Softaculous
How to Create a Staging Site in Softaculous
Clone your live website to a staging environment so you can test changes safely before going live.
A staging site is a private copy of your website where you can test changes, updates, or new designs without affecting your live visitors.
Step 1: Open Your Installation
Log in to cPanel → Softaculous → All Installations. Click the Clone icon next to your site.
Step 2: Configure the Staging Clone
- Clone to URL: Choose a subdomain (e.g., staging.yourdomain.com — create it first in cPanel → Subdomains)
- Clone to Directory: /public_html/staging (or match your subdomain's doc root)
- Clone Database: Yes — check this box to copy the database too
Click Clone Installation.
Step 3: Test Your Changes
Visit staging.yourdomain.com, log in with the same credentials, and make your changes. Test thoroughly.
Step 4: Push to Live
Once satisfied, use the Push to Live feature (see the Push to Live article) to overwrite the production site with your staging copy.
Tips
- Add password protection to the staging subdomain so visitors can't stumble onto it (cPanel → Directory Privacy)
- Staging and live share nothing after cloning — changes on one don't affect the other until you push
- Delete the staging installation when you're done to free up disk space
Want us to handle it?
330 Hosting can do this for you.
Use the guide above if you want to do it yourself. If you would rather avoid breaking email, DNS, files, SSL, or WordPress, our support team can help.