How to Create a Staging Site Using Softaculous in cPanel

A staging site is a copy of your website that allows you to test updates, plugins, themes, or changes before applying them to your live website. Softaculous makes it easy to create a staging version of many popular scripts such as WordPress.

This guide explains how to create a staging site using Softaculous in cPanel.

Step 1: Log in to cPanel

1. Open your web browser.

2. Navigate to your cPanel login page.

Example:

https://yourdomain.com/cpanel

3. Enter your cPanel username and password.

4. Click Log in.

Step 2: Open Softaculous Apps Installer

1. Scroll down to the Software section.

2. Click Softaculous Apps Installer.

The Softaculous dashboard will load.

Step 3: View Your Installed Applications

1. In the Softaculous dashboard, click the Installations icon in the top menu.

2. A list of scripts installed on your account will appear.

Locate the website you want to create a staging copy of.

Step 4: Start the Staging Process

1. Next to your installation, click the Create Staging icon (usually shown as a test tube or staging symbol).

2. Softaculous will open the staging configuration screen.

Step 5: Configure the Staging Site

Choose where the staging site will be created.

Choose Installation URL

• Choose Domain: Select the domain where the staging site will be created.

• In Directory: Enter a folder name for the staging site.

Example directory:

staging

This will create your staging site at:

yourdomain.com/staging

You can choose any folder name you prefer, such as test, dev, or staging-site.

Step 6: Create the Staging Site

1. Review your settings.

2. Click Create Staging.

Softaculous will create a full copy of your website in the staging location. This may take a few moments depending on the size of your site.

Once completed, Softaculous will display a link to your staging website and the admin login page.

Step 7: Work on Your Staging Site

You can now safely test changes on the staging version of your website, such as:

• Updating plugins or extensions

• Testing new themes

• Making design changes

• Testing script updates

These changes will not affect your live website.

Step 8: Push Changes to the Live Site (Optional)

After testing your changes:

1. Return to Softaculous Apps Installer.

2. Click the Installations icon.

3. Locate your staging installation.

4. Use the Push to Live option to apply the changes to your live website.

Tips for Using Staging Sites

• Always create a backup before pushing changes to your live site.

• Test updates on staging first to avoid downtime.

• Use staging for major updates or design changes.

• Delete unused staging sites to save disk space.

If you experience issues creating or managing a staging site, please contact our support team and include any error messages or screenshots so we can assist you further.