How to Create a WordPress Staging Site (3 Ways)

Making changes to your WordPress website can be scary. Because it could break your site. Even small changes, like tweaking a design or updating WordPress, can sometimes mess things up.

That’s why you need a WordPress staging site. It’s like a test version of your website. You can use it to try out changes safely without affecting the real site. Then merge the changes with your live site.

If you're wondering how to create a staging site, no worries. In this step-by-step tutorial, we'll show you how to create a WordPress staging site in 3 different methods:

• Using web hosting
• Using a plugin
• Manual staging site creation

Excited to explore more? Awesome, let's get started!

What is a WordPress Staging Site?

Before jumping into the main tutorial, let us tell you what a WordPress staging site is!

A WordPress staging site is a private copy of your website where you can test changes safely. It’s like a sandbox environment where you can try out updates, new & popular WordPress plugins, or design tweaks without affecting your live site.

This staging site looks and works just like your actual website, but it’s hidden from visitors and search engines.

Only you (or your team) can see it. Once you’ve tested the changes and made sure everything works perfectly, you can apply those changes to your live site.

Why Do You Need to Create a WordPress Staging Site?

Running a WordPress website means making changes from time to time. It could be updating plugins, installing new themes, or adding custom code.

But here's the thing, even a small mistake can crash your site. It can make your site inaccessible to your visitors. That’s where a staging site becomes your best friend.

Here’s why you need one:

(i) Safe Testing Environment

A staging site gives you a private space to try out changes. You can experiment with new plugins, test different layouts, or troubleshoot bugs without risking your live site.

(ii) Prevent Downtime

Imagine your website breaking while your visitors are using it – frustrating, right? A staging site ensures that all updates are tested and polished before going live, so your users never experience downtime.

(iii) Avoid Costly Mistakes

Sometimes, an update might cause conflicts between plugins or themes. Testing in a staging environment helps you spot and fix these issues early which saves you from big headaches (and potential losses).

(iv) Stress-Free Updates

WordPress updates are essential for security and performance. With a staging site, you can test these updates first to ensure they won’t break anything before applying them to the live site.

Method 01: How to Create a WordPress Staging Site Using Web Hosting 

Now we are going to show you how to create a WordPress staging site using your web hosting. We are going to use-

• Hostinger and
• Bluehost

To prepare this segment. Let's get into the details!

I. Create a Staging Site for WordPress Using Hostinger

Hostinger provides one of the most convenient ways to create a staging site. Follow these steps if you're a Hostinger user to get your job done:

• Log in to your Hostinger account which is also known as hPanel.
• Click on the Websites option and choose which website you want to create a staging for (if you have multiple websites running using the same hosting service).
• Then click on the Dashboard option.

• You'll be redirected to a new interface. From this screen, navigate to WordPress -> Staging -> Create Staging.

• Insert a subdomain name and hit the Create button. It'll take up to 15 minutes to complete the process. Hit the Close button to dismiss the confirmation message.

• Once done, scroll down to the staging site list and click Manage staging next to the newly created environment.

• In the staging dashboard, select Staging Admin Panel to access the WordPress admin area and start making changes.

Congratulations! You have successfully created a staging website for your WordPress site.

How to Deploy the Changes to the Live Site

After making all the necessary changes, follow these steps to deploy them to the live website:

• On the staging site list, click the three dots icon next to the recently modified staging site and hit Publish.
• Read the disclaimer and hit Publish to confirm. The process may take around 15 minutes to complete.

Note: Hostinger automatically backs up your entire WordPress website. Click the three dots icon and hit Revert to roll back to the pre-staging version if needed.

II. Create a Staging Site for WordPress Using Bluehost

Bluehost offers the easiest way to create a staging site. Follow these steps to create a staging site for you if you are a Bluehost user:

• Log in to your WordPress site and then navigate to Bluehost -> Staging in the admin panel.
• Click on Create Staging Site.

• It will take a few moments to create your staging site. Once done, hit the “Go To Staging Site” button to log in to your staging site.

Once you click the Go To Staging Site button, you’ll be redirected to the staging site where you can make any changes that you’d like to your site while the live version is visible to your users.

After making your changes, Bluehost makes it easy to deploy your staging site to overwrite your live site. There are a few options for you to choose from. Deploy Files Only, Deploy Files & Database, or Deploy Database Only. Choose your option and click the corresponding button.

The process may take a few minutes depending on the size of your site and its contents. Once the process is completed, you have successfully deployed your staging site to production, overwriting your live site. 

Method 02: How to Create a WordPress Staging Site Using a Plugin 

You can easily create a WordPress staging site using a plugin. There are several plugins to get this job done. However, for this tutorial, we are going to use-

• WP Staging plugin and
• WPvivid Backup & Migration

Let's get started with the WP Staging Plugin!

I. Create a Staging Site for WordPress Using WP Staging Plugin

WP Staging plugin is one of the most popular plugins in this category. It's an all-in-one backup, staging, and duplicator plugin. Now let's check how you can create a WordPress staging site using the WP Staging plugin!

• First, you need to install and activate the WP Staging plugin. To install the plugin, go to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to Plugins -> Add New Plugin. Then type the plugin name, install, and activate the plugin.

• After activating the plugin, you'll get a new option on your left sidebar named “WP Staging“. Now from this interface, click on the “Create Staging Site” button.

• From this interface, you need to insert your staging site name though it's not mandatory. If you do not enter the name, a random digit value will be assigned instead. For more advanced uses, you can also choose to only clone certain files or database tables.

Note: Do not forget to “Check free disk space“, especially if you have a large live website.

• After hitting the Start Cloning button, it might take a few minutes to complete the full process depending on the size of your website.

• Once it’s finished, you can access your staging site by logging in with your site credentials. Then, you’re free to start testing!

• You’ll always be able to tell when you’re on your staging site by looking at the orange admin bar.

Note: Only users with admin accounts can access your staging site. Neither Google nor your website visitors will be able to view it.

II. Create a Staging Site for WordPress Using the WPvivid Backup & Migration Plugin

WPvivid is another popular staging plugin that you can use to take backups and migrate your site with ease. Let's check how you can create a staging site for your WordPress website using the WPvivid plugin.

• Go to Plugins -> Add New Plugin to install and activate the WPvivid plugin.

• After activating the plugin, navigate to WPvivid Backup -> Staging, and hit the “Create A Staging Site” button.

Note: It's recommended to temporarily deactivate cache plugins before creating a staging site to rule out possibilities of unknown failures.

• First, select a directory where the staging site will be saved under your WordPress installation, and name the staging directory, which is also the staging site’s name.

If you're using the free plugin, you can't use the subdomain feature to create your staging site.

• Next, choose a database for the staging site and name the staging table prefix.

Next, you can customize the content on the live site that you wish to copy to the staging site.

• By default, the plugin will copy the entire database and WordPress files to the staging site, however, you do have the option to exclude certain tables or files/folders that you don’t want to copy:
• To exclude tables, expand the option ‘Database Will Be Copied’ and deselect tables that you don’t want to copy.

However, you can't exclude files or folders using the free version of this plugin.

• Once you are done with the configuration, click the Create Now button to start creating the staging site.

• Once done, head to the Staging Sites tab where all your staging sites are displayed.
• You can then log in to the staging site’s admin area from the login URL showing in the list, your login credentials for your staging site’s WordPress dashboard will be the same as your live site’s.

• You’ll always be able to tell when you’re on your staging site by looking at the orange admin bar.

Method 03: How to Create a WordPress Staging Site Manually

If you are more of a technical person, you can use this method to create your staging site. Follow the below steps to get your job done!

Step 01: Create a Subdomain

• Log in to your cPanel.
• Navigate to Domain/Subdomain to create a subdomain.

Your cPanel might be styled differently, but the actual options should be the same.

• Create a subdomain by giving it a name and then hit the “ADD SUBDOMAIN” option.

You have successfully created a subdomain for your staging site.

Step 02: Copy All Your Site Files to Subdomain

• Now navigate to File Manager -> public_html and copy all the files.
• Paste these files into the folder corresponding to your new subdomain (e.g., public_html/staging/).
• You can also set a new path while copying all the files to easily copy and paste files to the new destination.

Step 03: Create a Database for Staging Site

• Then go to phpMyAdmin and select your live site’s database.
• Go to the Export section and click the Export button and save the file to your computer.

• Create a new database for your staging site by going to MySQL Databases, Databases, or MySQL Database Wizard in cPanel.

• After creating the new database, go to the phpMyAdmin again and select the newly created database.
• Go to the Import tab, upload the downloaded database file, and hit the Import button.

Now, your staging site has a copy of your live site’s database.

Step 04: Update the Database Connection

• In the File Manager, locate the wp-config.php file in your staging site’s directory.
• Edit the file to update the database name, username, and password to match the new staging database you just created.
• Save the changes.

Your staging site is now connected to its own database, separate from the live site.

Step 05: Ensure the Separate URL for the Staging Site

• Go back to phpMyAdmin and select the staging site’s database.
• Find the options table.

• Update the siteurl and home fields to reflect the new subdomain (e.g., https://staging.yourwebsite.com).

Now, your staging site will use the subdomain URL instead of the live site URL, ensuring there’s no overlap between the two environments.

Step 06: Push Changes to Your Live Site

If you set up your staging site manually, you’ll need to copy WordPress files and export/import databases from the staging environment back to the live site. This can be done through the cPanel’s File Manager and phpMyAdmin tools that we've just shown above.

How to Create a WordPress Staging Site – Ending Note

A WordPress staging site is necessary if you are serious about your site. It gives you a safe space to test updates, fix problems, and try out new features without worrying about breaking your live site.

Setting up a staging site might feel like an extra step, but it saves you time, stress, and potential headaches in the long run. Plus, it helps you keep your website running smoothly for your visitors.

Want to create a child theme for your website? Check our beginner's guide to create a child theme for a WordPress website!

Now if you have any queries related to the WordPress staging site or face any complications while creating a staging site, feel free to share them with us using the comment box below. We would love to help you out. Happy staging!