Staging environments let you test changes — plugin updates, theme redesigns, content migrations — without risking your live site.
Creating a Staging Site
From your site dashboard, click Create Staging. This creates a full clone of your production site, including:
- Database (complete copy)
- Media uploads
- Plugin and theme files
- wp-config.php settings (with staging-specific overrides)
The staging site runs on a subdomain like staging-yoursite.hlabs.dev with its own SSL certificate.
Syncing Data
You can sync in either direction:
- Production → Staging: Pull the latest content and database from production into staging. Useful when your staging environment has drifted.
- Staging → Production: Push tested changes from staging to production. This performs a database merge and file sync.
Both operations create automatic backups before executing, so you can always roll back.
Best Practices
- Test plugin updates on staging first. Major plugin updates (especially WooCommerce, Yoast, or page builders) can introduce breaking changes.
- Use staging for client reviews. Share the staging URL with stakeholders for approval before going live.
- Don’t leave staging stale. If your staging site is more than a week old, sync from production before testing.
Limitations
- Staging sites do not send transactional emails (they’re intercepted and logged).
- Cron jobs run at reduced frequency on staging.
- Search engines are blocked via
noindexheaders.