The Staging Environment Vs Test Environment: What's The Difference?

Skip to content Staging environment vs test environment: What’s the difference?

• By Debbie from Plesk
• August 1, 2018
• Product and technology

2 Minutes

So your developer’s building a website for you and says it’s now time to move things from a testing environment to a staging environment. You nod and smile. What does it all mean? Here’s the breakdown of a staging environment vs test environment.

What’s a testing environment?

A testing environment involves creating a space that lets you to perform test executions of your component parts. So the test environment includes both the software and hardware you’re running it on. Your testing environment is therefore very specific. And not one-size-fits-all.

It’s something you have created and developed to test a certain function in a specific way. Every app or component you develop has fundamental requirements which need to be put to the test. Hence, with a testing environment, it’s your component under test that dictates the environment. And not the other way around.

What’s a staging environment?

Your staging environment is a setup that replicates your production environment. In short, it’s an identical replica of your product. You shouldn’t be able to tell find any differences between your staging environment and your final product. But unlike your final product, it’s not for public domain.

Think of it as a safe space where you can throw everything together and find out how it works. It’s the ultimate Quality Assurance test because it’s as close to the real thing as you can get.

If they’re both for testing, what are the differences?

The difference is found in the specificity and scale of the tests we do in the staging environment vs test environment. Both are about finding an end result. But it’s a different type of end result.

Your testing environment will likely have nothing to do with your final product. The end result here is very specific. Does component X fulfill its role? So, it’s about putting on the goggles and the white jacket, and getting down in the lab. It’s a controlled environment. No variables. One bit at a time. What’s this one thing supposed to do? And does it do it right?

So when it comes to staging environment vs test environment, your staging environment is more like real world testing. Without any of the dangers. You can keep control and privacy, while testing the whole thing together. Does each part work in harmony to produce the overall end result you’re hoping for?

Why do you need both a staging and test environment?

We can probably forgive you for thinking that if each part does its job, there’s no reason it won’t work when all put together. But unfortunately, things don’t work out like that in reality. It’s like building a race car where the factory is the test environment.

First, you might test the body in a wind tunnel for aerodynamic efficiency. Then the engine outside the car to make sure it works. After, the brake lines to see that when you hit the brake pedal, it engages. So you know all the parts work fine individually in a test environment.

Confidently, you put it all together and take it for a test drive. Not straight in a race though, but on a controlled race track (staging environment), where you can put it through its paces.  You accelerate smoothly until you reach the end of the line and hit the brakes.

Because you don’t stop in time and go skidding off into the gravel. How did this happen? You tested the brakes? Why didn’t the car stop in time?

Although you tested them independently, you didn’t test for such a big load, because you can’t anticipate everything. So with everything put together, you’ve discovered the engine and aerodynamic setup helped you develop more speed than you predicted. You didn’t expect that it would all end up being too powerful for one of your components to handle.

Staging environment vs test environment – different for good reason

To ensure your product performs exactly how you expect it to in the real world, you need both a testing and staging environment. The testing environment helps you ensure that each component does its job. Meanwhile, the staging environment makes sure each component still does its job with everything else going on around it. Both will help stop you from skidding off the right track. Learn more about the staging environment you can have in the Plesk WP Toolkit.

Debbie from Plesk

Debbie is our Pleskian Editor and content-diva with a fondness for tech, coffee and all things wordy.

No comment yet, add your voice below!

Add a CommentCancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment *

Name *

Email *

Website

Submit

Δ

Search

More results...

Generic filters Exact matches only Search in title Search in content Search in excerpt

GET LATEST NEWS AND TIPS

• Name*
• Email*
• Country*— Please Select —United States of AmericaUnited KingdomAustraliaCanadaFranceGermanyItalySpain--------------------------------AfghanistanÅland IslandsAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos IslandsColombiaComorosCongo, Democratic Republic of theCongo, Republic of theCook IslandsCosta RicaCôte d'IvoireCroatiaCuraçaoCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatini (Swaziland)EthiopiaFalkland IslandsFaroe IslandsFijiFinlandFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard and McDonald IslandsHoly SeeHondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKuwaitKyrgyzstanLao People's Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacauMacedoniaMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMicronesiaMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPalestine, State ofPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarRéunionRomaniaRussiaRwandaSaint BarthélemySaint HelenaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint MartinSaint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint MaartenSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth GeorgiaSouth KoreaSouth SudanSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan Mayen IslandsSwedenSwitzerlandTaiwanTajikistanTanzaniaThailandTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUruguayUS Minor Outlying IslandsUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuelaVietnamVirgin Islands, BritishVirgin Islands, U.S.Wallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabwe

• Yes, please, I agree to receiving my personal Plesk Newsletter! WebPros International GmbH and other WebPros group companies may store and process the data I provide for the purpose of delivering the newsletter according to the WebPros Privacy Policy. In order to tailor its offerings to me, Plesk may further use additional information like usage and behavior data (Profiling). I can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time by sending an email to [email protected] or use the unsubscribe link in any of the newsletters.

• This field is hidden when viewing the formLead SourcePartnerTrial RequestSubscription FormEventWebinarOtherXovi Trial RequestCloudFest USNEXT - APACTrade Show (Other)WebHostingCon 2013HostingCon 2011cPanel ConferencecPanel DirectBing Natural SearchWHD2013InsideViewGoogle Natural SearchWord of mouthInternet World 2012RCHS13 - ResellerClubExternal ReferralWHD.India 2014WHD 2012cpanelwhmGoogle Adcpanel-manage2HCON14MiaminewsletterforumsSxSW 2012WHD.Global 2014AppCatHCON14IndiaHostingCon Shanghai 2014sitepub_templateYahoo! Natural SearchWikipediamay newsletterTwitterFacebookBaidu Natural SearchpardotgoogleYouTubesocialQuoracpanelforumszaloWHD14Japancpanel-storebuycpanelWHD14ChinasaashubadwordsRedditProjectXpandEmployee Referralcpanel_forumsPartner ApplicationTelecom World Asia
• This field is hidden when viewing the formPL Business unit contact
  • Yes
• This field is hidden when viewing the formForm Submission Name
• This field is hidden when viewing the formForm Submission ProductPlesk
• This field is hidden when viewing the formForm Submission TypeContactEventPartner ApplicationProduct InterestTrial RequestOpportunity Registration
• This field is hidden when viewing the formSend DOI Plesk
  • Yes

Δ

Related Posts

After Japan Partner Day 2022

Read More »

After WordCamp US 2022

Read More »

Patchstack and Site Vulnerability

Read More »

Knowledge Base

Working with a Staging Site

Read More »

Working with a Staging Site

Read More »

Install Staging environment vs test environment: What’s the difference? extension

Hostname or IP or URL of your Plesk instance:

Host Go to install