Staging for WordPress? It seems everybody is concerned about the need to provide a staging platform for WordPress. But when it comes to selecting the correct staging solution, it is possible to get lost in a multitude of choices. We will talk about top WordPress staging plugins in this post.
A WordPress staging plugin helps you to create a replica atmosphere of your website to run experiments and try new ideas for those that are new to staging! You can meddle with something on a staging platform, make all sorts of improvements, and whatnot, without hurting the WordPress live website.
Since it can be a challenging job to find the best staging strategy, we’ve studied the solutions available on the market and done the homework for you. We’ve narrowed it down to the top five based on multiple criteria that we believe a staging approach can protect.
But let’s first get acquainted with the fundamentals before we go on to show our top choices.
BlogVault provides a one-click staging site in just a few minutes if you’re looking for a staging option for the WordPress blog. Download the addon and you’ll be able to build limitless staging sites instantly.
What is Staging and Why You Need It?
You’d know that making improvements doesn’t necessarily turn out the way you expect it to if you’ve got a WordPress account for long enough. You might see errors on your site after you make the update and post it.
If the plugin you have installed is incompatible with your WordPress edition, your site will break down. You obviously can not do so without disrupting the website and losing the layout as you try to change the theme.
Perhaps, on your home page, you might only want to change the style and photos and check out new ones. You would not like visitors to see the tests, even though it may not throw up a mistake.
This is where staging places for WordPress are helpful. It’s a replica of your website where you can do about whatever you want and none of it can effect your live website.
So while your guests and company will carry on as ordinary, everything looks natural, you have a replica sandbox to test improvements and try new stuff.
Things you can do with a staging environment
- By trying new themes, layouts, pictures, content, etc., improve your website. It helps you to check out various options for your website.
- Test WordPress updates-We understand that updates do not necessarily run seamlessly and will make the website elements incompatible. It’s best to verify the upgrade on a staging platform and then you can upgrade your live site until you know everything has turned out perfectly.
- Try new plugins: Plugins are also not consistent with the version of WordPress you are using. On your website, which will lead to mistakes. The best way forward is to instal them first on a staging site and check out its functionality.
- Test your backup copy-Backup copies sometimes do not work, in the sense that they can not be restored and instead display errors like a white screen. You should use a staging platform to rebuild the backup in order to see how it performs. This also helps you to learn how to recover a copy, so that when you do start to use it on the live server, you can be more trained.
A staging location helps you to reduce or completely eradicate downtime. Extreme consequences of making improvements such as crashes, malfunctions and damaged pages should be avoided.
In a staging plugin, must-have characteristics
You need to watch out for the following considerations when considering a staging solution:
- Ease of usage-Installation and use should be clear. It should take no longer than a few minutes for your staging site to build.
- Fast Process-No wonder, we don’t have all day when we run WordPress pages. It should be quick to instal a staging plugin and quick to build the platform.
- Safety– As with your live website, your staging site needs to be secured against hackers. You will be presented with choices such as password protection, SSL encryption which should be saved on a protected server by a successful staging solution.
- Reasonably priced-A location should be inexpensive for staging. An costly approach may prevent the use of a staging site by site owners.
- Merge options-Finally, and most notably, you should be able to merge the improvements to the live platform on the staging site. We will make lots of improvements when we use a test setting, and replicating them again on live sites can be boring. Staging tools are available that allow you to push the modifications to your live platform.
- Smart Staging-It duplicates the content when you create a staging platform. This will confuse and mark search engines as plagiarism. The website can automatically be shielded from search engine bots by a decent plugin or workaround so that it does not get crawled and indexed. The task of blocking emails and contacts to and from clients can also be done.
- Staging offsite: Staging a website on your own server would easily eat up money. This would make the website slow down. You may also face being terminated by your web hosting provider if you surpass the money allotted to your website. This is why there is definitely a need for offsite staging.
Top 5 Staging Plugins for WordPress
We’ve chosen the following WordPress Staging Plugins, based on the list above:
BlogVault
BlogVault is mainly a paid recovery plugin that provides the safest way for a website to be set up. Since your website is already frequently backed up, all it takes to set up a website is one click.
