What is a staging site?
A staging site is a copy of your website where changes are tested. Only what you have approved goes onto the live website.
- First on the copyWhy you see a change on a copy first
- Protected addressWho can see the staging address and who cannot
- Risk without stagingWhat happens when work is done without staging
What goes onto the copy first and what does not
Whether a change is made on the copy first or directly on the website comes down to one question.
- New subpage, new form
- Layout or design change
- New feature or new plugin
- Theme update with visible effects
- Clear text change: "change X to Y"
- Purely technical setting
- Outageimmediately
- Legal notice, privacyimmediately
- Shop pricesonce confirmed
- Database object cacheclear
- The website's cache pluginclear
- The host's cacheclear
- Delivery network (CDN)clear
- Browserclear
What happens when work is done without staging
A check on the copy takes 15 to 30 minutes, a repair on the live website often takes hours. These three cases turned into fixed rules:
- 1 Plugin update straight on live: home page broken for four hoursSince then, anything visible goes to staging.
- 2 Clean on the copy, a broken layout on liveSince then, we clear every cache and check in a fresh browser.
- 3 Texts kept being edited on the copy, not liveSince then, every copy is frozen or deleted.
Cases from our work, treated confidentially.
Who does what for a change and when it goes live
Even after the check on the copy, something can come up during the transfer. That is why changes only go live at certain times.
- Not on Friday afternoons, not before public holidays
- Not during your sales peaks
- If something does come up, we are there
Matters of taste such as colors, spacing, image choice and layout are yours to decide at approval.
- 1 Set up copy, with passwordus
- 2 Change on the copyus
- 3 Link, access, screenshotus
- 4 Review, refineYou and us
- 5 ApprovalYou
- 6 Backup, then transferus
- 7 Clear cache, check freshus
- 8 Confirmation, freeze copyus
Questions clients ask about staging
Why can't I see the change on my website yet?
The change is still on the copy. We only transfer it to your website after your approval. You can see how far along it is in your customer area.
Who can see the staging address?
Only someone with the address and password can get in. We send you both with the link for review.
Why do you need my approval for a small change?
Even small changes to colors, spacing or images are a matter of taste. The result should look the way you want it.
Can I test forms and orders on the copy?
Test orders on the copy are not real orders. The live shop is not affected by them.
Can you set up WordPress staging for free?
Many WordPress hosts offer staging in their customer panel at no extra charge. Free plugins create the copy, but pushing it to the live website is usually only in the paid version. Doing it by hand only costs time.
What is the difference between staging and a backup?
A staging site is a working copy where you try out changes. A backup is a saved version you use to bring back an earlier state. So you still need a backup before every transfer from staging.
Is a local copy on my own computer enough?
A local copy runs only on your computer and suits development. A staging site sits on a server with the same settings as the live website. It shows errors that never appear locally, and others can look at the result.
What happens to the copy after the transfer?
After the transfer we freeze the copy or delete it. If work continues on an old copy, it quickly drifts away from the live website. The next transfer would then overwrite newer content.