My main site is hidden link and I use WPML to do the Japanese translation s on hidden link. I am trying to set up a staging site so I can update my website safely to a new theme.
Siteground have said there is an issue with the way my domains are set up
They said
"I was able to make the staging site hidden link load okay - Screenshot
The reason that the site was not opening initially is related to the domain setup of your account.
The main domain of the account(Site Tools) is cotswoldsadventures.jp. However, you also have cotswoldsadventures.co.uk added as a parked domain and in addition to that the site that is in the public_html of cotswoldsadventures.jp is actually configured to work as cotswoldsadventures.co.uk. The Staging Tool is designed to work with the main Site Tools domain but during the creation, there was a mixup if the Home URL and Site URL. I corrected this manually and now the site loads as hidden link
I replied
"Thanks, the main site should be hidden link and then hidden link should be parked.
Basically I use a translation plugin called WPML and there are two versions of each page of the site, one in English and one in Japanese.
How should I set It up to reflect this?"
and they answered
"The main domain of your account(Site Tools) is -> cotswoldsadventures.jp - Screenshot
The parked domain is -> cotswoldsadventures.co.uk - Screenshot
The site in the public_html is configured to work/load as cotswoldsadventures.co.uk:
baseos | cotswoldsadventures.jp | u534-5kdthpzvwxbh@uk39.siteground.eu:~/www/cotswoldsadventures.jp/public_html$ wp option get home hidden link
baseos | cotswoldsadventures.jp | u534-5kdthpzvwxbh@uk39.siteground.eu:~/www/cotswoldsadventures.jp/public_html$ wp option get siteurl hidden link
This is the current setup of your Site Tools and site.
Switching the domains would require a lot of steps and it can also lead to some downtime on either one of the domain names.
Basically, you would need to:
- configure the website that is now present in the public_html to work as cotswoldsadventures.jp
- delete the parked domain cotswoldsadventures.co.uk.
- Then allow some time and then reconfigure the main domain of the account to be cotswoldsadventures.co.uk. We have an article on how to do that - hidden link
Updating the primary domain name of the account should also reconfigure the site to load as cotswoldsadventures.co.uk
- once the main domain of the account(Site Tools) is cotswoldsadventures.co.uk you can then add the domain as cotswoldsadventures.jp parked.
Note that since the current website has a specific configuration and uses a specific plugin to operate(WPML) and if this plugin requires additional domain configuration this whole process can lead to some issues with the site. This is why I strongly recommend that you make a backup if you choose to proceed as the above.
On a side note - the staging tool is configured to work with the SIte Tools' main domain which is cotswoldsadventures.jp. So if you push this staging site to the main this can reconfigure the site in the publc_html to load as cotswoldsadventures.jp. But then you can change the domain name following this article - hidden link
"
This is all very confusing for me!
is the above a problem and how should I resolve it to enable me to use a staging site to update my website safely?
attached are a couple of screenshots showing domain set up, public html etc
They are basically saying now that I should change the WordPress application URL address for the live website to match that of the account (so hidden link) and then creating a new Staging website.
Languages: English (English )Spanish (Español )Italian (Italiano )
Timezone: Europe/Rome (GMT+02:00)
Hello,
the setup by languages is quite confusing sometimes because 90% of the configuration is not even WordPress related but SERVER related, it has nothing to do with WPML at all.
On top of it, it looks like you want to change the default language of your site? i mean, from your conversation, the japanese version of your site was the "initial domain". this makes things even more difficult.
This is what you can do to avoid downtime or to minimize it:
- Ask siteground to setup the UK domain as a normal site and install WordPress on it
- Ask them to help you migrate the WPML site from the JP to the UK or do it with a plugin such as WP All In One Migration.
- Go to WPML on the UK site (clone of the JP version) > Languages > Language Format URL > Change it to language by Directories or domain
- Now change the default language to English: WPML > Languages > Change default language (in the same place where you can add more languages).
- Now ask siteground to transform the JP domain into a parked domain pointing to the UK domain
- Once done, type the JP domain in the browser and it should redirect you to the UK domain now.
- You cna switch back to languages by domain in WPML > Languages > Language URL format and set the proper languages up with the domain you want.
Languages: English (English )Spanish (Español )Italian (Italiano )
Timezone: Europe/Rome (GMT+02:00)
What siteground said about the public_html is what i mentioned in my steps as:
Ask siteground to setup the UK domain as a normal site and install WordPress on it
Both siteground and i said more or less the same thing but with different jargon (mine is a bit of a simplified approach focused on the workflow and siteground's was focused on the actual technical steps).
As it is right now, if the .co.uk site is a parked domain, as i understand so it should be safe to add it to the English language in WPML.
“If you confirm, we make a one-time exception and change the WordPress application URL address from hidden link to hidden link, and then create a new Staging website”
Languages: English (English )Spanish (Español )Italian (Italiano )
Timezone: Europe/Rome (GMT+02:00)
I'm getting confused here because i'm not entirely sure what you have so can we do 2 things?
Record yourself on siteground where you show me how it's configured at the moment and where you can see the parked domain and also the original domain.
From this end it looks that you might want to take up on siteground's offer BUT before you do, would you allow me access to your site and allow me FTP access so i can check what you currently have?
This way i can make an informed suggestion since your situation seems to be quite particular.
Thanks so much for your time and help, that was very clear.
I will make .jp my main site so it matches the server details.
When I tried to change it however the .jp ending disappeared (see screenshot) and is now displayed as cotswoldsadventures.co.uk and the English site is shown as en.cotswoldsadventures.co.uk
I have changed it back for now as didn't want to mess it up!
I am happy for you to do this for me if thats easier?
