WP Engine staging to production: how to push a change without overwriting live data
On WP Engine, copying staging to production replaces what is on production with what is on staging. If you copy the whole database, every order, user and form entry created on the live site since staging was last refreshed is gone. The safe rule: copy files freely, copy the database almost never, and make content changes a different way.
What the copy tool actually does
In the WP Engine portal, each environment has "Push to" and "Pull from". You choose the other environment, then Full or Custom. This is described in WP Engine's copy environment guide.
| What you copy | What happens on the destination |
|---|---|
| Files | The destination's files are replaced. Files that exist only on the destination are removed |
| The whole database | The destination's database is overwritten completely |
| Specific tables | Only the tables you select are overwritten |
| Server settings (redirects, SSL, cache rules) | Not copied |
WP Engine backs up the destination before and after a copy, and says plainly that it does not recommend pushing the entire database to production.
Why the database is the dangerous part
Staging is a snapshot from the day you last refreshed it. Production kept living. Orders came in, customers registered, forms were submitted, the client edited a post. All of that lives in the database. Push the staging database over production and production goes back in time to that snapshot.
Choosing specific tables helps less than it looks. WordPress keeps posts, pages, products and orders in shared tables on many sites, and settings from dozens of plugins share one options table. There is rarely a table that holds only your change.
A workflow that avoids it
- Refresh staging from production first. Pull production into staging so you are working on today's site, not last month's.
- Decide what kind of change it is. A code change lives in files: a theme, a child theme, a plugin. A content change lives in the database: text on a page, a menu, a setting.
- Code changes: push files only. Use Custom, select files, and leave the database alone. Better still, push only the folder that changed.
- Content changes: do not push the database. Make the change on staging to see it and get it approved, then make the same change on production. It feels like doing it twice. It is the only way that cannot erase live data.
- Check production after. Load the page in a private window, on a phone too. Clear the cache if what you see is stale.
- Know the way back. A WP Engine backup point restores the whole environment, and a full restore overwrites everything since that point. It is the last resort, not the plan. For a small change, reversing that one change by hand is safer.
Plugin updates on WP Engine
WP Engine's Smart Plugin Manager updates plugins and themes automatically, takes a backup first, runs a visual comparison afterwards and rolls back an update that fails it. It covers updates. It does not cover the changes clients ask for.
How SquareJuice does step 4
SquareJuice works on WP Engine sites and follows the workflow above as software. A client's change is made on the site's own staging copy and checked there. You approve it from before and after screenshots. Then that one change is applied to production. No database is copied. The live page is checked, and the change is reversed on its own if a check fails. Orders, users and form entries are never part of the copy.
Questions
Does pushing staging to production on WP Engine overwrite the database?
Only if you include the database in the copy. A full copy does. A custom copy lets you choose files only, which leaves the production database untouched.
Will I lose WooCommerce orders if I push staging to live?
Yes, if you push the whole database. Orders placed since staging was last refreshed exist only on production and are overwritten.
How do I copy only files from staging to production on WP Engine?
In the portal, open the staging environment, choose Push to, select production, choose Custom, and select files without the database.
How often should I refresh staging?
Before each piece of work. A staging copy older than a few days no longer matches the site you are changing.
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