How to Create a Staging Website for Your WordPress Site

Introduction

A staging site is a clone of your live website where you can safely test updates, new plugins, or design changes without affecting your production site. It mirrors your live setup—files, database, and configuration—so you catch issues before pushing them to your visitors.

This article explains how to create a staging environment for your WordPress site—whether via your host’s one-click tools, a plugin, or manual setup

Methods to Create a Staging Site

One-Click Staging via Your Hosting Provider

Many managed WordPress hosts include a built-in staging feature:

WP Engine
In your WP Engine dashboard, go to Sites > Add Staging, choose “Copy an existing environment,” name your staging site, and click Create Environment.

SiteGround
In Site Tools, find WordPress > Staging, name the staging copy, and click Create. You can password-protect the staging site and later deploy changes back to production.

Bluehost
From the Bluehost control panel, select Staging, click Create Staging Site, follow the prompts, and then use the Deploy option to push changes live.

Using a Plugin

If your host doesn’t offer staging, try a plugin:

WP Staging
Install and activate the plugin, click WP Staging > Create New Staging Site, and it will clone your files and database into a subfolder. Access it via the provided URL, test changes, then delete when finished.

WP Stagecoach
Connect the plugin with your WP Stagecoach account, choose a subdomain for staging, enable password protection, and click Start Staging. When ready, import changes back to live selectively or in bulk.

Manual Staging Setup

For full control, set up staging manually.

Create a Subdomain
In your hosting control panel, add a subdomain (e.g., staging.yoursite.com).

Copy Files and Database

Import the database into a new staging database and update the credentials accordingly.

• Export your live site’s database(via phpMyAdmin or a backup plugin).
• Copy your site files (via FTP or your host’s file manager) into the staging subdomain folder.
• Import the database into a new staging database and update the wp-config.php credentials accordingly.

Update URLs
Use a search-replace tool (like WP-CLI’s search-replace) to replace yoursite.com with staging.yoursite.com in the staging database.

Password Protect Staging
In your hosting control panel, enable directory protection or use a plugin to block public access and prevent search engines from indexing the staging site.

Staging Site License Key

If you need to test or try a recent update from the Buddyboss Theme and BuddyBoss Platform Pro before you put it live on your website, you can install the theme and plugin under any of the following domain keywords without the need for entering a license key: 

• .test
• .dev
• staging.
• localhost
• .local
• .rapydapps.cloud

Troubleshooting and FAQs

Q: My host doesn’t offer staging—what’s the easiest plugin?
A: WP Staging is free, fast, and simple for cloning into a subfolder without extra configuration.

Q: Do I need password protection for staging?
A: Yes. Always block staging from public view and search engines to avoid duplicate-content SEO issues.

Q: Do I need a license for my Staging site?
A: Some hosts offer scheduled backups or cloning. Otherwise, consider using a CI/CD pipeline or a specialized plugin with automated syncing features.