Languages: English (English )Spanish (Español )Italian (Italiano )
Timezone: Europe/Rome (GMT+02:00)
I'm checking the site again because it's a bit of a mess at the moment:
- The original site seems to point to the ".JP" domain
- However, the main site seems to have ALWAYS been the .co.uk from the database records. does this information match what you know? before WPML, did you have 2 different sites or just one and in which domain?
So, as you have your site right now, you can work with domains but it's very likely that you'll have issues at one point because the entire configuration of your site seems to be a bit of a mess.
Please check this video out and open a new support request to siteground. maybe send them the video as well so they can see what i see and maybe they can help you figure out what's going on: hidden link
Only after that's sorted you'll be able to correctly work with domains in a reliable way.
----------------
In the meantime i added the domains correctly by languages so they should be as you wish them to be: English as the main language, JP as a secondary language, with the correct domains, however i can't attest to how reliable this configuration will be for you because that part is 100% linked to the server configuration which is something we do not control nor can support (Since it's the domain of the hosting and not of our plugin).
Thanks again. I have passed this onto sitgournd and sent them your video.
My memory is the I set up the .co.uk site first and started working on the English website. Then later on I downloaded WPML and bought the .jp domain for the Japanese side.
I always thought that the co.uk was the main domain and that the jp was the parked one, but it seems like either this has changed or my memory is incorrect.
This issue seems to have happened since I tried to setup a staging site and it didn't work correctly as it was just displaying my actual site (rather than the copy)- sitegournd then made some manual changes to make the staging site work
They said:
"The reason that the site was not opening initially is related to the domain setup of your account.
The main domain of the account(Site Tools) is cotswoldsadventures.jp. However, you also have cotswoldsadventures.co.uk added as a parked domain and in addition to that the site that is in the public_html of cotswoldsadventures.jp is actually configured to work as cotswoldsadventures.co.uk. The Staging Tool is designed to work with the main Site Tools domain but during the creation, there was a mixup if the Home URL and Site URL. I corrected this manually and now the site loads as hidden link "
And then this:
"The main domain of your account(Site Tools) is -> cotswoldsadventures.jp - Screenshot
The parked domain is -> cotswoldsadventures.co.uk - Screenshot
The site in the public_html is configured to work/load as cotswoldsadventures.co.uk:
baseos | cotswoldsadventures.jp | u534-5kdthpzvwxbh@uk39.siteground.eu:~/www/cotswoldsadventures.jp/public_html$ wp option get home hidden link
baseos | cotswoldsadventures.jp | u534-5kdthpzvwxbh@uk39.siteground.eu:~/www/cotswoldsadventures.jp/public_html$ wp option get siteurl hidden link
This is the current setup of your Site Tools and site.
Switching the domains would require a lot of steps and it can also lead to some downtime on either one of the domain names.
Basically, you would need to:
- configure the website that is now present in the public_html to work as cotswoldsadventures.jp
- delete the parked domain cotswoldsadventures.co.uk.
- Then allow some time and then reconfigure the main domain of the account to be cotswoldsadventures.co.uk. We have an article on how to do that - hidden link
Updating the primary domain name of the account should also reconfigure the site to load as cotswoldsadventures.co.uk
- once the main domain of the account(Site Tools) is cotswoldsadventures.co.uk you can then add the domain as cotswoldsadventures.jp parked.
Note that since the current website has a specific configuration and uses a specific plugin to operate(WPML) and if this plugin requires additional domain configuration this whole process can lead to some issues with the site. This is why I strongly recommend that you make a backup if you choose to proceed as the above.
On a side note - the staging tool is configured to work with the SIte Tools' main domain which is cotswoldsadventures.jp. So if you push this staging site to the main this can reconfigure the site in the publc_html to load as cotswoldsadventures.jp. But then you can change the domain name following this article - hidden link
hi again! Latest reply from SiteGround. This is all so confusing and frustrating!
Hello Jamie,
I revised the video you attached, and I would like to clarify that the issues stated by the WPML support agent are experienced due to your current main domain/parked domain and WordPress URL configuration. My colleagues provided valid information as per why the staging website was not created as expected and the fact that you use a rather strange setup.
Additionally, I would like to clarify that the issues you experienced were related to the "staging5.cotswoldsadventures.jp" staging website and not the main site which appears the WPML support agent revised.
Moreover, my colleague Miroslav, made the URL change on the "staging5.cotswoldsadventures.jp" staging website as due to the configuration you use, the staging website URLs were not updated accordingly and due to that fact you faced the experienced hindrances. Your main website has remained intact since your initial request.
Just in case, I revised your main website "cotswoldsadventures.jp", and currently, when I attempt to access it, I am being redirected to the "hidden link" website version. This is expected as like my colleagues stated in their replies, the WordPress application under the "cotswoldsadventures.jp" primary domain name, is configured to work with the "hidden link" URL instead.
uk39.siteground.eu:~/www/cotswoldsadventures.jp/public_html$ wp option get home && wp option get siteurl
[b]hidden link hidden link;
Additionally, when I change the version of the website using the flag button at the bottom of the page, the japan version is accessible. Screenshot for reference.
> hidden link
That being said, everything appears to work as it was prior to your initial inquiry and regarding the creation of the staging website, I advise you to revise my colleagues replies on how to re-configure your account in order to be able to use the staging tool without issues.
In case you need any further assistance, feel free to contact us back anytime.
Languages: English (English )Spanish (Español )Italian (Italiano )
Timezone: Europe/Rome (GMT+02:00)
Ok, so this issue stems back a while ago then because you already had the issue when you wanted to create the staging site.
At this point you don't have much choice on what you can do, the domains are setup incorrectly, and will cause you issues in the future.
Can you ask siteground if they can setup the .co.uk domain as the main one and then move the directory of the current site to that domain? that would be the main first step to fix everything and at this point there's nothing much to do.
