Are you seeking the finest WordPress staging plugin?
In 2022, we’ve compiled a new list of WordPress staging plugins. Sorted by features, dependability, convenience of use, and other factors. You’ll know exactly which local WordPress staging plugin to use to create a test site by the end of this post.
When you’re ready to make a major update to your WordPress website, the first thing you should do is manually backup the site, clone it, or establish a test site so you can quickly restore the backup later.
Whether you’re trying to upgrade your WordPress theme and don’t want to lose any customizations you’ve made, or you want to make sure a plugin won’t cause your website to crash, we’ve got you covered.
A WordPress local staging plugin will offer you a secure environment in which to experiment. Make sure your site meets all of the requirements listed in our WordPress security checklist. These are simple to test on your local test site.
Best WordPress Staging Plugins
1. BlogVault
There are several instances in which you can find yourself in need of BlogVault. It is one of the most widely used WordPress backup and restoration plugins. BlogVault is also handy for site migrations, as well as providing access to a staging environment.
The staging tool in BlogVault is fantastic for a variety of reasons. For starters, it takes place on BlogVault’s servers, which are located off-site.
It’s simple to set up, regardless of the hosting service you choose, and it integrates seamlessly with your actual website. You can also choose whether to combine individual modifications or the full test site.
Staging is a key element of BlogVault, and you may use it for free if you subscribe to the service, which starts at just over $7 per month.
The staging capability is standard with all BlogVault plans. There’s a seven-day free trial, and single-site prices range from $7.40 to $20.75 per month, depending on the services you need. The cost of additional sites increases from there.
The number of websites you can have is determined by your package. BlogVault has plans for one, five, and twenty websites. The Agency options are available if you require more staging sites for additional websites.
2. UpdraftClone
We come across UpdraftPlus and its Updraft Clone service if we stick to the more popular backup plugins that might offer staging.
The primary UpdraftPlus plugin is completely free and provides outstanding backup and restore functionality. If you want to use Updraft Clone to generate a clone of your website, this is also a must.
Updraft Clone allows you to make a replica of your website right within UpdraftPlus. The staging website will be stored in several data centers for a limited time – you can choose which location your clone site will be hosted.
Updraft makes cloning your website extremely simple. It’s a simple one-click operation.
The clone site (i.e. your staging site) expires after 24 hours, which is the one drawback. You can extend it for a week at a time for as long as you wish for a nominal monthly price.
Updraft protects your data during transmission and storage with encryption, and it makes it simple to transfer your clone to the live version of the website.
Updraft Clone is a premium service based on tokens. A single token is required to create a clone for 24 hours. Each successive week of the clone’s life costs an additional token after that. The price of a set of five tokens starts at $15.
3. WP Staging – Backup, Migrate, and Clone
This WordPress backup and restore plugin allows you to make a copy of your WordPress site, move it to a different server, or duplicate it for development.
There are several compelling reasons to utilize a plugin like WP Staging, which allows you to keep all of your sensitive data on your server, where you have complete control.
WP Staging will make a copy of your site and save it in a subfolder. To minimize downtime, the plugin will make the clone promptly and without generating any server timeouts.
The clone will be accessible only to website admins, and it will be hidden from search engines to avoid any potential concerns. You’ll eventually be able to tell that you’re working on the staging site rather than the live site since the staging site has an orange admin bar.
The plugin’s basic functionality is available for free. Additional capabilities are available if you purchase the Pro edition of the plugin, which starts at $106 for lifetime use on a single website.
These include cloning to a custom directory, making the clone accessible via a subdomain, multisite support, streaming, and migration.
4. WP Stagecoach
Many staging plugins are backup plugins that also provide staging as a feature. WP Stagecoach, on the other hand, is a staging plugin in and of itself.
It was created with the sole goal of safely producing and editing copies of your website, then selecting which changes to apply to the real site.
The ability to join databases is the plugin’s main selling point. This is perfect if you made large database changes to your live website while working on the transfer site. WP Stagecoach recognizes that the world will not stop shopping at your store while you try out a new plugin.
The rest of the capabilities included in the beginning pricing of $99 per year are exactly what you’d expect from a staging plugin.
It’s simple to use, makes password-protected clones of your website, and allows you to import individual files, databases, or both.
5. WP Time Capsule
The ability of the WP Time Capsule plugin to identify and save only changes made to a website is one of the key reasons people consider using it. WP Time Capsule’s staging and cloning capabilities, on the other hand, can provide more than just highly focused real-time backups.
WP Time Capsule allows you to instantly generate clones of your website. The clone of your website can be used to test updates, restore past versions of the website, or make any other modifications you desire. You may quickly copy the modifications to your live website or migrate the website using a clone.
