How to set up staging environment on Cloudways

intermediate 7 min read Updated 2026-03-13

Quick Answer

Log into Cloudways, select your live application, access Staging Management, and launch a staging clone on the same or another server. Enable 'Create as Staging' checkbox, proceed with cloning files and database. Access via temporary URL for testing without affecting production.

Prerequisites

Cloudways account with active server and application
Live application ready for cloning
Sufficient server resources for staging
Admin access to the production app

Step-by-Step Instructions

Log into Cloudways account

Sign into your Cloudways account at platform.cloudways.com and navigate to the top navigation bar to begin the staging setup process.

Select Servers or Applications

From the top navigation, select Servers (or Applications if in flexible view), then choose the server hosting your live application.

Use flexible view for quicker access to applications if available.

Enter live application

Click on the specific live application (e.g., 'www') from the server list to open the Application Management panel.

Open Staging Management

Locate and open Staging Management (also called the 'Staging' tab) within Application Management—this serves as the control center for staging tools.

This tab shows options for creating and managing staging environments.

Launch staging application

Click 'Launch Staging Application' or 'Create Staging Environment' (may appear as 'Clone App/Create Staging' on hover over the app grid).

Choose target server

In the pop-up, select the target server for the staging clone—use the same server if resources allow, or another; prefer locations close to production for best performance.

Keep server location near your audience to match production performance.

Enable Create as Staging

Check the 'Create as Staging' checkbox to label it as staging, isolate it from production, and apply staging-specific configurations.

This step ensures clear separation and proper labeling.

Proceed with cloning

Click 'Continue' or 'Proceed' to start cloning files, database, and configs—the UI-driven process takes minutes based on site size, no terminal commands needed.

Monitor progress in the dashboard; time varies with app size.

Locate new staging app

Once complete, find the new staging app under Applications in main navigation or server list—it gets a temporary URL like staging-appname.serverid.cloudwaysapps.com.

Access staging details

From the Application Overview, note the staging URL, WordPress/MySQL logins (copy from live if needed), SFTP/SSH credentials, and database manager for testing.

Verify by logging into backend/frontend and test changes safely.

Common Issues & Troubleshooting

Cloning process takes too long or fails

Check server resources and monitoring in Server Management; ensure sufficient allocation matching production and retry if low on CPU/RAM.

Staging URL inaccessible after creation

Confirm temporary domain in Application Overview; copy credentials from live site and access via provided staging URL—no DNS changes needed.

Database not cloning properly

Verify database config matches production in Access Details tab; use Push/Pull options in Staging Management to sync data if needed.

Insufficient server resources for staging

Select a different target server with more resources or upgrade plan; monitor via Server Management > Monitoring.

Confusion between staging and live environments

Always check 'Create as Staging' checkbox and verify labels/URLs in dashboard; use Staging Management for clear push/pull directions.

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