MWP - Domains & Website Setup - How to create a staging website

Access your Managed WordPress dashboard.

Use the Manage Website button on the right had side of the website you wish to create a staging site for. 

On the overview page, you will have the option for Staging Tool on the top right of the screen.

Once clicked, a pop up will appear with 2 options:

• Anyone can view my website – this allows for the staging site to be publicly visible via the website address link
• Password protect my website – this will allow you to set up a username and password for the staging site, which will be required if anyone wants or needs to view the staging site 

 
Once one of the 2 options has been selected, you can click the continue button and the system will create a clone of the selected website and redirect you to the staging site section.

In there you will have the same overview page with the general options to access the WP dashboard and manage the site.

When you are happy with the staging site and wish to push the changes to the main site, you can use the Publish option on the top right corner.

The Publish Website window will appear. You must select the publication options for your website’s files and database tables. 

File options 

The system selects the WordPress files, including the core, theme, and plugin files. and Replace modified WordPress files (even if they are older) options by default. We recommend this option.

If you select Remove WordPress files from the production site that do not exist on the staging site, the system will only remove files under WordPress subdirectories, like wp-admin, wp-content, and wp-includes. It will not remove the files in the user’s document root. 

Database options 

The system selects the Database and All database tables except pages, posts, and users options by default. We select All database tables except pages, posts, and users to avoid overwriting important changes on the production site. For example, if you add new blog posts to production after creating the staging site, selecting All database tables would overwrite these posts. By choosing All database tables except pages, posts, and users, we keep the new blog posts safe.

Note:

If you select Files, including the core, theme, and plugin files, but uncheck Database or choose New database tables only, the following will happen when you publish to production:

• The system will copy plugins and theme files from the staging website to the production website.
• New plugins or themes added to the staging site will appear in production but remain deactivated by default. 

 

Sync to your production website

Synching your staging website with your production website will overwrite your staging website with your current production website. This is useful for keeping your staging website up-to-date with your production website so that you don’t overwrite authorized third-party changes when you publish. For example, if you hired a UX developer to improve your website’s checkout experience, then published a change from your staging website without synching the UX developer’s changes first, you could overwrite their UX improvements.

To sync your staging website with your production website, click the Sync icon at the top of the Site Overviewfor your staging website.

The Sync from production site? menu will appear. Click Sync to overwrite your staging website with your production website.

How to return to your staging website.

Once you have created a staging website, you can return to it and test new features.

To manage your staging website, perform the following steps:

• From the Website Dashboard, click the down arrow next to the desired website. The staging website will appear.
• Click the Manage website icon to get to the Site Overview.