Best Workflow for Development w/ Shared IP

  • Resolved KennyLL

    (@kennyll)


    13 years, 2 months ago

    Hi, we were planning on developing all new WP sites on our VPS using unique IP addresses so that all linking would remain relative to root when in development and when switching the domain to go live. So much less to change and less chance for errors with permalinks, plugins, etc. when testing and when going live.

    Unfortunately, there is a shortage of IP addresses left and our host (Host Gator) won’t give out new IPs without the need for an SSL certificate (which most of our sites will not need).

    So every new site we create now will be located at ‘https://shared.ip.add.ress/~cpanelaccount’.

    – What is the best and most foolproof method for developing our sites now?

    – How do we ensure that we can test all aspects, including permalinks, any plugins, any custom theme tweaks, etc. since the URL is not technically a root URL while in development?

    – Are there .htaccess tweaks we need to make, or is it as simple as setting the proper site URL in WP admin, wp-config.php or the database?

    THANKS! This through a huge wrench in our development strategy. Hoping it’s not too complicated of a workaround.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
  • Moderator Ipstenu (Mika Epstein)

    (@ipstenu)

    ?????? Advisor and Activist

    Why not install it in a subfolder and then, when you’re done, either redirect root or move it to root?

    https://codex.www.ads-software.com/Giving_WordPress_Its_Own_Directory

    Thread Starter KennyLL

    (@kennyll)

    Sorry, we figured it out.

    We didn’t want to set it up in a subdirectory with a shared site, database, etc. We really wanted it to be in it’s own account on the root so things like email, FTP, databases, etc. could be setup properly for what they will ultimately be for each client. Makes a lot less effort when it’s time to launch.

    So we found that we can add new cPanel accounts on our VPS as a subdomain instead of just a domain. So we have purchased one main domain for all testing and will just assign a subdomain of that for each new cPanel account/site we develop. While in development our sites will be at the root of this subdomain.

    Then when we go live, we just change the cPanel domain and point the real domain over and it goes live. No transferring files, databases, etc. Less chance for errors.

    Hi KennyLL

    We’re grappling with similar development and moving problems, but I don’t fully understand what you do in cPanel. Could you provide a little more detail?

    Many thanks

    David

    Thread Starter KennyLL

    (@kennyll)

    Hi David,
    Well, what we did was purchase a domain specifically for all of our testing (i.e., webtest.com). Then every time we want to setup a new development site, we create a new cPanel account using a subdomain of this main primary domain (i.e., site101.webtest.com). With our hosting solution (we have a VPS with Host Gator), we can setup an unlimited number of subdomains.

    So this works fine for development, as the main domain is setup and pointed to our hosting solution, so every new subdomain will just work like it should. Now we don’t have to worry about working around subdirectories that would not be there when the site goes live. Only the main domain will change.

    When it’s time for our site to go live, we simply change the domain to what it’s supposed to be. We do this in WHM, not cPanel. So if you don’t have access to something like WHM, you may have to contact your hosting company to make the domain change. Make sure to change your site URLs in WordPress before you make the change, though, as you’ll be ‘locked out’ until the domain propagates.

    BE AWARE, however, that when you change the domain you have to make some changes in the database because of the way WordPress likes to hardcode some paths for images & things. It’s a bit of a pain, but not sure of any way around it. Here’s a link that talks about it.

    Hope this helps. There is a chunk of work to do when the site needs to go live, including some testing to make sure everything’s working properly, but not sure of any better solutions. We’ve created a bunch of sites now using this method.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
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