Staging Environment

The Dealers Site has a dedicated staging environment on WP Engine for QA and pre-production testing.

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Staging URL

The staging URL is provided in the WP Engine portal. It typically follows the pattern:

https://dealersscottsdale.wpengine.com

(Or a custom staging domain if configured.)

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Creating a Staging Environment

From the WP Engine portal:

1. Navigate to the dealersscottsdale production site.
2. Click Staging → Add Staging Environment.
3. Click Copy Production to Staging to populate staging with a fresh copy of production data.

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Syncing Environments

Production → Staging

Use when you need a fresh copy of production data for testing:

1. WP Engine portal → Staging → Copy Production to Staging

caution

Any existing staging content will be overwritten.

Staging → Production (Deploy)

Use when you're satisfied staging changes are ready for release:

1. WP Engine portal → Staging → Push to Production

Always create a production backup before pushing staging to production.

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URL Differences Between Environments

When copying production to staging, WP Engine automatically handles URL replacement (scottsdalemint.com → wpengine.com staging URL) in the database using its Search & Replace tool.

The Suma Elementor WooCommerce\ShipStation class detects the environment by checking if the current URL contains wpengine or scottsdale.cc and uses the appropriate ShipStation store ID:

if ( strpos( $actual_link, 'wpengine' ) !== false || strpos( $actual_link, 'scottsdale.cc' ) !== false ) {
    $data['storeId'] = 80276;  // Production
} else {
    $data['storeId'] = 66519;  // Staging
}

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Staging-Specific Configuration

Some integrations should use test/sandbox credentials on staging:

Integration	Staging Action
ShipStation	Uses store ID 66519 (staging store)
Klaviyo	Use a separate test list to avoid emailing real dealers
Algolia	Can share the same index or use a separate _staging index
Gravity Forms	Disable live email notifications; route to admin-only test address