Go to your Plesk control panel:
In the left sidebar, click WordPress
This opens the WordPress Toolkit, where all your WordPress sites are managed.
Find your live WordPress website from the list
Click the small arrow to expand options
Click the Clone button
Destination domain/subdomain:
Choose a subdomain like staging.yourdomain.com, or create a new one
If you don’t have one, Plesk will automatically create it for you
Target directory:
Default is fine (e.g., /staging/)
Leave database options as-is — Plesk will create a separate database for the staging copy.
Click Start or OK
The cloning process may take a few minutes, depending on your site size.
Once cloning is complete:
You’ll see the new staging site listed in the WordPress Toolkit
Click Log in to access its WordPress admin dashboard
Example URL:
Now you can:
Test theme and plugin updates
Try a new design or layout
Add or change content
Check for bugs or broken links
Your live site stays safe and untouched!
If you’re happy with your changes and want to publish them to your live site:
In WordPress Toolkit, select the staging site
Click Sync or Copy Data
Choose what to sync:
Files only
Database only
Both
Confirm the sync — changes will overwrite the live site
Tip: Always back up both sites before syncing.
| Do This | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Enable Maintenance Mode on staging | Prevent search engines from indexing test content |
| Keep plugins & themes updated | Avoid issues when syncing to live |
| Always test thoroughly | Make sure everything works before syncing |
| Back up before syncing | Protect your live site from accidental changes |
