How to Create a WordPress Clone / Staging Site
Updated 3 months ago
To create a private staging environment for our WordPress site, clone it, and run tests on our private copy, follow these instructions:
Go to WordPress Management
First, log in to cPanel and select WordPress Management on the left side of the dashboard.
Clone Installation
Find the installation you want to clone, then click Clone:
A window will open so you can specify where to create the clone. We recommend using a subdomain such as staging.domain.com or dev.domain.com, and that's it.
Enable maintenance mode
Once the process is complete, we recommend enabling the "Maintenance Mode" option to prevent the new site from being accessible to anonymous users, and show it only to logged-in administrators.
Disable plugins
We recommend keeping the following plugins disabled on the staging site so they don't interfere with the main site or send incorrect emails to customers, in case the site is for testing and you don't plan to move any changes to the main site later.
Google Analytics, Site Kit, or any other analytics plugin, to avoid skewing the main site's statistics.
Disable email sending with plugins such as FluentSMTP
Google or Facebook for WooCommerce, or any plugin that generates a feed, which won't be needed on the testing site
Copy changes to the main site
If we want to transfer the changes made on the staging site to the main site, we can use the "Copy Data" tool in WordPress Management:
