How to Create a Development WordPress Site

How to Create a Development WordPress Site in cPanel

Creating a development WordPress site in cPanel is a great way to test changes, develop new features, and ensure everything works perfectly before making updates to your live site. This article will guide you through the steps to set up a development environment using cPanel, covering creating a sub-domain, installing WordPress using WordPress Manager, and editing the site.

Step 1: Creating a Sub-domain

  1. Log in to cPanel.
  2. Click Domains.
    Domains Button cPanel
  3. Click Create A New Domain.
    Create New Domain Button in cPanel
  4. Enter the subdomain you wish to create. E.g. staging.example.com. Click Submit
    Create a subdomain in cPanel

Step 2: Installing WordPress Using WordPress Manager

  1. In Ecenica Dashboard. Click Manage next your Ecenica hosting service.
  2. Click WordPress Manager .
    WordPress Manager in Ecenica Dashboard
  3. Click Install
    Click the install button in WordPress Manager
  4. Select the sub-domain you created in Step 1 from the drop-down list.
    WordPress Install Select Domain
  5. Enter the Admin username, password and Admin Email you want to use. These will become your login details for your WordPress site.
  6. Select a theme. This is optional and you can change themes at any time. Click the Select button to choose a theme or leave unselected to use the default WordPress theme.
    WordPress Manager Install select theme
  7. Click Install at the bottom of the page to install WordPress.

Step 3: Editing the Site

Once the installation is complete, you will see a success message with the URL to your new development site (e.g., https://dev.yourdomain.com) and the admin URL (e.g., https://dev.yourdomain.com/wp-admin).

  1. Log in to WordPress Admin:
    • Go to the admin URL of your development site (e.g., https://dev.yourdomain.com/wp-admin).
    • Log in with the admin username and password you created during the installation.
  2. Customize Your Site:
    • From the WordPress dashboard, you can start customizing your development site.
    • Install and activate themes and plugins from the Appearance and Plugins menus.
    • Create and edit pages and posts using the Pages and Posts menus.
    • Adjust settings and configurations from the Settings menu.
  3. Testing and Development:
    • Use this environment to test new features, themes, plugins, and updates without affecting your live site.
    • Ensure everything functions as expected in the development site before implementing changes on your live site.

Step 4: Push your dev site live

Once you’re ready to push your development WordPress website to your live domain follow How-to clone a WordPress website to a new domain for steps to easily clone your WordPress development site on to your new live domain using Ecenica WordPress Manager