WooCommerce Staging: Complete Guide from Setup to Testing

Imagine customers facing errors while buying from your site and losing their orders. All this because a theme update failed.

Experimenting with changes on your live site can damage your store’s reputation and bottom line. It is like walking a tightrope without a safety net. You need a way to rigorously test everything, without putting your business or customers at risk.

Enter WooCommerce staging sites.

You’ve likely wondered, “What exactly is WooCommerce staging, and do I really need it?” How do you build it? Is it worth the effort of building one? We’re here to tell you that a staging site is essential to making sure your website is running smoothly.

A staging site is an exact copy of your store to test any changes safely. You can test changes and ensure everything works perfectly before deploying to your live site. No need to shut down your store or worry about minimizing downtime!

TL;DR: WooCommerce staging lets you test updates without risking your live store. But it can be complicated to manage. We recommend using BlogVault’s one-click staging for an easy and efficient solution.

Understand WooCommerce staging sites

A WooCommerce staging site is a replica of your live online store. It lets you test features, install updates, and debug issues without any disruptions to the live store. Think of it as a safety net that catches problems before they go live and affect your customers. And it is more than crucial when the stakes are high, like with a WooCommerce site that’s earning your revenue.

Option 1: Using a plugin for WooCommerce staging

Using a plugin like BlogVault to set up a staging site is one of the quickest and easiest ways to get started. BlogVault’s one-click staging solution makes the process seamless and effortless, even if you’re not a tech wizard.

Building a staging site

1. Start by signing up for an account on the BlogVault website.
2. Once logged in, add your WooCommerce site to the BlogVault dashboard. You’ll need to provide your admin credentials when prompted.
3. BlogVault will start syncing your site and automatically create backups during this process. This ensures that you have a safety net in case anything goes wrong.
4. Scroll down to the Staging section on your BlogVault dashboard.
5. Click Add Staging and let the platform set up your staging site.

6. Choose the appropriate PHP version and backup version.

7. Click Continue to create your staging site.

Once the staging site is ready, you will receive all the credentials for the staging site. These credentials are required as the staging site is password-protected. 

Testing on the staging site

Testing on the wp-admin panel

1. Navigate to the Staging section of the BlogVault dashboard.
2. Click WP-ADMIN to log in to the staging site.

You’re now in your WooCommerce staging environment. Make any changes, test new plugins, or update themes without affecting your live store.

Testing using FTP

1. Find the Staging section of the BlogVault dashboard.
2. Click Details.
3. On the right you will see a panel with the FTP or SFTP credentials. Use these credentials to access your site files, via an FTP client like Cyberduck. 

Modify the database

1. Click Details in the staging section of the BlogVault dashboard.
2. In the top right corner, click php.

You will be redirected to the phpMyAdmin dashboard for your site’s database. 

Replicate steps on the live site

Once you have ensured all your changes work perfectly, it’s time to get them over to the live site. 

A WooCommerce site is dynamic. Orders are being placed. Transactions are occuring. The inventory is being updated. Pushing changes to the live site will overwrite any order or transactions made in between. Orders will get lost in the aftermath. That’s why you shouldn’t use the Merge option blindly.

The recommended method is to replicate the steps you took on the staging site, on the live site. Let’s say you updated Elementor on the staging site and it failed because of a plugin conflict. On the live site, you can proactively deactivate the problematic plugin and update Elementor safely. 

Note: It is often recommended to put the site in maintenance mode and then click Merge. However, this involves some downtime. So, we don’t recommend it. 

Option 2: Using a web host for WooCommerce staging

A good web host will offer staging options as well. It will be created on the same server as your WordPress site. It’s far easier than doing it manually but not as efficient as using BlogVault because it takes up server resources. 

For the sake of this article, we’re using Cloudways. But, other web hosts like Kinsta and WP Engine have their own documentation. 

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to use Cloudways to build a staging site, test on it, and merge it with your live site.

