A staging site is a clone of a website used by designers to test new features without affecting the main site. It is uploaded to a separate server to prevent errors from interfering with the main site. Only designers and administrators typically test the staging site, but some websites allow users to provide feedback.
A staging site is commonly used in website designing to give designers a place to use new website features without any harmful effects. The staging site itself is a clone of the main website, but any new functionality and programming is added to this clone environment only. To place the site online, the designer needs to use a server, known as a staging server. In addition to seeing the new website in action, this staging area also prevents any poor or incorrect coding from destroying the main website and interfering with regular users. While most of the testing is done by the designer, some website owners allow other users to test and see the new website while it’s still in production.
The staging site is a virtual clone of the main website, but with all new features and programming built into it. If the designer wishes, the staging website can have a completely different design, but this is not common, because the most intensive features are normally tested in this environment. For example, if the website allows users to add articles or comments, this environment would allow the designer to ensure the functions work perfectly.
To use a staging site, it must be uploaded to a staging server. This can be a separate server from the server hosting the main website, or it can just be a separate section of the same server. In both cases, the staging and main websites are kept separate, so one cannot interfere with the other. This also prevents the designer from accidentally confusing the two.
The separation between the main site and the staging site is important, because the staging site can break the main site if coding is done incorrectly. If the designer is testing a new feature and the coding is done incorrectly, they may bring down the entire website or disable core features. If this is done in a test environment, the designer can work calmly to fix the problem; if this is done on the main website, the designer needs to hurry to ensure that visitors are not affected by the problem.
Normally, the only people testing a staging site are the designer and any administrative team working on the website. Some websites, especially popular ones, may allow users to test the staging website. This allows the staging site to experience real-world use and the designers to get user feedback on the new design or new features.
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