How to Create Staging for Your Softaculous Installations Make it Rain Paper

Creating a staging environment allows you to test updates or changes to your site before pushing them to production. This guide will walk you through the steps to create a staging environment using Softaculous, with WordPress as an example.

Pre-requirements

• Access to cPanel or another control panel with Softaculous installed
• Administrator login credentials
• An existing WordPress (or other application) installation in Softaculous

Understanding the "Push to Production" Process

A "Push to Production" or "Publishing" is the process of copying files from a development environment to a production (live) server. The typical flow includes:

• Development and testing on a local or development environment.
• Committing code to a repository, where a continuous integration (CI) system can build and deploy it to a test server.
• Once testing and quality assurance (QA) are completed, the code is pushed to the live production environment.

Steps to Create Staging for Your WordPress Installation

1. Log in to cPanel

   Access your cPanel by visiting https://example_domain.com:2083 and log in using your credentials.

2. Open Softaculous End-user Panel

   Click on the Softaculous icon or link from the cPanel dashboard to open the Softaculous End-user panel.

3. Go to the Installations Page

   In Softaculous, click on the All Installations page to view your current installations.

4. Select the Installation to Create Staging

   Locate the installation (e.g., WordPress) that you want to create a staging environment for. Click on the Create Staging icon next to the installation.

5. Fill in the Staging Installation Details

   On the Create Staging page, you will see the details of your current installation. Fill in the following staging installation details:

   • Domain: Choose the domain for the staging environment.
   • Directory: Specify a directory for the staging installation (e.g., staging).
   • Database Name: Enter a new database name for the staging installation.
6. Create the Staging Environment

   Once the details are filled in, click on the Create Staging button. The process may take some time, depending on the size of your installation, so please be patient.

7. Access and Use the Staging Environment

   Once the staging environment is created, you can use it to test updates or any changes you plan to make. The login details (admin/user account) will remain the same as the original installation.

Important Notes

• Staging Installation Details via Email: If emails are enabled, you will receive the details of the staging installation via email.
• Same Login Details: The staging installation will use the same admin and user account login details as the original installation.

By following these steps, you can create a staging environment for your WordPress installation (or other supported applications) using Softaculous. This allows you to safely test updates and changes before pushing them to your live site, reducing the risk of downtime or issues on your production site.