I had problems with this too when I updated my site. I used my old free wordpress site to model a few things, but it has a lot of limitation. Maybe get another hosting site so you can work on it offline?
I had problems with this too when I updated my site. I used my old free wordpress site to model a few things, but it has a lot of limitation. Maybe get another hosting site so you can work on it offline?
Thanks RB40, much more constructive.
I read that I should use wordpress.com and make a mirror site by exporting my current site and importing into wp.com. Then reverse the process when i'm happy w/ the design. I'll give it a shot.
if you don't want to set up another hosting service you can run wordpress on your local machine. It is a little bit technical but it allows you to play around with the site without risking anything on your site.
You can try XAMPP lite, it is a locally run, all-in-one, Apache webserver. So, once you install it, you can load a fresh copy of WordPress into its htdocs folder (make a wp subdirectory). Then start mySQL and Apache and proceed with a normal WordPress install. Use phpMyAdmin (comes with it) to create the database, then manually change the wp-config.php file, and then load up a web browser and go to http://localhost/wp/wp-admin to run the install.Basically, you can run the entire server on your own local machine to test.
You can make changes and observe them instantly in a browser. You can install plugins, themes, etc. Export a copy of your data from the live server and import it into your local one. Etc.
I have a website set up just for design changes. There is basically a copy of each of my blogs templates there, with no content so I can play around with design, widgets etc.
I have a website set up just for design changes. There is basically a copy of each of my blogs templates there, with no content so I can play around with design, widgets etc.
That's what I would recommend.
Do you pay for another domain name? A 2nd host?
@PET – Thanks, i'll look into that plugin.
@Henry – if all else fails i'll try to figure out what you're suggesting. It has been a while since I did that type of work.
Thanks for posting all of this stuff, and thanks for the question SPF – I've been interested in a redesign and curious about how to go about it as well – when I migrated to self hosted, I basically hosed quite a few things up.
Post edited 2:30 pm – August 9, 2011 by Suba @ Wealth Informatics
Ok. Catching up on all the threads after a tiring BlogHer weekend. Here are the options that I know of -
1) set up a "subdomain" test.sustainablepersonalfinance.com and install wordpress in there and do your thing. No one will know the url. You do not have to get a new domain and usually the host will allow unlimited subdomains (I am not talking about unlimited hosting here, just subdomains). So it won't cost you any money. I prefer this way because it lets you test the changes in the environment it will be deployed. If there is any conflict to the version of your apache, you will know right away.
2) Theme test drive. We talked about it here http://yakezie.com/forums/priv…..me-switch/ but note that if you are changing the sidebars, people will see the change. This plugin is good for whole theme change, not for sidebar tweaking.
3) This has worked for me before, but it depends on YOUR cache setting, so you might want to test this at mid night or something. If you have the W3TC and have enabled it, you can make all the changes and keep hitting "preview" to check it on your own. No one will see it until you have hit "deploy" and "empty all caches". Otherwise the site will be served from the cache.
4) wordpress.com site but it has limited editing capability so you might not go far.
5) XAMPP or Appserv or some similar method. Make sure you install the exact version of mysql/php as your server to avoid any surprises. This works fairly well for long term back ups too.
Thanks Suba. I hope it isn't difficult to set up a subdomain. My hosting service is really good about support so i'm sure Dave will help me if I need a hand.
Post edited 2:19 pm – August 9, 2011 by Financial Success for Young Adults
I have an extra domain that I am not using so far. I basically set up a 'test' subdomain on it with the theme files.
I once bought domains like crazy! Now I'm more methodical about my domain name choices. This the last one that has to expire. Still not sure if I can figure out a way to make it profitable.
Oh yeah, and I have unlimited domain hosting with Hostgator so I can host as many websites as I like with them.
Yes thanks Suba. I have been thinking of some theme changes myself and the subdomain looks like the way to go. Thanks for the tips. They are very useful.
I've used the subdomain route before and it works beautifully. I think I actually need to get that set back up again, and get rolling on a redesign myself…
Suba has given me great advice on this in the past and a sub-domain is definitely the way to go to try out your changes in a Test environment before posting them live.
Also, I'm a bit anal and have taken two extra measures to make sure my sub-domain was not found by people or search engines. Within the WordPress settings for your sub-domain:
Unders Settings: Privacy, I choose the radio button:
If you are testing out new posts or pages, mark each of them as Visibility: "private" next to the "publish" button. This way they will only be seen to a logged in admin.
Thanks Suba for the info. I've usually done my updates *live* and have been lucky so far that I haven't broken anything!! I think I'm going to go the subdomain route for next time – seems like a much better idea
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