How to Promote the Agency Staging Site

Promoting a site in Agency in website development allows users to create a staging environment, sometimes called a sandbox or development server. This staging environment replicates your production site (or "live site"), enabling you to test and make updates without impacting the production site. This process provides flexibility and security, ensuring your site remains functional while making essential changes. In this article, we'll discuss what promoting a site means, how it differs from publishing, and how to successfully promote a Agency staging site. Plus, we'll cover troubleshooting steps if you face issues during the promotion process.

• What is Promoting a Site?
• What is the Difference Between Promoting a Site and Publishing a Site?
• How to Promote a Agency Staging Site
• Troubleshooting Steps if Promoting Doesn't Work
• Related Agency Staging Articles
• Summary
   

What is Promoting a Site?

In Agency, you can create a staging version of your website to make changes or updates without impacting your production site. After being satisfied with the changes, you can promote the staging site so the changes are live and active on your website. This process does not interrupt your website's availability while the updates are ongoing.

Promoting a site refers to swapping the staging site with the current staging site. With Agency Staging, we make updates safer and easier for your website. Rather than just replacing your existing site with a clone, we swap the staging site with your production site. This means there's no risk of data loss during updates.

What is the Difference Between Promoting a Site and Publishing a Site?

Although promoting and publishing might seem similar, they have different functions when managing a website in Agency.

• Publishing a Site: Refers to making your website live for the first time or making content changes that are immediately visible to all visitors.
• Promoting a Site: In Agency, promoting a site specifically refers to pushing updates from a staging site to the live version. This ensures your updates have been thoroughly tested and won't disrupt your production site's functionality.

How to Promote a Agency Staging Site

Before you promote the Agency staging environment to an existing production site, you should:

• Create a Staging Site: Begin by duplicating your production site into a staging environment where you can safely make changes.
• Update the Staging Site: Make the desired changes to your staging site, such as content updates, design modifications, or functionality changes.
• Preview and Test: Review your staging site before promoting to ensure everything looks and functions as expected.

Once satisfied, use Agency Staging tools to promote the staging site to the live environment. When you promote changes, your current production site becomes the new staging site, allowing for a quick and efficient switch.

To promote a site in Agency, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your Bluehost Portal.
2. In the left-hand menu, click Websites.
3. Click the Manage button located next to the website you want to manage.

   
    

4. On the website details page, click the Staging tab (use the chevron icon > icon to see the list of all tabs).

   
    

5. Click the Promote button in the Staging Sites section to promote a staging site to production.

   
    

6. A Promote Staging Site warning pop-up will appear, stating that the staging site will replace your production site.

   
    

7. When you click Go Live, the staging site will replace the production site with the current version of the staging site.
8. Wait a moment while your site is being promoted.

   
    

9. You will see a confirmation at the top of your Overview page that your WordPress site has been promoted to production.

   
    

After promotion, monitor the production site and ensure that everything on the production site functions correctly.

Troubleshooting Steps if Promoting Doesn't Work

If promoting a site in Agency doesn't work as expected, try the following troubleshooting steps:

• Check for Conflicting Plugins or Themes: Some plugins or themes may cause issues during promotion. Disable any recently added plugins or themes.
• Clear Caches: Clear both the staging site's cache and your browser cache to avoid viewing outdated content.
• Verify Server Settings: Ensure your server is configured correctly for the promotion. This includes sufficient storage space and the correct permissions.
• Recreate the Staging Site: If the issue persists, recreate the staging environment and repeat the promotion process.
• Contact Bluehost Support: If the above steps don't resolve the issue, contact Bluehost support for further assistance.

Related Agency Staging Articles

• What is Agency Staging
• How to Create a Staging Site
• How to Manage and Edit a Staging Site
• How to Remove or Delete a Staging Site

Summary

Promoting a Agency site is an effective means for web developers and entrepreneurs to ensure that their production site is not affected while making updates. You can test new features, design changes, and content updates through a staging environment before going live, minimizing the risk of breaking the user experience. With these instructions and troubleshooting tips, you can promote updates and maintain your Agency site in running condition.