How to Create a WordPress Staging Site

You can use a staging site to clone your live WordPress website and test updates before publishing them live. Creating a staging site prevents you from making errors or breaking your website. Any updates you make on your staging site will not affect your live website unless you publish your staging site to your live site. It allows you to improve your website without changing your current live website and customer experience.

• Create Staging Site
• Access Staging Site
• Publish Staging Site
• Remove Staging Site
• Use Plugins for Staging Site

Create Staging Site

Follow the steps given below to learn how to create a WordPress staging site:

1. Log in to your Account Manager via https://www.networksolutions.com/my-account/login.
    
2. Click on WordPress on the left side menu.
   
   
    
3. If you only have one WordPress package, you’ll be brought directly to your WordPress Control Panel. But if you’re handling several sites, just click Manage beside the one you want to open. For new setups, choose Setup first to finish the initial configuration. 
    
4. Once inside the WordPress Control Panel, click on Set up staging site to prompt the process.
   
   
    
5. You will then see a list of your live WordPress sites. Click on the Create Staging Site link for the site you want to duplicate.
   
    
6. You will then see a notification stating: “Your Staging Site is being created. Please allow up to 30 minutes for the creation to complete.”

You have successfully created a staging site.

Access Staging Site

To gain access to the staging site you have created, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your Account Manager via https://www.networksolutions.com/my-account/login.
    
2. Click on WordPress on the left side menu.
   
   
    
3. If you only have one WordPress package, you’ll be brought directly to your WordPress Control Panel. But if you’re handling several sites, just click Manage beside the one you want to open. For new setups, choose Setup first to finish the initial configuration.
    
4. Once inside the WordPress Control Panel, click on Set up staging site to prompt the process.
   
   
    
5. Click on the link under the Staging Admin Panel Login column, and you will be taken to a login page.
   
   
    
6. Type in your login credentials (Username or Email Address and Password), which are the same credentials you use for your live website. Then, hit Log In.
   
   
    
7. Once logged in, you can then make the necessary updates to your staging site before publishing them live on your website.
   
   

Note that your staging site works similarly to your production/live site.

Publish Staging Site

Follow these steps once you are ready to publish your staging site to your production/live site:

1. Within your WordPress Control Panel, click on Set up staging site to prompt the process.
   
   
    
2. Click on the Publish staging site to your live site link.
   
   
    
3. You will then see a notification stating: “We are copying the information from your site to your live site. This may take up to 30 minutes, depending on the size of your site.”

Please wait for the said timeframe and check your live website for the changes made.

Remove Staging Site

If you want to remove your staging site, follow these steps:

1. Within your WordPress Control Panel, click on Set up staging site to prompt the process.
   
   
    
2. Click on the Remove Staging site link.
   
   
    
3. Read the information in the pop-up that shows and click Continue to proceed with deleting your staging site.
   
   
    
4. You will see a notification stating: “Your WordPress stage was successfully removed. There is up to a 30-minute processing delay before you can see the changes.”

You have successfully removed your WordPress staging site.

Use Plugins for Staging Site

You also have the option to use plugins to create a WordPress staging site.

1. Access your staging site. If it is your first time accessing your staging site, see the instructions above.
    
2. Within your WordPress dashboard, click on Plugins, then select Add New.
   
   
3. Search for a plugin that will create a staging site for you. As an example, we will use WP Staging.
   
   
    
4. For further instructions on how to install and use this plugin, check out the WP Staging article. For more information about choosing the best plugins for your WordPress website, check out this WP support article.

Review

This guide has walked you through the complete lifecycle of our Site Staging tool. You've learned how to create a WordPress staging site for safe testing, how to access it, how to publish your changes to your live site, and finally, how to remove the staging environment when it's no longer needed. Using this tool is a best practice for maintaining a professional and stable website.