AgilePress

Tag: Workflow

  • Cowboys Code in Production: The Staging Protocol

    It is Friday at 4:30 PM.

    You want to make a “small tweak” to your checkout page CSS. You edit the file directly in the WordPress dashboard or via FTP.

    You hit “Save.”

    Suddenly, the screen goes white. Critical Error.

    Your online store stops processing orders. You scramble to undo the change, but you don’t remember exactly what line you deleted.

    This is called “Cowboy Coding.” It is shooting from the hip in a live environment. It is unprofessional, dangerous, and strictly forbidden in the AgilePress philosophy.

    Errors should happen in private, not in public. That is why you need a Staging Environment.

    What is Staging?

    A Staging Site is an exact clone of your live website. It lives in a private URL (e.g., staging.yoursite.com).

    • It has the same plugins.
    • It has the same content.
    • It has the same server configuration.

    But it is disconnected from the public. You can update plugins, switch themes, or break the code entirely. If it breaks, nobody sees it. You fix it, test it, and then copy it to the live site.

    Here are the four levels of Staging, ranked from “AgilePress Standard” to “Avoid.”

    Level 1: The Gold Standard (Server-Level Staging)

    This is the best option because it happens at the server infrastructure level.

    Providers: Cloudways, Kinsta, WPEngine, SiteGround.

    • How it works: You log into your hosting panel and click “Create Staging.” The server duplicates the entire application in minutes.
    • The Deploy: When you are happy with the changes, you click “Push to Live.”
    • Why it wins: It guarantees the server environment (PHP version, Caching rules) is identical. If it works on Staging, it will work on Live.

    Level 2: The Developer’s Lab (LocalWP)

    This is where code is born.

    Tool: LocalWP (Free).

    • How it works: You run the website on your own computer (offline).
    • Use Case: Ideal for building a new site from scratch or doing heavy custom coding (creating a custom plugin).
    • The Limitation: It is hard for clients to approve changes since the site is on your laptop. You usually need to push it to a Staging server for final approval.

    Level 3: The “Guerrilla” Solution (Staging Plugins)

    What if you are stuck on a cheap shared hosting plan (cPanel) that doesn’t offer Staging? You use a plugin.

    Tool: WP Staging (Pro recommended).

    • How it works: It creates a clone of your site inside a subfolder (e.g., yoursite.com/staging) and disconnects it from the main database.
    • The AgilePress Warning:
      • Bloat: It duplicates your database tables (using prefixes like wpstg_) and doubles your file usage.
      • Performance: It uses the same server resources as your live site. Heavy testing on staging might slow down the live site.
      • Verdict: Use this only if you cannot upgrade to better hosting.

    Level 4: The “Old School” (Manual Subdomains)

    Method: Creating a subdomain dev.site.com, creating a new FTP folder, copying files, exporting the database, finding and replacing URLs…

    Verdict: AVOID.

    Why? Because friction kills discipline. If creating a staging site takes 1 hour, you won’t do it for a small plugin update. You will take the risk. Automation is the key to safety.

    The Danger Zone: The “Time Travel” Problem

    This is the most critical part of this article. Read this carefully if you run a WooCommerce store or a Membership site.

    The Scenario:

    1. Monday: You create a Staging copy.
    2. Tuesday: You are working on the design in Staging. Meanwhile, 5 customers buy products on the Live site.
    3. Wednesday: You finish the design and click “Push to Live” (overwriting the database).

    The Result:

    You just deleted the 5 orders from Tuesday. You overwrote the Live database with the Staging database (which is from Monday). Those orders are gone forever.

    The AgilePress Rule for Dynamic Sites:

    • Code (Files, Plugins, Themes) flows UP: Staging -> Production.
    • Data (Orders, Users, Posts) flows DOWN: Production -> Staging.

    How to handle it:

    If you are on a server-level staging (Level 1), most hosts allow you to “Push Files Only” and skip the database.

    If you need to push database changes (e.g., you created a new page), you must put the Live site in Maintenance Mode while you work, so no new orders come in.

    Conclusion: Professional Peace of Mind

    An “Update Failed” message on a Tuesday morning can ruin your week.

    A white screen during a Black Friday sale can ruin your business.

    Staging is not a luxury tool for big agencies. It is the seatbelt for your website.

    1. Check if your host offers Staging (Level 1).
    2. If not, use WP Staging (Level 3).
    3. Never edit code on a live site.

    Amateurs hack the live site. Professionals deploy from Staging.

  • ACF + Gutenberg: How to Render Dynamic Data Without PHP (Or Page Builders)

    If you build professional websites with WordPress, you likely rely on Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) to structure your data. It is the gold standard for custom content.

    But bridging the gap between ACF and the Gutenberg Block Editor has always been a friction point.

    For years, developers have been stuck between a rock and a hard place:

    1. The “Hard” Way: Write custom PHP code in single.php or create custom blocks (which slows down development).
    2. The “Bloated” Way: Install heavy page builders like Elementor just to drag-and-drop a dynamic field (which slows down the website).

    At AgilePress, we refuse to compromise on speed or workflow. That is why we built our own solution.

    Meet AgilePress Content Block for ACF.

    We developed this tool to scratch our own itch. We wanted full control over the layout without touching theme files and without loading a 5MB page builder.

    AgilePress Content Block allows you to render any ACF data directly inside a native Gutenberg block using simple HTML logic.

    Here is why this micro-plugin is a game-changer for minimalist development.

    1. Simplicity: Stop Writing get_field()

    The main advantage of this plugin is speed of execution. You no longer need to edit template files just to show a phone number, a job title, or a custom date.

    You simply add the block in the editor and type your HTML template using intuitive tags:

    • For simple text: Just use {field_name}.
    • For groups: Use {group:subfield}.

    It’s that easy. The plugin parses these tags and displays the real data on the frontend with zero performance penalty.

    2. Versatility: Mastering Repeaters and Galleries

    The biggest pain point for many ACF users is displaying Repeater Fields or Image Galleries without code. Writing a PHP foreach loop inside a block pattern is tedious and error-prone.

    We solved this with a logic system built right into the block. You can loop through rows of data using double curly braces:

    HTML

    <div class="team-grid">
  {{team_members}}
    <div class="card">
       <h3>{name}</h3>
       <p>{position}</p>
    </div>
  {{/team_members}}
</div>

    This simple snippet replaces dozens of lines of PHP code. It works perfectly for:

    • Team member lists
    • Product features
    • Event schedules
    • Image sliders and galleries

    3. Full Control (Zero <div> Soup)

    Unlike other “dynamic field” blocks that force you into a specific layout or wrap your content in unnecessary containers (aka “div soup”), AgilePress gives you 100% control.

    You write the HTML. You add your own CSS classes. You decide the structure.

    This makes it incredibly versatile. You can use it to build a hero section, a metadata sidebar, or a complex grid layout, knowing exactly what markup will be rendered on the final page. It is clean code, generated from the editor.

    How to Get Started

    We believe in open source. The plugin is completely free and available on the WordPress repository.

    1. Install “AgilePress Content Block for ACF”.
    2. Add the block to your post or page.
    3. Write your HTML template in the settings panel.
    4. Publish and enjoy dynamic content without the headache.

    Ready to streamline your workflow?

    👉 Download AgilePress Content Block for ACF