You get access to the recovery functionality along with free staging and security for WordPress when you instal the addon. You don’t need three different plugins any longer to get these features. From a single dashboard, BlogVault allows you access to it all.
What you’re having
- Fast and simple WordPress website design for staging
- Staging location secured by password
- Hosted on a stable server at BlogVault
- Choice to combine all or chosen Live Site Changes
- Dedicated Customer Service 24/7
- Help for large pages, different sites, and multi-site WordPress
- Suitable for all WordPress hosting enterprises.
You don’t need to think about the reliability of your staging site and storage costs while you use BlogVault’s staging solution, as it’s all taken care of for you.
PRICE
Free-staging backup plans launch at $7.4 a month (billed on an annual basis).
WP Staging
WP Staging is next on our list and helps you to clone the WordPress account. With the ability to transfer updates to the live site, it also provides one-click staging.
WP Staging helps developers across many websites to mirror an update. For agencies and developers that manage a portfolio of WordPress websites, this is particularly useful.
They say that your site will not be slowed down by the cloning process as it is designed for success. Your staging position will, though, remain on the server of your own website. This means it would use the resources of your own server and, whether you are using a pooled hosting plan or have very little resources, it could overwhelm your server.
What you’re having
- Phase of rapid cloning
- Support for big websites and multiple websites
- Copy from stage to live database and file (with the option to exclude the ones you don’t want)
- It can only be used by authorised users.
- No information is shared with any third-party
PRICE
One WordPress account you can clone for free. Paid plans start annually at $89.
Backup Buddy
Backup Buddy is a backup solution, similar to BlogVault, that also offers a staging feature. Using its deployment functionality, the plugin helps you to build a staging site. Between the live site and the staging site, you can push and pull updates back and forth.
You will use the plugin to make improvements to the servers, media files, themes, and active theme on your web.
The staging functionality is more sophisticated and could be more fitting for developers.
What you’re having
- Test modifications in a different setting
- Using two clicks, push and pull changes
- Automatic URL and path conversion
- Supports sluggish servers and huge files
- Minimises downtime
PRICE
Backup Buddy Goals launch at $52 a year.
WP StageCoach
A one-click configuration and deployment staging solution is provided by WP Stagecoach. Instead of overwriting them, it also helps you to integrate the database updates. This means that when you troubleshoot, you don’t miss new content changes or details.
It generates and stores the staging site offsite, which decreases the burden on your server. You won’t have to think about using cloud services on your website.
What you’re having
- Set-up with one-click
- Staging location secured by password
- Offsite storage that saves energy from your cloud
- Responsive service for customers
- Choice to merge files or datasets selectively
- All Hosts Compliant
Pricing
It starts at 12 dollars a month. If you’re not pleased with their offering, WP StageCoach gives a 100 per cent moneyback guarantee.
Duplicator
Duplicator is mainly a Migration and Backup plugin for WordPress, said to be basic, fast and efficient. For staging purposes, though, it may also be used.
When setting up staging sites for WordPress, the duplicator can be used manually by establishing a subdomain. You can copy configurations and information for your site to a staging site.
The reason we have placed this plugin at number 5 is that it needs to be used with a reasonable amount of technical expertise. It is not meant for beginners of WordPress or someone who does not know how to code.
So you can find it complex to manage and use until you download and instal it. But for developers, it is a nice choice.
What you’re having
- Larger sites and database support
- Link directly from the plugin to cPanel
- Professional assistance for customers as well as a network of help
- Creation of database and user in the installer
Pricing
The policies start at $59 annually.
Concluding thoughts: Finding the best Plugin for Staging
You need a staging plugin to handle and enhance your platform the correct way. This removes the risks involved with uploading WordPress pages and making improvements to them.
Based on your needs, the best staging approach for you is:
Many plugins give free trials if you’re new to this and looking for a free alternative. So before you vote to order it, you should try it out.
BlogVault staging is a hassle-free technique that anybody can use with a fast and easy-to-use plugin. For newcomers all the way to experienced WordPress creators, it’s perfect. With backup and protection, it comes incorporated. You may also use it to migrate, watch uptime and handle upgrades that offer a perfect all-round solution.
In showcasing the best plugins and helping you pick one for your needs, we hope this article has been useful.