How to make changes without it showing online

[jasnick]

I am using CMSMS latest version.

I am familiar with the Sitedown setting which more or less removes the site from view, but am wondering how to use the Admin section while the site remains online without the changes being immediately apparent online. If I want to experiment with stuff, how do I do it ?

Thanks

[M@rtijn]

You could install XAMPP or WAMP on your computer and copy your website. That way you can 'play' around, if you make a mistake the main website is unaffected. If you found something that works, it's just a matter of copying files/templates/content between your local and web installation.

Another way to do this: (with thanks to Wishbone)

In the CPanel hosting that I use, we can point add-on domains to arbitrary directory. I point my add-on domains to ~/websites/<domain> to keep it separate from my primary domain, which is in the public_html directory.

I can't point my primary domain anywhere other than public_html, however, even though I would want it to be in the same path ~/websites. What I do is replace the public_html directory with a sym-link to ~/websites/primarydomain.com so that I can keep all my domain hosting directories consistent.

If you have the ability to move your domain to a different directory, then this could be a solution.


As a side note, I have a different directory for each version of CMS.. e.g. ~/websites/mydomain.com_1.9.1 . When I upgrade, I copy all the files to the new version, duplicate the database, update config.php to point to the new database and path, then test the upgrade. Once I verify that everything works, I tell CPanel to point the domain to ~/websites/mydomain.com_1.9.3 . If something goes catastrophically wrong, the main website is unaffected. If I find something wrong later, I have the old install to compare to, which I can put on a subdomain.. e.g. 191.mydomain.com.

[jasnick]

Thanks M@rtijn - I was wondering if there was an option via CMSMS but obviously not. It so happens that I already have XAMPP on a thumbdrive. I used that for trying out CMSMS before I decided to use it. So that is an option.

Also, I recently set up another domain on my hosting just for testing websites. I can also take advantage of add-on domains. So I could set up a site there for designing and testing then just move the whole lot over when finished. I could then download to another thumbdrive and keep it as a backup and for making changes etc.

Thanks for the reply.

[Wishbone]

Another way to do this: (with thanks to Wishbone)

As a side note, I have a different directory for each version of CMS.. e.g. ~/websites/mydomain.com_1.9.1 . When I upgrade, I copy all the files to the new version, duplicate the database, update config.php to point to the new database and path, then test the upgrade. Once I verify that everything works, I tell CPanel to point the domain to ~/websites/mydomain.com_1.9.3 . If something goes catastrophically wrong, the main website is unaffected. If I find something wrong later, I have the old install to compare to, which I can put on a subdomain.. e.g. 191.mydomain.com.

I was thinking about developing a module that would sync up two installs. I could have a 'dev' and 'prd' install. All content changes would happen on the production install. When I need to test out a module upgrade, massive changes to content, etc, I would copy files and the database from prd to dev, then do my work on the dev install. Once I'm satisfied with the updates, I would copy dev to prd to make the changes go 'live'. The control panel would offer choices of what to sync up, such as 'database', 'core', 'plugins', 'config.php' (with appropriate changes) and /uploads.

It would be nice if 2.0 supported true revision control, but all third-party modules would have to have this support as well for it to work right.

[calguy1000]

Uhm, I wrote a module for that already... SitePusher.
not sure if it still works, but it used to work fine.

[Wishbone]

Thanks.. I'll have to test it out.

[calguy1000]

of course, now I would do it differently..
the new module would sqldump the database, tar up everything... transmit 1 file via ftp, and use a separate expander script to restore.

[jasnick]

I like the idea of a "dev" and "prd" install. That is what I meant - somewhere to work on the site and test it out without making it public and keeping it to hand to do revisions etc when necessary.

[Duketown]

In these types of situations, I prepare a page that is not searchable, not cached and is not displayed in the menu. Up to yourself to use a obscure name as alias. Next use index.php?page=[your new page].

Duketown

[jasnick]

Thanks Duketown - that's another good idea