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How To Create A Staging Website With Installatron
Creating a staging website for your WordPress site can be an excellent way to test new features, updates, or design changes before implementing them on your live site. If your web hosting plan includes Installatron (which ours all do), the process becomes even more straightforward.
Installatron is a fantastic tool to assist with managing your WordPress installations and can make the process of updating your WordPress website less stressful.
Step 1: Access Your cPanel Account & Locate Installatron
First, log into your hosting account. Then look for the Installatron Applications Installer. It’s usually found under the ‘Software’ section. You can also click on the ‘Applications’ menu item on the side bar.
Step 2: Find Your WordPress Installation
Within Installatron, you’ll see a list of all your installed applications. Find the existing WordPress installation on the domain that you wish to clone. If you can’t find your website, ask your web host to help you import it into Installatron.
Step 3: Clone Your WordPress Site
Next to your WordPress installation, you’ll find several options. Click on the clone icon, which typically looks like two overlapping squares. Next you’ll need to configure the cloned website settings. This involves choosing your domain, directory, database, and other settings. It’s important to check the box ‘Create a staging website’. You can typically let Installtron automatically manage the database and settings unless you have advanced requirements in this stage.
Step 4: Configure Your Staging Website
After a short amount of time, your website will be cloned and it should have some ‘grey bars’ indicating it is a ‘staging’ website. You should be able to access your staging website through the /wp-admin with the same username and password as your live site.
Once logged in, make sure to scroll down to the settings tab, and select: Discourage search engines from indexing this website. Although WordPress states this doesn’t guarantee your staging website won’t get indexed, but it definitely helps by selecting it anyway.
Step 5: Turn On Maintenance Mode
Turning on Maintenance mode is an additional feature that can help prevent your website from being indexed as duplicate content by search engines.
Syncing The Staging Website With The Live Website
The staging feature is particularly useful when you’re planning significant changes to your website such as implementing a new theme, adding new plugins, or making major updates to your content. With Installatron, you can sync your staging domain with your live domain with a couple of clicks.
You may want to use it when you’re redesigning your website or adding new functionality that could potentially affect the user experience or the site’s performance. By testing these changes on a staging site first, you can identify and resolve any issues before they affect your live site.
On the other hand, for minor content changes, like fixing a typo, updating a single image, or making slight adjustments to a page’s layout, you may not need to use the staging feature. These changes can often be safely made directly on the live site, as they are unlikely to cause major disruptions.
Remember, though, that whenever you’re unsure about the potential impact of a change, it’s best to mitigate your risks and use the staging feature.
Does This Staging Tool Work For WooCommerce & Membership WordPress Websites?
Yes, the staging tool works for both WooCommerce and Membership WordPress websites. However, we don’t recommend syncing the cloned website with your live site unless you have a good understanding of how to migrate your WooCommerce or membership data. Incorrect migration could potentially lead to data loss or corruption. So, proceed with caution and take a backup of your data before you begin the migration process.
We hope this guide has given you a better understanding of how to use the Installatron feature within your cPanel account.
Please note: Web hosting providers can customise the appearance and functionality of cPanel and Installatron within your hosting account, so these steps might look slightly different for you if you’re not hosted by Service Pod. We recommend contacting your web host for guidance on how their tools work or submit a support request and our team will be able to assist you!
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