{"id":4236,"date":"2020-01-28T11:12:45","date_gmt":"2020-01-28T17:12:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/blog\/wordpress-dev-environment\/"},"modified":"2020-01-28T11:12:45","modified_gmt":"2020-01-28T17:12:45","slug":"wordpress-dev-environment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/blog\/wordpress-dev-environment\/","title":{"rendered":"Setting Up a WordPress Development Environment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beginning development on a new website requires a lot of careful planning. For example, you\u2019ll want to decide how to approach the \u2018under construction\u2019 stage of the project. You\u2019ll likely need to shield potential visitors from seeing your website when it\u2019s still in progress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where development environments can come in handy. This kind of environment gives you a place to do all the design and programming work on your new site, without anyone accidentally seeing it. Then, you can push it live when it\u2019s fully ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we\u2019ll take a look at two different kinds of development environments. We\u2019ll also show you how to get started with both options. If you\u2019re ready, let\u2019s dive right in! <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

What Is a WordPress Development Environment?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A WordPress development environment is essentially a private, contained workspace set up specifically for building, testing, and modifying WordPress websites without affecting a live, public-facing site. Think of it as a sandbox or workshop where developers can safely experiment with code, themes, plugins (making it a perfect WordPress plugin development environment), and updates. There are primarily two types: a local environment<\/em>, which runs entirely on your own computer (offline access is a key benefit), and a remote or online WordPress development environment<\/em>, hosted on a server but kept private. Both differ from a staging environment<\/em> (like WP Engine\u2019s staging sites), which is typically a clone of the live site used for final testing before deployment. Using a dedicated WordPress environment offers significant advantages, including privacy during development, often faster performance since it\u2019s not serving public traffic, the ability to break things without consequence to the live site, and better version control opportunities, especially when coordinating the WordPress development and production environment workflow. WP Engine integrates smoothly with local tools like Local via WP Engine Connect and provides robust staging and production environments as part of its managed hosting platform, facilitating a complete WordPress development setup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local Versus Remote Development Environments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are two main kinds of development environments that you might want to explore when creating a WordPress website. Keep in mind that whether you choose to use a local or remote environment for development, however, both will require all the software WordPress needs to function properly. This includes database applications and code libraries, for example. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Developing locally<\/a> means that all of your WordPress plugin and theme files will be stored on your own machine, along with the WordPress core files. You\u2019ll be able to view your development work in a browser, just as if you were accessing a website on the internet. However, the files will be called in from your computer, instead of your site\u2019s hosting server. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A remote development environment is essentially the same thing, but all of those important website files will be stored and retrieved from a remote location. This means you\u2019ll need to set up or purchase storage space. In contrast to regular website hosting, however, this remote file location will only be accessible to you or your team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the primary benefits of using local development for WordPress is that you don\u2019t need to be connected to the internet in order to work on your website. While remote development does require a connection, however, it\u2019s the better choice if you want the option to access your work from any computer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advantages of a Remote Development Environment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As we mentioned, a remote development environment enables you to access your projects from anywhere. You don\u2019t even have to use a specific computer to do your work \u2013 all you need is a connection to the internet and your login information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, you may be able to implement version control features, depending on which remote environment application you decide to use. This means you\u2019re less likely to run into issues when developing with a team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Set Up a Remote Development Environment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Setting up a remote development environment can be a little more involved than creating a local environment. With that being said, it\u2019s not out of reach by any means. There are several options when it comes to remote environments, and many come with all the tools you\u2019ll need right out of the box. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Choose and Configure a Remote Development Application<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There are a number of remote development tools you can use. What you\u2019re looking for is a virtual storage space where you can store all of your website\u2019s files and applications, as well as the software needed to make your website run. This is where you can work through each of your development stages, without pushing the site to a live, production status until you\u2019re ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To do this, you can use a product like DigitalOcean<\/a> or Visual Studio<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These differ in what they offer, but ultimately accomplish the same task. For example, with Visual Studio Code you\u2019re getting a sophisticated code editor that becomes a development environment through your choice of remote extensions<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also use Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2)<\/a> for remote development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alternatively, you can look at our own dedicated development environments<\/a>. Once you\u2019ve selected your virtual environment or cloud-based solution, you\u2019ll need to make sure it\u2019s configured for supporting WordPress development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 2: Install Any Necessary Tools and Plugins<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Regardless of the remote development environment you choose, there is a specific stack of applications you\u2019ll need in order to set up WordPress. These include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n