Create a staging (cloned) website
⚠️ Important Considerations:
– A staging website is a clone of a live website that is used for testing and development purposes.
– The staging tool in the WordPress Manager is only available for WordPress websites. However, to stage a website using the WordPress Manager staging tool, your hosting account must not exceed 2GB in total size.
– To stage a website for accounts that exceed 2GB, or non-WordPress websites, there is an option to use a WordPress plugin or simply consult with a website developer.
– Staging a WordPress website built with the Oxygen Builder, Elementor, or any other WordPress builder and/or plugin that stores website components, including images, CSS, links, or any other aspect of the website in files instead of a database will result in discrepancies between the original website and the staged copy. If this happens, please consult with a WordPress website developer.
– Staging websites are a complimentary feature – troubleshooting errors arising from a staged website requires the assistance of a website developer.
A. Verify hosting account size
The first step to creating a staging website is to verify the size of your hosting account.
1. Log in to your hosting control panel
2. Find the Disk Usage square on the right-hand side
3. Your disk usage is in the blue highlighted text. Verify your disk usage is less than 2GB in total size. In our example, the disk usage is 83.4 MB, which makes it less than 2GB. This means the staging tool on the WordPress Manager can be used.
4. If you’ve verified your disk usage is under 2GB, move to section B. If your disk usage exceeds 2GB, move to section C.
B. Staging using the WordPress Manager
⚠️ These instructions only work for WordPress websites hosted on accounts under 2GB in total disk usage. If your account is over 2GB and/or you have non-WordPress websites, go to Section C.
1. Log in to your hosting control panel
2. Click on the WordPress Manager button
3. Find your WordPress installation row and click the down arrow V
4. Click the Staging button
5. On the Staging WordPress page, fill in the fields:
- Choose Installation URL (Choose Domain): Select your website from the dropdown
- Choose Installation URL (In Directory): Type in staging
- Disable Search Engine Visibility: Enabled (check the box)
- Site Name: Staging Website
The rest of the fields can remain as default, here’s an example:
6. Click the Create Staging button
7. On the Congratulations, the staging was created successfully – you will see the WordPress staging administrative URL – you can use this URL to log in to your staging WordPress admin dashboard (use the same login credentials as the main website). Alternatively, you can click the Return to WordPress Management button and then the Login button next to your staging website to sign in.
8. Once you’ve completed your staged website and would like to convert it to a live website, go to: Convert staging website to live website
C. Staging using a WordPress plugin or website developer
⚠️ These instructions are intended for all accounts over 2GB in total disk usage.
Method 1: WordPress plugin (WordPress website only)
WordPress makes staging and cloning plugins available for use, here are some well-known plugins with staging or cloning capabilities:
Please keep in mind that these plugins are external tools, their effectiveness and accuracy both depend on the quality of the plugin and its development team, as well as the particularities of how your website is built along with its size. If you’re looking for a very specific function, look for a different plugin, there are many available.
Any issues arising from using a staging plugin must be consulted with a WordPress-specialized website developer or with the staging plugin development team.
Method 2: Website developer (all website types)
The process of creating a staged copy of live website data is complex, and risks altering or deleting live website data permanently if not completed correctly.
Therefore, it is recommended to consult with a website developer well versed in the software used to build your website, for example: a WordPress developer, Joomla developer, PrestaShop developer, and others.
There are several online marketplaces to source a website developer from, you can explore some popular ones here:
Our platform makes it easy to provide third-party access to your hosting account securely: