The Beginner's Guide to Website Staging

Website trial run: improve website update efficiency and security

The website trial run function allows you to modify and update without affecting the official version of the website. It's the equivalent of a testing environment that allows you to experiment before applying new plug-ins, themes, or design changes to a formal website, ensuring a seamless user experience and maintaining your SEO ranking.

The website trial run process includes: creating a copy of the website in the trial run environment, making the required changes, and then launching this version if you are satisfied. This approach not only saves time, but also reduces the risk of potential downtime or loss of functionality that can negatively impact your business.

Not all host providers offer website trial run functionality, but host providers that offer this functionality usually follow a similar process. If your hosting company does not offer this feature, you may want to consider switching to a hosting company that provides this feature, such as SiteGround, whose hosting plans include a trial run environment.

What is a website trial run?

The trial run website is actually a copy of your website, independent of the formal website that visitors can see. It has the same setup, same software and same hardware as your official website, but is safely placed in the trial run area when you handle it. This trial run area can be considered a sandbox or demo site that can make any changes for use without affecting your official site.

When you are satisfied with the changes you have made, you can get this clone website online at any time with just a click of a button. The trial run website will basically cover or become your official website.

Why is the most important website trial run?

Website trial run is a key feature in any excellent hosting package as it allows you to change your website without interrupting your official website. This means there is no downtime when making changes, so you can continue to engage readers and sell products. This also means that your SEO ranking will not be affected, as search engines will not index the trial run version of the website.

Website trial run is not only crucial to keeping the website running at all times, but also to test website changes before they go live. Install a new plugin or theme? This is a great time to test it on a trial run website. Routine updates to your WordPress theme or plugin? Another great scenario for using cloned websites. Making a trial run website as part of your website maintenance plan is definitely a best practice and will bring benefits in the long run. It will prevent downtime due to a faulty plug-in or theme update that is incompatible with your unique website features.

Another key feature of the website trial operation is the ability to redesign the website at any time without interrupting the website. You or your designer can quickly clone the website in the trial run area and make all the necessary changes without going through the laborious process of downloading all the files, plugins, themes, etc. and setting them on a new website. This process can take several hours. Using the trial run website, you can make changes in minutes. Once everything is done and you are satisfied that the change looks and functions are working properly, you can just click a button to bring the site online for your customers to see.

How to use the website to test run?

While the trial run process for each host provider may be different, you can rest assured that they all work similarly. The following is a breakdown of the standard step-by-step process of the website trial operation:

1. Navigate to your cPanel or WordPress dashboard where you will find the "Trial Run" option.

2. Create your trial run website by selecting the website you want to copy and selecting the trial run option (which may appear as "Create a trial run copy" or other variant).

3. Select whether you want to use a password to protect the cloned website in your trial run environment. This is important because if you don't, Google and other search engines will start indexing trial run copies and may show your website visitors an unfinished website. Unfinished indexing of your website may also have a negative impact on your SEO.

4. Make changes by clicking on the link or button provided by the host provider, which will take you to the trial run website you just created. Usually, your website URL will display normally, but there will be a string before it indicates that it is a trial run environment. For example, it might appear as "staging1.website.com". Now you can safely download any new theme, plugin or just simply update your existing features.

5. The trial run website will be launched. This process will basically cover your current website and let all website visitors see the new website for all the changes you just made. Some hosting companies will offer an "advanced" online option, which will allow you to basically soft-test new changes without overwriting and permanently deleting your previous website. This way, you won't destroy your website due to incompatible changes and updates. If your hosting company does not have this option, you can restore the backup version of the website to fix it as a workaround.

That's it! You can't make it easier than this. If you encounter any unknown prompt or message along the way, we recommend that you simply type the name of your hosting provider in any search engine and then enter the word "Trial Run" to find out about how to proceed Detailed description.

If your website is small, the whole process may only take a few minutes; especially if you are just updating the plugin or performing routine maintenance. If you have a large website and are undergoing redesign work, it may take longer to create a clone website, make changes, and go live.

Summary

Does your hosting company provide a website trial run?

If so, then the day to "denim coding" on the official website and HopeAll goes well is over. Now that you have the basics of a website trial run, you can confidently make major website changes and routine website maintenance.

If your hosting company does not offer a website trial run, it may be time to search around. Our partner SiteGround offers free website migration and includes a trial run environment in all hosting plans. Their WordPress trial run feature will copy your official website in case you need to restore it. All SiteGround hosting plans now offer up to 65% off for SitePoint users.

Do you have any questions about the trial run or a useful story about your trial run experience to share? Please share them in the comments below.

Frequently Asked Questions for Website Trial Run (FAQs)

What is the main purpose of the trial operation website?

The main purpose of a trial website is to provide a testing environment before applying the changes to the official website. This includes new features, updates, or design changes. By first testing these changes on the trial run website, you can make sure they work properly and that there will be no problems after they go live. This helps maintain the integrity and functionality of the formal website and provides visitors with a better user experience.

How is the difference between a trial run website and a formal website?

The trial run website is a copy of your official website. It is a separate environment where you can test changes without affecting the official website. The formal website is open to the public and used for daily operations, while the trial run website is usually only for the developers or website administrators to use for testing.

Is it necessary to have a trial run website?

Although it is not mandatory, it is highly recommended to have a trial run website, especially for enterprises. It allows you to test changes and fix any issues before the changes affect the official website. This can prevent potential downtime or loss of functionality that can negatively impact your business.

How often should I use the trial run website?

The frequency of use of a trial website depends on how often you change the website. If you update your website regularly or add new features, you should often use a trial run website to test these changes. Even for smaller updates, it is recommended to test them on the trial run website first.

Can I make the trial run website public?

Although technically feasible, it is not recommended to open the trial operation website. The purpose of a trial run website is to test before the changes go live. If the trial run website is public, it may confuse visitors, or if search engines index it, it may negatively affect your website's SEO.

How to create a trial run website?

The process of creating a trial run website depends on your hosting provider. Some providers provide built-in tools for creating trial run websites. If your provider does not offer this feature, you can manually create a trial run website by cloning the official website and setting up a separate environment for it.

What should I test on the trial run website?

You should test any changes you plan to make to the official website. This includes new features, updates, design changes, and more. By first testing these changes on the trial run website, you can make sure they work properly and that there is no problem when applied to the official website.

Can I use the trial run website for training?

Yes, a trial run website can be an excellent training tool. It allows new team members to become familiar with the website and its features without affecting the official website.

How to move changes from a trial run website to a formal website?

The process of moving changes from a trial run site to a formal site depends on your hosting provider. Some providers provide tools to make this process easy. If your provider does not offer this feature, you can manually move changes by copying updated files and databases from the trial run site to the official site.

What happens if I make a mistake on the test run website?

One of the benefits of a trial site is that it allows you to make mistakes without affecting the official site. If you make a mistake on the trial run site, you can simply restore the changes or reclose the official site to start over.

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