What is the reason you need a staging Website for your Membership Program
One of the main reasons WordPress is an excellent selection for a membership site is the wide range of themes and plugins that this software provides, not to mention all the options for customizing you.
WHAT'S IN THE INSIDE Toggle
- What a Staging Site is and Why You Need One
- Check with Your Web Host
- Find a Suitable WordPress Staging Site Plugin
- Final Thoughts
With WordPress you are able to create enhancements to your website using an entirely new theme, plugin, or some custom web-based code.
And when it only takes just a few clicks transform the design of your website, include new features, or modify the layout of your website in a different way, why not experiment a little?
But there's a problem. Despite the relative simplicity with which we are able to modify our WordPress websites, these changes may have unexpected consequences for users might not be able to appreciate.
In this article we'll show you the best ways to work on your WordPress site without impacting user experience - something especially important in the case of paying users.
What is a staging site and the reason you should have one
As mentioned, if you experiment with different themes, download new plugins, or just tinker with the widgets and menus within WordPress You could accidentally place your website in danger.
Take a look at what a user might think about when the website's design abruptly shifts, a function stops working, or the entire site goes down.
The best case scenario is that they'll be hesitant when they're asked to enter their personal information; at worst the site will be abandoned, never to return.
It's also possible that they'll be able to inform other people about their displeasure regarding your site.
These issues can arise if you start adjusting the basic components of your website. And that's why it's recommended that you utilize a staging website or development environment to test any modifications you're planning making to your website.
As a membership-site owner is even more essential not to make any changes to the site that you are currently running and make a backup of your web page that only your staff and you have access to.
Your staging area is a safe place where you are free to do whatever you like without worrying about
- Members who are unhappy
- Attracting new visitors
- The loss of data includes transaction data from customers.
Once you're sure that your changes haven't caused any issues, you can move them over into the live version of your site.
Sound good? Then read on for more information on how you can build a staging page for your WordPress membership website.
Make sure to check with your Web host
One benefit to choosing a hosting platform that now powers over 30% of all websites is that there are several excellent WordPress-optimized hosting plans that are available.
One of the functions that are offered by the WordPress web hosts, including some low-cost plan options for entry level includes the capability to quickly create a stage site or test environment that is based off your current site.
The best staging-site services offered by web hosts make it easy to create an exclusive test zone and then push the test versions of your website into the live hosting environment.
Because of this, you can take as long as you want and as detailed as you want when trying an updated site's configuration. Then, when you're ready, you can make those changes available to users as well as members in only several mouse clicks.
In any case, using a staging site helps to avoid problems which can arise when you use your real-time website to test as well as development.
Select a Good WordPress Staging WordPress Plugin
When choosing the WordPress plugin for setting up the staging version of your website, there are two options:
- a plug-in designed for this purpose.
- a general-purpose web-duplication plug-in.
Let's glance at the advantages and disadvantages of each option before listing some plugins that are suitable.
A specially-built stage-site plug-in might seem like an most obvious option, however the options available are limited as there are fewer plugins that can be used that you can choose from.
Additionally, you typically do not have the same control over the entire process or the end product as with more general-purpose site-copying plugins.
A second alternative, a general-purpose site-duplication plugin will give you greater control over the whole process.
The most effective plugins available in this area allow you to copy specific parts of your site, such as the database or your content. They also give you more choices for the location where your staging site will be located and include the option of a local WordPress installation, or even a private subdomain.
Though many of the most effective WordPress website-duplication plugins are cost-free, they're not always as user-friendly as professional staging-site software.
- WP Stagecoach - a commercial one-click staging-site-creation WordPress plugin with lots of useful features.
- WP Staging A free, in-progress WordPress web-based staging and cloning plugin.
- Duplicator - a powerful but more difficult WordPress website-duplication plugin.
It's clear, if you're prepared to pay for a premium plugin the process is a lot simpler. While those that are free may need an extra work, they're certainly viable tools for creating an WordPress membership-staging site.
Final Thoughts
We hope that you have now understood how important it is to create a staging environment for your WordPress membership website.
You may get away with the simplest of codes in a personal blog, but when you're managing a membership website for a professional You have an even greater responsibility to take care of your members, whether they're paying for access or otherwise.
How do you design an online staging area to host your membership site? Comment on your suggestions in the comments section below.