destroys the whole website will help you to enhance your website user experience. Apart from that, it will also help you to eliminate all the potential risks that might affect the security of your WordPress website.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The plugin and theme that users download from your WordPress dashboard can face compatibility issues but when it comes to the third-party add-ons then you might be exposing your website to more problems like cyber-attack, hacks, and more.\u00a0 Most of the time the third-party add ons like plugin and theme when embedded in the website come with more problems which can impact your website performance and also cause major security issues. That is the reason why it recommended to test them before integrating them into your WordPress website.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Once you are done with selecting the add ons that you are going to embed in your website you need to test how the codes work in your WordPress website. And there is no better place than the staging website. Most of the time these add-ons also try to steal the data from your WordPress website so you can create dummy data in your staging site to check whether the addon is storing the data or not. You can check the third-party script on the staging website to identify any malicious files and save them from entering into your WordPress website.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n By now you must be familiar with why your need to have access to the staging website in WordPress. Next, we are going to highlight the most important part of this article that is how you can create a staging website in WordPress using multiple ways.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When it comes to creating a staging website in WordPress then you get access to multiple ways using which you can create staging. Well, most of the WordPress website owners prefer to go with the hosting or with the plugin but one can also create staging sites manually. There are few popular WordPress hosting providers that offer one-click staging websites for users. If you are using one among them then it will become easy for you to create the staging site for your existing WordPress website without facing many difficulties.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n On the other hand, if your existing WordPress website is not using a hosting provider that comes with one click staging site creation then you can also make use of the other ways to create staging sites for your website. So let’s start with exploring how you can create a staging site for your website:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>If you are a WordPress user then you must be familiar with the importance of hosting on how it can make and break your business online reputation. Today every user that is planning to create a WordPress website selects a hosting provider by doing a lot of research and the first place they start with is \u201cGoogle\u201d. Their different blogs are available that can offer in-depth ideas on how to select the right hosting provider for your WordPress website along with the list of popular and widely used hosting providers by different WordPress websites.<\/span><\/p>\n There are popular hosting providers like WP Engine, SiteGround, Bluehost, and more that can help you to create the staging site within a few clicks. So let\u2019s start with exploring how you can create a staging site using a different hosting provider.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Wp Engine is one of the popular and widely used hosts for WordPress websites and ranked among the top 5 best WordPress hosting providers in the world. The hosting provider offers a bunch of features that make it the best managed to host for WordPress. If you are already using WP Engine then you must be aware that the hosting process takes care of some of the essential parts of your WordPress website like the updates, security, backups, and performance. That is the reason why it is considered the best managed to host for WordPress.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Using WP Engine you can create the staging website within one click. If you are using the WP engine or planning to use it for your WordPress website then this is how you can create the staging site for the live version of your WordPress website. To create a staging site with WP engine you can start by:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After you click on the button WP engine will create the staging site of your existing WordPress website. Well now you need to pay close attention, the staging website you have created will not contain any of your existing website content. To do that your need to go back to the same page where you created the staging website. Next, you need to switch to the production environment by selecting the production option placed in the left sidebar.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Next, you will find the <\/span>copy to button<\/b> on the right top of your screen right after the copy from the button. Once you click on the button you will be getting two options: click on the staging that will redirect you to the copy environment. There you are asked to select the backup point which you want to use in your staging site. If you are not aware of what to select in your WordPress website then we recommend you to go with the recent backup of your website.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Once you are done selecting the backup next you can click on the preview copy button. You will be getting a pop-up stating the information of your source website is getting copied to the staging environment. Click on the copy environment to proceed. Once you are done with that then you will be able to copy your live website to the staging website.<\/span><\/p>\n Now that you have made changes to your staging site next comes the important part that is transferring your changes from the staging site to the live website. Yoru can start by creating the backup of the changes you made in the staging site as well as your live website. To do that you need to go to the <\/span>WP Engine dashboard<\/b> and <\/span>click on the staging<\/b> and from the drop-down menu click on the<\/span> backup point<\/b>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Next, write the description of your backup and then click on the \u201cCreate Staging Backup\u201d button. Once you are done creating the backup you are ready to implement the changes in your live website. To do that you need to go back to the copy button in the top right corner of the screen and from there you need to select the \u201cproduction\u201d option.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After that again you will be asked to select the backup point (remember this time you are making it for your live website). Select the same name that you have saved earlier and then you will be getting a pop-up where you can select the copy environment button to reflect the same changes in your live website. Remember small mistakes can damage your website that is the reason why we recommended you consult with the <\/span>experienced WordPress web design company<\/span><\/a> for your business.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n By now you must have a good idea about how you can create a staging site with the help of WPengine. Next, we are going to highlight other people hosting providers called \u201cSiteground\u201d. It is another popular and widely used host that comes with different packages meant for all types of users starting to form an individual blogging website to the enterprise-level business WordPress website. So if you’re using SiteGround for your website then this is how you can set up a staging site in site ground.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After that, you will be able to find the staging manager where you can select the link to your staging admin area. Select that and start making changes in your staging site. Once you are done making changes to your staging site then next you can trade the changes into your live WordPress website by going back again to the staging page in the cPanel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You will be able to find an option called \u201cmanage staging copies\u201d next to the create staging copy button. Click on it to access the next screen where you will find another option called \u201cpush to the live\u201d click on it to push the changes you have made to your live WordPress website.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If your existing WordPress website is not offering you the desired amount of traffic and conversion then it\u2019s recommended to consult with a <\/span>highly reputed and experienced WordPress website design company<\/span><\/a> that can help you to create a <\/span>result-driven and user-centric design<\/span><\/a> that grabs user attention and encourages them to take action on your website.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Now that you have a good idea of how you create staging websites using hosts. Next, we will highlight how you can create a staging site using the WordPress plugin.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n
An overview of the WordPress staging website<\/b><\/h2>\n
What is a WordPress Staging Site?<\/b><\/h2>\n
Difference Between Development vs Staging vs Local Environment\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n
Local environment<\/b><\/h4>\n
Development environment<\/b><\/h4>\n
Staging environment<\/b><\/h4>\n
Live or Production environment<\/b><\/h4>\n
Why is it important to create a staging website?<\/b><\/h2>\n
1. Avoid Website downtime\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n
2. Act as the training ground<\/b><\/h3>\n
3. Showcase new feature to a higher authority\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n
4. Get a more detailed idea of problems<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
5. Avoid potential risk with third-party add-ons<\/b><\/h3>\n
How to create a staging site in WordPress?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
1. Create staging site using host<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2. Create staging site using WP Engine\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n
\n
Transfer from staging site to live website<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n
3. Create the staging with SiteGround<\/b><\/h3>\n
\n