Create and deploy a WordPress staging website on Scaleway Web Hosting

• webhosting
• cpanel
• wordpress

A staging website mirrors your production website, containing identical data and files while remaining publicly inaccessible. Changes made on the staging website are isolated until being transferred to the production website after thorough checks from the design and development teams. Operating in the same environment as the production environment, it serves as an ideal testing ground.

Previously, setting up a staging website involved a convoluted and time-intensive process of data export, database creation, file copying, and configuration adjustment, followed by a reverse procedure for deployment. This complexity discouraged many WordPress users from using staging websites, favoring live edits instead. However, for WordPress websites hosted on Scaleway Web Hosting, powered by cPanel servers, the setup is simplified to just a few clicks.

Creating a staging website for your WordPress website is a smart move, allowing you to test changes before making them live. Use cases for staging websites include:

• Testing new landing pages.
• Developing or modifying themes.
• Implementing code changes to enhance functionality.
• Evaluating updates for compatibility issues.

Before you start

To complete the actions presented below, you must have:

• A Scaleway account logged into the console
• A Web Hosting account

Creating a WordPress staging website

1. Click Web Hosting in the Managed Services section of the console side menu. The Web Hosting overview page displays.
2. Click «More infos Icon» or the Web Hosting domain name you want to configure. The Hosting information page displays.
3. Click Control panel dashboard to open the cPanel interface in a new tab.
4. Log in to your cPanel account and navigate to the Domains section. Click WP Toolkit to display the WP Toolkit dashboard.
   
5. From the WP Toolkit dashboard, locate the website you want to work with and click on it to access detailed options.
6. Find and click the Clone tool within the detailed view. The clone interface displays.
   
7. Designate the subdomain and path for your staging website in the clone interface.
   Note

   You can either use an existing domain or let WP Toolkit create a new one for you. Additionally, you can customize the database name if needed.

8. You can add labels to distinguish staging websites from live ones. Click Add Label and choose an appropriate label from the drop-down menu. (This step is optional but recommended.)

Once the cloning process is complete, your staging website will be ready. You can access it through the main WP Toolkit interface alongside your other websites. Use your staging website to test changes, such as new features, themes, or code edits. Ensure everything works as expected before proceeding.

Deploying changes to production

After testing, it’s time to push the changes to your main website.

1. Go to the staging website’s WP Toolkit dashboard and click the Copy Data tool.

2. Select your production website from the drop-down menu in the Copy Data interface.
3. Choose which aspects of the website to transfer, including files, databases, and specific tables.
4. Choose whether to overwrite or delete production files affected by changes made on the staging website.
5. Click Start to proceed with the copying process.

Conclusion

With WP Toolkit’s clone and copy features, setting up a staging website and deploying changes becomes quick and straightforward. You can create a staging website in seconds and quickly push tested changes to your production website. This streamlined process ensures faster, safer, and more reliable WordPress workflows, crucial for agencies and businesses managing multiple WordPress websites.