Creating a Staging Environment for WordPress with the help of WP Migrate DB Pro

Creating a Staging Environment for WordPress with the help of WP Migrate DB Pro

WordPress is highly customizable, but if you want to set up automated deployments, it can require a complex configuration. Some code might be stored in a Git repository, some files might need to be copied/installed from other locations, and site settings could be either in the database or in separate config files. This can make preparing a staging environment neither easy nor convenient. Every time you want to set things up, you must deal with the same three things:

  • migrate the database between environments and updating the URLs
  • match up the contents of the uploads directory
  • install the same plugins on both environments

Each of the above can be tackled in many different ways. There is, however, one method guaranteed to cut down the hassle and configuration time to the absolute minimum.

Success
In this guide, we'll show you how to use the WP Migrate DB Pro plugin to simplify all steps required to create a WordPress Staging environment and keep it up-to-date. We’ll also show how to use Buddy to help with migrating the required data.

Requirements

  • Two WordPress environments: Production (which is the current live site) and Staging (empty WordPress installation)
  • WP Migrate DB Pro (Developer license or higher) with the CLI addon installed on both environments with license activated
  • WP-CLI
  • SSH access to the staging server

Additionally we recommended to install:

  • Media Files addon - to have your Media Files synced across environments
  • Theme & Plugin Files addon - to have the same Themes and Plugins installed on all environments

Plugin configuration

The first step is preparing WP Migrate DB Pro to migrate data from the Production environment. We want the Production environment to be the single source of truth (SSOT) for all required data.

To make sure that this is possible and that we won't modify the Production environment by accident, go to WP Migrate DB Pro's permission settings and flip the Pull switch only:

Image loading...Migration permission settingsMigration permission settings

Hint
With only this setting enabled, other instances of WP Migrate DB Pro will be able to pull data from Production but not push data to Production, so no risk of overwriting. Only allowed instances (those with a valid key) will be allowed to pull the data.

Next, copy the Production environment's Connection Info – we'll need it for the next step: Image loading...Connection InfoConnection Info

Preparing new migration profile

When you're done, it's time to configure a new migration profile on the Staging environment. You’ll want to set it up to pull the data from the production environment, into the staging one.

  1. Go to ProfilesNew migrationPull
  2. Paste the Connection Info string copied from the production environment, into the Connection Info textarea.

If the connection is successful, you can fill in the rest of migration details according to the requirements:

Image loading...WP Migrate DB Pro Migration SettingsWP Migrate DB Pro Migration Settings

We want to create a migration profile, not actually run the migration, so you can click Save Profile, and give the profile a name.

Tip

It's a good idea to create a couple of migration profiles with different configurations. This will allow you to synchronize exactly the data you need:

  • Migrate Database Only – migrates the DB only
  • Migrate Database and Media – migrates DB and Media Library
  • Migrate All – migrates DB, media library, themes, and plugins

Automation with pipelines

Once you have a few saved profiles, the whole transfer process can be streamlined to a single click using a pipeline in Buddy, the perfect CI/CD companion for WordPress developers.

With WP-CLI installed, triggering the migration profile is as easy as running:

wp migratedb profile <profile_id>$

The best idea is to create a separate pipeline that will deal with migration only (Buddy has no limit on the number of pipelines in a project, so you needn't worry about it).

Tip
If you haven't used Buddy before, this short article will get you started in 10 minutes.
  1. Add a new pipeline and set the trigger mode to Manual so that it's activated by clicking a button.
  2. Select Pass arguments as the first action in the pipeline. We will use to define which migration profile we want to execute (DB only / DB & media / All) by selecting a specific value of an argument on each pipeline run.

    • Set the Input type to options.
    • Set the Key to migration_type.
    • Set the Value to the ordinal number of the migration profile in WP Migrate Pro.
Tip
You can add multiple values by hitting enter and writing in a new line.

Here's what the configuration looks like:

Image loading...PHP action config - Pass argumentsPHP action config - Pass arguments

Warning
Remember to swap the numbers to match the profile IDs in your account: Image loading...PHP action configPHP action config
  1. The next step is adding the SSH action that connects to your Staging server and triggers the migration. Add the following command in the action's terminal:
wp migratedb profile ${migration_type}

As you can see, the command uses the {migration_type} parameter, which allows the Pass arguments action to determine which migration profile is used.

When you're done, run the pipeline. When you trigger the execution, Buddy will ask you to choose which value of the {migration_type} parameter to use, effectively letting you choose the migration profile:

Image loading...PHP action configPHP action config

Now, with all required data in place, you can safely deploy and test your changes.

Summary

The idea presented above is just a small glimpse of how automation can aid developers in their every day work. Smart plugins such as WP Migrate DB Pro can bring a massive boost by eliminating mundane tasks, while the entry threshold to DevOps has never been so low with Buddy visualizing the entire delivery process in the GUI.

What a time to be alive!

Maciek Palmowski

Maciek Palmowski

WordPress & PHP Developer

Maciek is a WordPress Ambassador working at Buddy. An active participant in the Open Source world, he spends most of his free time trying to find interesting news for WP Owls newsletter or cycling.