Top 5 Best WordPress Staging Plugins in 2023

Creating a temporary website is a smart choice when updating your existing site. It helps you avoid the dangers of making changes without understanding their impact on the look and feel of the website. It also allows you to customize exactly what you want, test the changes to ensure they work, and then migrate them to your current website. The best WordPress staging plugins provide you with a safe environment in which you can try new themes, design elements, and website customizations without worrying. Furthermore, these plugins also ensure that if a critical WordPress error occurs, your users will not be able to see it. In this article, we will take you through five best staging plugins for WordPress sites. But before that let’s look at how you can choose the perfect WordPress staging plugin for yourself.

How to Choose a WordPress Staging Plugin?

When choosing a staging plugin for your WordPress site, keep these points in mind.

• Understand the importance and purpose of a staging site. It’s important to remember that a staging site is a duplicate of your live website where you can test new changes without affecting your live site.
• Evaluate the features and functionality of each staging plugin before choosing the right one. Also, access the user interface and usability of the plugin.
• Analyze the staging plugin’s performance and compatibility with WordPress and other browsers and applications.
• Evaluate the security measures of the staging plugin to ensure secretary and security of all your company data.
• Consider the cost of the plugin before making a choice.

Five Best Staging Plugins For Your WordPress Sites

Here are the best staging plugins for your WordPress website.

1. BlogVault

BlogVault is an automated WordPress backup solution that also includes management tools. With a one-click clone setup, it’s simple to set up a WordPress development site on the BlogVault server.

Number of Websites

The number of websites is determined by your plan. BlogVault provides pre-configured plans for one, five, and twenty websites. If you require additional websites, you can select the agency plan.

Ease of use

One-click configuration from the central dashboard allows you to set up a configuration site in less than 10 seconds.

Other Key Features

• Webmail and Google indexing are automatically disabled for site management
• Access changes via SFTP and phpMyAdmin
• The ability to simultaneously view the live site and the design site to compare changes
• Password to protect any copy and HTTP authentication to prevent unauthorized access
• Works with any host and any number of sites
• Seamless client site management

2. WP Staging

WP Staging creates an exact copy of your website in the backup folder of your WordPress installation. The bright orange control panel at the top serves as a constant reminder that you are on a construction site.

Number of websites

You can create up to hundreds of staging sites, depending on the license purchased. Additionally, you can store your personal files in any custom folder or path.

Ease of use

A custom website can be created with just one click on the app. And you just need to select the database file in the table to move to the live site.

Other key features

• Suitable for large websites
• It is possible to define the role of the user who can access the site
• The roles of users having access to the site can also be defined
• WordPress multisite compatible
• It is compatible with shared hosting servers

3. WP Stagecoach

WP Stagecoach does not overwrite your database on import. Instead, the database integration feature is used to optimize your conversions on your active website. This means that changes made to your active site will not be lost if you change the content site or save directly to the administration site.

Number of websites

Depending on your plan, you can make anywhere between three to 75 staging sites on the WP Stagecoach servers.

Ease of use

A few clicks are what you need to clone or make changes to your live site. Other than that, you can also import files or make changes in the databases in a few clicks.

Other key features

• Suitable for large sites and multiple sites
• Imports your files in chunks, ideal for fast servers
• Permanent ad links from your site to the active site reduce migration time
• If something doesn’t work, you can use the link to your old site
• It keeps a central copy of the password

4. Duplicator

Duplicator is a powerful WordPress plugin that offers smooth migration, cloning, and backup facilities. It allows you to move, migrate, or clone a WordPress site between domains or hosts with zero downtime.

Number of websites

On the Basic plan, you can have three websites. Meanwhile, on the unlimited number of websites on the premium plan.

Ease of use

Duplicator is simple to use and seamlessly moves websites back and forth. Copying and pasting files or sections, or changing the code, is easier and smooth with this plugin. However, major changes require a step-by-step website design process. Meanwhile, for minor changes, you can copy the file and upload it to the site.

Other Key Features

• It can move a website to free space or rewrite an active website
• Check the website for issues before creating a package
• Installer makes it easy to create databases and users
• Quickly create custom websites and migrate them to compatible WordPress websites as quickly as possible

5. All-in-One WP Migration

As the name suggests, All-in-One WP Migration is a migration plugin. It is specially designed for non-technical users, thus, it boosts a user-friendly function that can be used by anyone. It is convenient for customization as you can customize your website and drag it to your desktop. When you rewrite your website, you can remove files like spam from the database, and search and replace anything you want, like usernames.

Number of Websites

You can install as many websites as you want with this plugin.

Ease of use

The drag-and-drop feature makes moving files/websites very easy. The site can be moved back and forth, although this requires some manual work.

Other features include

• Divides your website into sections to overcome file size limitations when uploading and downloading files
• Rewrites everything on the live site
• Connect to the administrative site using the original site’s credentials
• Each export generates a local backup for later use. This is only available in the premium package of the plugin

While plugins can be useful in setting up staging websites, you can create a staging website with a few simple steps. Head to our blog to know the steps to build a staging WordPress website.

Conclusion 

We hope this blog provided you with valuable insights on selecting the right WordPress staging plugin for your specific needs. However, if you require further assistance with WordPress website management or encounter any hosting-related issues, we are here to help. At Bluehost, we understand the importance of reliable managed hosting services. That’s why we offer a comprehensive tutorials section specifically tailored to assist you with various aspects of WordPress website management. Whether you need guidance on plugin installation, theme customization, or optimizing website performance, Bluehost’s tutorials provide step-by-step instructions to help you navigate the process with ease. In addition to our tutorials, our dedicated team of experts is available 24/7 to address any questions or concerns you may have. We pride ourselves on delivering exceptional customer support to ensure the seamless functioning of your website.