Staging Environment TroubleshootingPRO

Not Enough Disk Space

Symptom: "Insufficient disk space" error or creation stops midway

Solution:

• Staging requires roughly the same disk space as your production site
• Check available space in your hosting panel (cPanel > Disk Usage, Plesk > Statistics, etc.)
• Delete old backups, cache files, or logs to free space
• Consider upgrading hosting plan if consistently low on space

Database Creation Fails

Symptom: "Could not create staging database" or database prefix errors

Solution:

• Check database limits - Some hosts limit the number of databases you can create
• Verify permissions - Your database user needs CREATE DATABASE permission
• Manual database creation - Create a database manually in cPanel/phpMyAdmin, then retry

File Copy Timeout

Symptom: Progress bar stops during file copying

Solution:

• Increase PHP max_execution_time to 300+ seconds
• Exclude large directories (cache, logs, backups) from staging
• Try creating staging during off-peak hours
• For very large sites, contact host about increasing server limits

Directory Permission Denied

Symptom: "Cannot create directory" or "Permission denied"

Solution:

• Staging creates a subdirectory (e.g., /staging/) in your WordPress root
• Ensure the parent directory is writable (permission 755)
• Check that the web server user owns or can write to the directory

Via FTP Client (Shared Hosting):

1. Connect via FileZilla or similar FTP client
2. Right-click your WordPress root folder
3. Choose "File Permissions" and set to 755
4. If staging still fails, contact your host about directory ownership

Via SSH (VPS/Dedicated):

White Screen or 500 Error

Symptom: Staging URL shows blank page or server error

Debug Steps:

Links Redirect to Production Site

Symptom: Clicking links on staging takes you to production

Solution:

The URL replacement may have failed. Manually update wp-config.php in staging:

And run search-replace in the staging database:

Images/CSS Not Loading

Symptom: Staging looks broken, unstyled, or images are missing

Possible Causes:

• Hardcoded URLs - Theme or plugins have hardcoded production URLs
• CDN issues - CDN is serving production assets to staging
• Mixed content - HTTP/HTTPS mismatch

Solutions:

• Disable CDN plugins on staging (Cloudflare, WP Rocket CDN, etc.)
• Run a thorough search-replace for all URL variations
• Check browser console for specific blocked resources

Plugins Not Working on Staging

Symptom: Specific plugin features don't work on staging

Common Causes:

• License validation - Plugin licenses may only work on specific domains
• API keys - Payment gateways, email services configured for production domain
• Cron jobs - Scheduled tasks may not run on staging subdirectory

WooCommerce Theme Crashes on Staging

Symptom: "Call to undefined function is_checkout()" or similar fatal errors

Cause:

Your theme uses WooCommerce functions but WooCommerce wasn't activated before the theme loaded.

Solution:

Activate WooCommerce BEFORE activating your theme. Via WP-CLI:

SSL Certificate Error on Staging

Symptom: "Your connection is not private" when accessing staging

Solutions:

• Wildcard SSL - If staging is at staging.yourdomain.com, you need a wildcard SSL (*.yourdomain.com)
• Subdirectory staging - If staging is at yourdomain.com/staging/, your existing SSL should cover it automatically
• Let's Encrypt - Run Certbot again to include the staging subdomain

Mixed Content Warnings

Symptom: Browser shows "Not Secure" even with SSL

Solution:

• Some URLs in the database still use HTTP instead of HTTPS
• Run search-replace in staging database:

Push to Live Fails

Symptom: Error when trying to push staging to production

Checklist:

• Ensure you have a recent backup of production (created automatically but verify)
• Check disk space on server
• Verify database user has proper permissions
• Disable caching plugins temporarily

Production Broken After Push

Symptom: Live site has errors after pushing staging changes

Immediate Recovery:

Only Want to Push Certain Changes

Question: Can I push only specific files or database tables?

Options:

• Full push - SiteVault pushes the complete staging environment
• Manual selective push - For selective changes, manually copy specific files via FTP or export/import specific database tables
• Plugin-based changes - For plugins like Elementor, use built-in export/import features

Sync Overwrites My Staging Changes

Symptom: Lost changes on staging after syncing from production

Understanding Sync:

Sync from Live replaces staging data with production data. If you have uncommitted changes on staging, they will be lost.

Best Practice:

• Before sync: Push staging changes to production first, OR
• Export changes: Export theme/plugin files you modified before syncing
• Document changes: Keep notes of what you changed so you can re-apply

Sync Takes Too Long

Symptom: Sync process times out or takes hours

Solutions:

• Large media libraries take longest - exclude uploads folder if not needed
• Run sync during off-peak hours
• For very large sites, delete and recreate staging instead of syncing

Staging Using Too Much Space

Symptom: Server running out of disk space after creating staging

Space-Saving Tips:

• Delete unused staging sites - If you're done testing, delete the staging environment
• Exclude large directories - Don't include cache, logs, or old backups in staging
• Share uploads folder - Some setups can symlink to production uploads (advanced)
• One staging at a time - Don't create multiple staging sites unless necessary

How to Delete a Staging Site