Softaculous

Create a staging site and push changes live with Softaculous

Make a private staging copy of your WordPress site with Softaculous, test updates or redesigns safely, then push files and database changes back to the live site.

IntermediatecPanel hosting2 min read

A staging site is a private copy of your live site where you can test plugin updates, a new theme or PHP upgrades without visitors seeing broken pages. Softaculous creates the copy in a few clicks and later pushes the finished changes back to the live site.

Before you start

  • The live site is managed by Softaculous (listed in All Installations). Staging is available for WordPress and some other apps.
  • Decide where staging lives: a subfolder such as example.com/staging or a subdomain such as staging.example.com (create it first; see create a subdomain).
  • Enough disk space for a full copy.

Create the staging copy

  1. Open cPanel → Software → Softaculous Apps Installer → All Installations.
  2. Click the Create Staging icon next to the live installation (or choose it from the app's options).
  3. Choose Installation URL: protocol, domain or subdomain, and directory, e.g. https://staging.example.com with an empty directory.
  4. Database Name: leave the suggested new database.
  5. Click Create Staging. Softaculous copies the files, duplicates the database and replaces the URLs.

Warning: A staging copy is public unless you hide it. In WordPress go to Settings → Reading and tick Discourage search engines, and consider password-protecting the folder.

Work on staging

  • Log in to the staging admin from All Installations (it is listed with a staging label).
  • Update plugins, switch themes, change PHP version for the staging domain in MultiPHP Manager, and test.
  • Payment gateways, email newsletters and scheduled tasks run on staging too. Put payment plugins in test mode and disable outgoing marketing emails.

Push changes to live

  1. Take a backup of the live site first: Softaculous backup.
  2. In All Installations, click the Push to Live icon next to the staging installation.
  3. Choose what to push:
    • Push files: themes, plugins, uploads.
    • Push full database: replaces all live data with staging data.
    • Push selected tables or Push only selected data: for example only wp_options and theme settings, leaving live orders and comments alone.
  4. Click Push to Live and wait for the confirmation.
  5. Clear caches and test the live site.

Which database option to choose

SituationChoose
Brochure site, no new content on live since staging was createdPush full database
Shop or site with new orders, users or comments on liveFiles only, or selected tables (avoid order/user tables)
Only plugin updates testedUpdate plugins on live directly after testing, no push needed

Troubleshooting

  • Staging shows the live site: browser cache or LiteSpeed cache; open in a private window.
  • Images point to live URLs: hard-coded URLs in page builder data. Run a search-replace on staging; see search and replace in WordPress.
  • Push failed: restore the live backup and push files and database separately.

Next steps

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