Set up staging site registration

This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.

Problem:
The client needs to set up a staging site for their website and is unsure whether to register it before pushing it live. They are also concerned about the registration of the staging site with WPML and the use of licenses.
Solution:
We recommend creating the staging site separately and using a new WPML key set as "dev" instead of "production". After setting up the staging site, install and activate WPML, then register it with the new key. For migrating the site to production, use the Duplicator plugin. This tool helps in migrating your website while maintaining the setup and updating URLs if needed. Documentation and a tutorial for Duplicator can be found at:

Additionally, confirm that multiple dev sites can be registered under the same license without using additional licenses. For automatic WPML registration during moves between production, development, and staging environments, refer to:
https://wpml.org/faq/automatic-wpml-registration-using-php-for-easy-moves-between-production-development-and-staging/

If this solution does not resolve your issue or seems outdated, please check related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verify the version of the permanent fix, and ensure you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. If further assistance is needed, we highly recommend opening a new support ticket at WPML support forum.

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Tagged: Not WPML issue

This topic contains 4 replies, has 2 voices.

Last updated by hollyJ 2 years, 4 months ago.

Assisted by: Mihai Apetrei.

Author	Posts
March 2, 2023 at 12:14 pm #13154649
hollyJ	Hi, I wish to set up a staging site for hidden link that I can then push to live. How do I do this? Do I create the staging site and then register it, or should I do this another way. I am registered with Siteground. Of note, currently my main site says it is not up to date - but on the site it doesn't notify me that there are outstanding updates what should I do? I'll need to sort this before I register the staging site I assume.
March 2, 2023 at 8:55 pm #13158719
Mihai Apetrei WPML Supporter since 03/2018 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Bucharest (GMT+03:00)	Hi there. The staging site is created separately and you can use a new WPML key set up as "dev" instead of "production". Then, you go to the backend of the staging site > install WPML > activate it > then register it with the new key. For migrating the site to production, my recommendation is to use the Duplicator plugin when you are migrating the site between the testing and live environments. - https://wordpress.org/plugins/duplicator/ Documentation can be found here: hidden link Here is a small tutorial on how to use Duplicator: hidden link This should help you perfectly migrate your website while maintaining the exact same setup and also taking care of the search and replace process so that the old links will be overwritten with the new URLs of the new domain you are migrating to (in case you are also changing the domain and not only the server). I hope that you will find this helpful 🙂 I use only Duplicator each time I want to migrate WP websites. They also have a premium version but if you don't have a huge website with a huge database, the free version should work fine. After you migrate, you might see a prompt at the top asking if the site was moved there or if it is just a copy: select the first option so that everything remains as is. Let me know how things go. Kind regards, Mihai Apetrei
March 3, 2023 at 5:26 am #13160301
hollyJ	Hi there Mihai, I perhaps was not clear. I am only doing relatively small updates - this is not a complete rebuild. In this scenario, I create the staging site from the live one using Siteground's propietary service. Once the updates are complete on the staging site I then push to live through their system. I would do the translations once the updated staging site is pushed to live. With Siteground the staging site keeps the same name in this case staging4.premiere-neige.com. Does this mean I just need to register this as a dev site with a new key? Hopefully I only need to do this once? I believe I can have several dev sites without using any more of my 3 licences, can you confirm. Many thanks
March 4, 2023 at 10:16 pm #13170877
Mihai Apetrei WPML Supporter since 03/2018 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Bucharest (GMT+03:00)	Hi there. That sounds ok. I also recommend a backup before sending anything from staging to production. "I believe I can have several dev sites without using any more of my 3 licenses, can you confirm." - that's correct. You can also do this if you want: https://wpml.org/faq/automatic-wpml-registration-using-php-for-easy-moves-between-production-development-and-staging/ I hope that you will find all this information helpful. 🙂 Mihai
March 5, 2023 at 10:56 am #13172963
hollyJ	I will try to set up the WP config as the other method is still a little confusing, ie if I set up a key for a production site (for which the url always remains the same) would I still have to re-register each time I do updates via staging site. Thank you!