Building the staging site

1. Go to the Cloudways website and log in using your credentials.
2. From the dashboard, select the server where your WooCommerce site is hosted.
3. Click the www icon and click on the application you want to select.
4. On the top right, click Quick Actions.
5. Click Clone app/Create Staging.

6. Select server and click Create as staging.

Give it a few minutes and a new application will be created called Staging – (insert name of application) For example, our test site was called BlogSite. The staging site was called Staging – BlogSite.

Testing on the staging site

Now that the staging site is ready, it’s time to make changes and test them without affecting your live store.

1. Click Applications in the sidebar.
2. Select the staging site from the applications available.
3. You will find separate access credentials for the password protected site.

Make changes on the wp-admin panel

1. Click the application URL.

2. In the address bar, to the URL, add: wp-login.php/.
3. The credentials are the same as the live site.

You can now make changes to the staging site like updating plugins or testing a new theme. 

Make changes using FTP

Like the actual live site, you will need to create the SFTP credentials, if there aren’t any. You can find the credentials at the bottom of the Access Details page. 

Modify staging site database

Click Launch Database Manager on the Access Details page. This will redirect you to the database tables that you can then modify. 

Merging the test site with the live site

Cloudways offers a Copy Data from Staging to Live feature. This can be safe for a static site like a portfolio site. But, a WooCommerce site is far more dynamic and you run the risk of losing a transaction or order. This is why we recommend that you just replicate the steps you took on the staging site, onto the live site. Yes, it’s more time-consuming but it’s safer. 

If you would rather use the Copy Data from Staging to Live feature, we recommend that you backup your live site and put it on maintenance mode before making any changes.

1. Take a full backup of your live and staging site.
2. Put the live site in maintenance mode.
3. Then, log in to the Cloudways account.
4. Click Applications in the sidebar.
5. Click the right application.
6. Then, click Staging Management in the left pane. 
7. Click Push in the Copy Data from Staging to Live section.

8. Select the files or database that you want to push to the live site.
9. During our testing, we also selected the option to take a backup of the live site.

10. Once it’s done, remove the live site from maintenance mode.
11. Check all pages, links, forms, etc. to ensure that everything went well.

Note: Putting the live site into maintenance mode will cause some downtime. This is why we do not recommend it. But, if you made a huge change to your site design that will be time-consuming to replicate, you should use it. 

Option 3: Build a staging site manually

Creating a staging site manually may seem like a daunting task, but it allows for complete control over the environment. For this section, you will need to build a copy of your site that is hosted separately from your live site. An easy way to do this is to export a full backup of your site and import it on a different hosting environment.

For this method, you will need local hosting software like Local by Flywheel or DevKinsta. We are using Local to do it. 

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to set up a staging site manually by creating a duplicate site on your local host:

Building the staging site

1. Take a full backup and download it to your system in the form of a zip file.
2. Click Create a Site in your local hosting software.
3. Choose the option to import an existing site from a zip file.

4. Pick the Custom option and configure the site to have the same server configuration as your live site.

5. Upload the zip file of your backed up site.
6. Configure the database settings to match those of your exported site. Local will guide you through this process.

You will be asked to create admin panel credentials. Whatever you create, make note of them somewhere safe. You will not be able to find them later on the Local dashboard. 

Testing on the staging site

Using wp-admin panel

On the Local dashboard, click WP Admin on the top right. This will take you to the dashboard. You can now make changes like updating a plugin. 

Using the Local dashboard

There is a Database tab that takes you to Adminer, the database manager, This is where you can modify tables. Files can be modified on your device. Click Go to Site folder and you will be redirected to your root folder.

Merging the staging site with the live site

When you’re satisfied that everything works perfectly on the staging site, there are now a few ways to push these changes to the live site. But, first take a complete backup of your live site. This is because pushing changes blindly can overwrite any orders created or inventory changes that occurred in between. A backup gives you something to fall back on if this happens.

Yes. This also means that we do not recommend you deploy the staging site to your live WooCommerce site. Instead, we recommend that you replicate the changes you made to the live site. 

