Creating a WordPress development environment

It can be helpful to test new templates, plugins, or updates on a copy of your website (a staging environment) before installing them on your live site.

CREATING A STAGING ENVIRONMENT

Follow these steps to create a staging environment for your WordPress website:

1. Log in to My Hosting
2. Click on ‘Services’.
3. Select the appropriate subscription.
4. Click on ‘Login to Plesk Control Panel’.
5. Click on ‘Applications’.
6. Click on the name of your website.
7. Expand the website section.
8. Click on ‘Clone’.

A pop-up will appear where you can modify the subdomain and database name. Once you are satisfied with the settings, click ‘Start’ to begin the process. After a few minutes, the process will complete, and your website copy will be ready for use.

Note: If you cannot log in or reach the page, you may need to create the subdomain in your DNS settings. Log in to your domain name provider and create a CNAME for your subdomain, pointing it to your hosting package’s server address (find your server address here). For example, create a CNAME for staging.janjansen.nl with the target web101.shared.hosting-login.net.

COPYING DATA

Do you want to copy changes made in this staging environment to another website? Follow the steps in our guide on copying data from a WordPress development environment.