A 30-day free trial of the plugin is available. After the trial period has ended, you must either join up for an annual subscription starting at $49 or purchase the plugin for $149 for two installs.
6. Duplicator
Due to its versatility and adaptability, Duplicator is one of the most popular migration plugins among WordPress users. Over a million people have already downloaded it! Duplicator can not only migrate your WordPress site but can also back it up to prevent data loss.
The Duplicator is simple to operate. Above all, it is compatible with almost every hosting service available. If you have internal links, Duplicator will modify them automatically when the domain changes.
You can pick straight away if you wish to transfer your website from a localHost or another website after installing this plugin. The process is quite quick, albeit it is dependent on the size of the website.
There are also hundreds of tutorials on YouTube that explain to you how to use this plugin to duplicate your website.
Daily backups, which may be stored on Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, or a variety of other platforms, are another really handy function. All of this, however, is possible in the Pro version.
Price: Duplicator has a free version, however, it can only handle webpages up to 500 MB in size. The Pro plans, which start at $59 and include one year of maintenance and updates, have no such limit.
The Basic Plan (Pro) allows for three websites, with no limit on the highest plan. Your servers host the staging sites. You’ll need to upgrade to use cloud storage and FTP.
7. All-in-One WP Migration
The All-in-One WP Migration plugin is another excellent WordPress staging plugin that is accessible for free and includes some of the most useful functions.
This is a WordPress migration plugin that may also be used to build capable staging sites. Because of its dependable services, the plugin is highly popular in the WordPress repository.
The plugin was created with beginners in mind, thus it features a basic and intuitive interface as well as a short setup process to make every user profile feel at ease. The All-in-One WP Migration plugin allows you to migrate or construct a staging site with little to no technical experience.
The plugin makes a clone of your WordPress website, which you can download, upload to a staging area you’ve already set up, and start testing with.
You can either exclude certain files, such as spam comments and databases, or use the search functionality to discover and change files while copying your website.
This plugin has the advantage of being compatible with practically all web hosting providers. They also have plugins that can assist you in migrating your site to cloud storage services such as Dropbox or Google Drive.
It also has a free version while the unlimited extension is available for $69.
8. Duplicator – WordPress Migration Plugin
Another multipurpose WordPress plugin on the list, this time we’ll show you Duplicator, which is primarily meant for migration but can also be used to clone your site and build a staging site.
The plugin works without causing any downtime, allowing you to clone or duplicate your website without any delay.
You can easily clone your WordPress website, upload it to localhost for development, and set up a staging site to test and update it.
The plugin is widely used in the WordPress community and is available for free download. The plugin creates a zip file that contains all of your site’s files, plugins, themes, databases, and content.
The zip file will contain the full WordPress website, which you may move to a new server or any other location that serves WordPress websites.
Duplicator’s complete process of constructing a staging site can be a little hard for beginners, thus it’s best suited to individuals with more technical understanding. One of the other WordPress staging plugins on the list is an option. Nonetheless, even in its free version, the plugin has several useful functions.
9. BoldGrid
BoldGrid not only offers real-time backup but also WordPress security. It backs up all media files, posts, comments, reviews, and site dashboards on the servers, in addition to databases.
It also protects your WordPress site against malware, WordPress hacking, server breakdowns, and other forms of damage. However, to handle security, statistics, backups, and activities, users must open an entirely new dashboard.
Total Upkeep creates a comprehensive backup solution that protects your website from data loss.
One of the most important WordPress backup plugins, providing 360-degree data protection. Install this backup plugin to keep your site from crashing unexpectedly. There are 80,000+ users registered and its premium price starts at $60 per year.
10. WP Time Capsule – Backup and Staging
Moving on with our list of the top WordPress staging plugins, it’s time to introduce the WP Time capsule. This plugin is ideal for establishing a staging site with maximum flexibility while also taking automatic backups of your website.
The plugin was created to serve as the primary backup and staging solution for enterprises, eCommerce stores, and agencies.
The plugin also allows you to connect to a cloud app where you can store backup files for your website. The plugin works similarly to BlogVault in that it produces a staging site from a full backup of your website.
The plugin is capable of handling enormous websites thanks to an excellent feature that allows you to divide your website into little chunks and then reassemble all of the pieces to create a staging site without ever leaving files behind.
With a simple click, you can create staging sites and begin your trials and experiments to complete any website improvements you’ve been planning.
Because the plugin is primarily a backup plugin, you will also benefit from automatic website backup and updates. Using the features of this plugin, you may easily clone or migrate your website to a new location.
