How to set up a staging WordPress website: The complete guide

While this article covers how to create a WordPress staging website, if you wish to convert your WordPress site into an app, get started now.

Making changes directly to your live WordPress website might seem convenient — until a plugin conflict or theme error takes your site offline. Whether you’re updating your theme, installing new plugins, or testing custom code, it’s critical to have a safe environment to experiment before going live.

That’s exactly what a staging website is for.

In this guide, you’ll learn what a staging WordPress site is, why it’s essential, and how to create one easily — whether through your hosting provider, plugins, or manual setup.

What is a staging website and why is it important?

A staging website is a private clone of your live website used for testing updates, changes, or new features. It acts as a sandbox environment, allowing you to experiment safely without affecting your live site.

When you update plugins, install new themes, or modify code on a staging site first, you prevent potential downtime or data loss on your live website.

Key benefits of a staging site:

• Safe testing: Test updates and features without risking your live website.
• Improved stability: Prevent conflicts and downtime caused by untested changes.
• Enhanced performance: Optimize performance tweaks and track results safely.
• Better SEO protection: Avoid live site errors that could harm your search rankings.

In short, staging sites give you peace of mind — every change is tested before reaching your real users.

How to create a WordPress staging site

There are several ways to set up a staging site, depending on your hosting provider and technical comfort. Let’s explore each method in detail.

1. Using your website host

The simplest and most reliable method is to use your hosting provider’s built-in staging tools.

Most modern web hosts, especially managed WordPress hosting providers, offer one-click staging features. You can clone your site, test changes, and push updates live with minimal effort.

How to create a staging site with your host:

1. Log in to your hosting control panel.
2. Look for a section labeled “Staging” or “Clone Site.”
3. Select your existing WordPress website.
4. Create a staging copy and choose which files and databases to clone.
5. Make updates and test everything thoroughly.
6. When ready, click “Push to Live” to deploy your changes.

Read: Fastest WordPress hosting providers for your website

2. Using a WordPress plugin

If your hosting plan doesn’t include staging tools, you can use plugins to create a staging site directly from your WordPress admin panel.

Popular staging plugins:

• WP Staging – Quick, one-click cloning and staging deployment.
• WP Stagecoach – Allows pushing changes from staging to live sites easily.

Steps to set up with a plugin:

1. Install and activate your chosen plugin.
2. Open the plugin dashboard in your WordPress admin.
3. Configure the staging setup — select files and database tables to clone.
4. Start the cloning process (this may take a few minutes).
5. Once complete, log in to your staging site using the same credentials as your live site.

Advantages:

• No hosting access required.
• Simple setup directly from WordPress.

Limitations:

• Free versions may restrict features like pushing updates to the live site.
• Plugins may require file permission changes or database adjustments.

3. Setting up a manual staging site

If you prefer full control or your hosting plan doesn’t support staging, you can create one manually. This method is more technical but gives you complete flexibility.

Steps for manual setup:

1. Create a subdomain:
   • Go to your hosting panel and create a subdomain (e.g., staging.yourdomain.com).
2. Create an FTP account:
   • Set up an FTP account for your new subdomain to transfer files securely.
3. Copy your live site files:
   • Log in to your live site via FTP and download all WordPress files.
   • Upload them to your staging subdomain via FTP.
4. Create a new database:
   • In your hosting panel, create a new database and user.
   • Import your live database into this new one via phpMyAdmin.
5. Update your database paths:
   • Use the WP Migrate DB plugin to update URLs and file paths for the staging domain.
6. Edit wp-config.php:
   • Open your staging site’s wp-config.php file.
   • Replace your live database credentials with the new staging database details.
7. Discourage search indexing:
   • Log in to your staging site’s admin dashboard.
   • Go to Settings > Reading and enable “Discourage search engines from indexing this site.”

Now you have a fully functional staging environment you can use for testing before making any live changes.

Bonus: Keep your staging site synced and secure

Once your staging site is live, follow these best practices:

• Regularly sync data with your live site to test current versions.
• Enable password protection to prevent unauthorized access.
• Always back up your staging and live sites before pushing updates.
• Delete outdated staging environments to free up server space.

Why staging matters for app-connected websites

If you use your WordPress site to build a mobile app (for example, using AppMySite), keeping a staging site ensures app stability. Testing new plugins or APIs on staging prevents crashes or data sync issues in your live app.

Your WordPress environment directly impacts your app’s performance — a well-tested website means a smoother app experience.

Conclusion

Setting up a staging WordPress website is one of the smartest moves you can make as a website owner. It minimizes risk, prevents downtime, and helps you confidently make changes that enhance your user experience.

Whether you use hosting features, plugins, or manual methods, the goal is the same — test safely before you go live.

And once your site is performing flawlessly, you can extend that experience to mobile by converting WordPress into a native app using AppMySite — the easiest no-code solution for turning WordPress and WooCommerce websites into mobile apps.