But, if you want to deploy the changes to a live site, here are the steps:

1. Take a complete backup of your live site, including both files and databases.
2. Put the live site in maintenance mode.
3. Export all your files and database tables from the staging environment.
4. Then, import the files like you would in a manual restore, using an FTP client like Cyberduck.
5. Similarly, import the database tables to your live site as well.
6. Take the live site out of maintenance mode.
7. Check if all your pages, forms, etc. are working fine.

Note: This method is very risky and even a small mistake can crash your site. This is why we recommend you use one of the other two methods. Additionally, this method also causes site downtime because you have to use the maintenance mode. So, we cannot, in good faith, recommend this method unless you have the technical know-how. 

When to use WooCommerce staging?

Maintaining a WooCommerce store involves continual updates and optimizations, each posing the risk of unintended disruptions if applied directly to the live site. A WooCommerce test site becomes very important to reduce the risks to your live site. So, what can you do with a s staging website? Here’s a breakdown of wduifferent scenarios:

1. Testing updates: Plugins, themes, and core need to be regularly updated. But, sometimes, updates can fail and crash your site. This is why testing the update on a staging site is crucial for safe updates.
2. Design customization: If you want to significantly alter the look and feel of your site, the staging environment becomes crucial. Use it to try different customizations and CSS modifications without affecting the live store’s design.
3. Bug fixes: Identifying and fixing bugs is a routine aspect of managing an online store. Apply and confirm all bug fixes in your staging environment to ensure that troubleshooting doesn’t cause more problems to the live site.
4. Performance optimization: Optimizations such as improving site speed or database performance should be tested in a staging site. This allows you to monitor the impact of changes without affecting the user experience on your live site.
   
   Pro tip: You can use Airlift to optimize your site’s performance smoothly and easily. 
   
5. Feature additions: Before introducing new features, they should be thoroughly tested in a staging environment. This ensures new functionalities work as intended.
6. Content updates: Large-scale content updates, such as adding new product listings, blog posts, or page content, can be reviewed in a staging environment. This ensures consistency and quality before public release.
7. Security testing: Any changes related to security improvements, such as installing new security plugins or modifying access controls, should be validated on the staging site. This helps to prevent exposing your live site to potential vulnerabilities during the testing phase.
8. Backup restoration: Test backup restoration processes in a staging environment to prepare for potential data loss scenarios. Ensuring your backup methods work as intended can save you from catastrophic data loss down the line.

Note: If you’re looking to test payment gateways, they have their own sandbox to test in. You can also find fake card credentials to test. 

Best practices for WooCommerce staging

Implementing best practices for your WooCommerce staging environment ensures a smooth and secure transition of updates to your live site. Here’s a comprehensive list of best practices to follow:

• Keep backups of your staging site. This allows you to revert changes easily if something goes wrong during testing.
• Limit access to authorized personnel. This minimizes the risk of unauthorized changes and ensures only qualified individuals are involved in the testing process.
• Use HTTPS if your production site uses it. This ensures consistency and allows you to catch any issues related to SSL certificates during testing.
• Ensure sufficient resources. This includes CPU, RAM, and storage, ensuring your tests are conducted under similar conditions as the live site.
• Keep a detailed log of changes. This helps in tracking what was tested and provides a reference for future updates or troubleshooting.
• Use separate hosting environments. This isolation ensures that testing on the staging site does not impact the performance or stability of the production site.
• Use a separate database. This prevents accidental data corruption or loss in the live environment when testing database-related changes.
• Conduct regular audits. Periodic reviews help in identifying any gaps or areas for improvement, ensuring your staging environment remains effective and secure.
• Disable email and other communications: Ensure that your staging environment does not send out emails, notifications, or any form of communication to users. This prevents confusion and ensures that any testing or updates in the staging environment do not mistakenly reach your actual users.
• Restrict access to the public: Your staging site should be protected and not accessible to the general public. This ensures that only authorized personnel have access to it.
• Prevent search engine indexing: To avoid duplicate content issues and the inadvertent indexing of your staging site by search engines like Google, you must implement measures to block web crawlers.

Best way to manage WooCommerce staging

Managing a staging site for WooCommerce can be particularly challenging due to the dynamic nature of e-commerce stores. Unlike static websites, WooCommerce sites involve continuously changing data such as customer orders, inventory updates, and user accounts. This complexity demands a reliable and efficient staging solution to ensure that updates and changes don’t disrupt your live store. BlogVault is that solution you are looking for. 

• One-click staging setup: One of BlogVault’s standout features is its one-click staging setup. With just a single click, you can create a fully functional staging site that mirrors your live site exactly. This removes the need for complicated manual setups, making it accessible even for beginners. Simply log into your BlogVault account, click Add Staging, and you’ll have a staging environment ready for testing in no time.
• Secure and isolated environment: Your staging site created via BlogVault is secure and isolated from your live site. This ensures that any changes or experiments you conduct in the staging environment do not affect your live site’s performance or data integrity. BlogVault also provides an SSL-secured environment to ensure that your testing processes are safe and contained. It is also hosted on their own servers. So, your live site’s performance isn’t impacted. It also protects the staging site using passwords. 
• Automatic backups: At its core, BlogVault is a backup plugin. It automatically takes backups of your live site daily. So, even if something goes wrong when you push changes to your live site, you can restore it in one click. 

Final thoughts

Manually creating a staging site for your WooCommerce store is not only time-consuming but also prone to errors and inconsistencies. It requires a high level of technical expertise to set up, maintain, and synchronize it with your live site. This complexity can lead to potential data loss, security vulnerabilities, and operational downtime—issues that could seriously harm your business and customer experience.

Using BlogVault simplifies the entire process. BlogVault offers secure staging environments that can be built in one-click. They offer an easy workflow for applying changes. This all-in-one solution ensures your WooCommerce updates are tested and deployed seamlessly, minimizing risk and maximizing efficiency. By choosing BlogVault, you can focus on growing your business rather than worrying about the technical challenges of staging site management.

FAQs

What is a WooCommerce staging site?

A WooCommerce staging site is a duplicate of your live WooCommerce store created for testing changes, updates, and new features in a secure, isolated environment. This ensures any modifications do not impact the live site’s performance or functionality until they’re fully vetted.

Why should I use a staging site for WooCommerce?

Using a staging site for WooCommerce allows you to test updates, new features, and bug fixes without risking disruptions to your live store. It helps identify and resolve issues in a controlled environment, ensuring a seamless experience for your customers on the live site.

How do I create a staging site for WooCommerce?

You can create a staging site for WooCommerce using plugins like BlogVault, which offers a one-click staging setup. You can also create one manually by exporting your site’s files and database and setting it up on a local host using software like Local or DevKinsta.

What are the best plugins for WooCommerce staging?

The best plugin for WooCommerce staging is BlogVault. They simplify the process of creating, managing, and merging staging environments with your live site. For starters, you can create a staging in one click. 

How do I move changes from staging to live in WooCommerce?

To move changes from staging to live in WooCommerce, you can use the Merge feature provided by staging plugins like BlogVault. For dynamic data-sensitive sites, it’s recommended to manually replicate the tested changes on the live site to avoid data loss or conflicts.

Can I create a WooCommerce staging site without a plugin?

Yes, you can create a WooCommerce staging site without a plugin by manually exporting your live site’s files and database, and then setting it up on a local host using software like Local by Flywheel or DevKinsta. However, this process is more complex and time-consuming.

How much does it cost to set up a WooCommerce staging environment?

The cost of setting up a WooCommerce staging environment varies depending on the method and tools you use. Plugins like BlogVault typically offer subscription plans, while manual setups may require paid local host software or additional hosting resources.

What happens to WooCommerce Subscriptions in a staging site?

WooCommerce Subscriptions logs the URL where it’s first activated as the live site and runs in live mode. If the URL changes, it switches to staging mode. To test Subscriptions on a staging site, activate it first on the live site, then create the staging site from the live site’s database. This ensures it runs in the correct mode for testing.