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Website Cloning and Staging: How to Safely Test Changes on HubSeek

PostedSeptember 16, 2024
UpdatedSeptember 16, 2024

Making changes to your live website can be nerve-wracking, especially if you’re not sure how they’ll affect your site. That’s why HubSeek offers easy-to-use cloning and staging features. These tools let you safely test updates, designs, or new features without risking your live website.

Let’s walk through how to clone your website, create a staging site, and push your staging site live.

Step 1: Cloning Your Website

Cloning is like making a duplicate of your website, where all your files and databases are copied exactly as they are. It’s perfect for creating a backup before making big changes or moving your site to a different area within your organization.

Here’s how to clone your website:

  1. Log into your HubSeek Control Panel: Go to panel.hubseek.com and log in.
  2. Open the Websites section: Click on Websites in the left sidebar.
  3. Clone the Website:
    • Click Add New.
    • Select Clone a Website and fill out the form with the necessary details.
    • Once the form is complete, click Add to finish.

Important: Cloning only copies files and databases—it won’t copy email accounts. The cloned website stays within the same organization.

Step 2: Adding a Staging Website

A staging website is like a testing ground where you can experiment with new changes before making them live. It’s a full copy of your website, but with a special STG tag so you know it’s not the real deal. It has all the features of your regular site except for domain mapping and emails.

Adding a staging website is easy, and it won’t count toward your website package allowance.

Here’s how to create a staging site:

  1. Log into your HubSeek Control Panel: Go to panel.hubseek.com.
  2. Open the Websites section: Click on Websites in the left sidebar.
  3. Create a Staging Website:
    • Click Add New.
    • Choose to either Start from scratch, Install an app, or Clone a website.
    • Make sure to check the box for Make this a staging site.
    • Click Add to finish.

The staging site will have a domain with the provendomain.net suffix, and you’ll see the STG tag next to it, making it easy to identify as a test site.

Step 3: Pushing Your Staging Website Live

Once you’re happy with the changes on your staging site and everything works as expected, it’s time to push it live. This means replacing your live website with the updated staging version.

Important: Backup Your Site Before Pushing Live

Before you push your staging site live, it’s always a good idea to create a backup of your live website, just in case anything unexpected happens. This will allow you to restore your site to its previous state if needed.

For a full guide on how to back up and restore your website, visit:
👉 Stay Safe: How to Back Up and Restore Your Website

Here’s how to push your staging website live:

  1. Log into your HubSeek Control Panel: Go to panel.hubseek.com.
  2. Open the Websites section: Select the staging website you want to push live.
  3. Push the Website Live:
    • In the website dashboard, click Push Live.
    • When the modal loads, enter the domain you want to use for the live website.
    • Click Push Live to complete the process.

Tip: Double-check that all your changes work perfectly and that you’ve tested everything thoroughly on your staging site before pushing it live.

Wrapping Up

HubSeek makes it easy to test changes with cloning and staging tools, so you can experiment with updates, new designs, or features without any stress. Don’t forget to create a backup before pushing your staging site live to keep your data safe!

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