Hi. Not sure if this question belong in this category or not. This is my first time using Discourse so my apologies! We’re just getting ready to launch a new community (a complete overhaul). We currently have one that’s live and it was built using Discourse as well. Is there a way to build the new one in the background/make all the necessarily changes AND have the existing one remain public? If that’s not possible, does anyone have any recommendations on the best course of action? My thought would be to shut down the existing community, direct them to a note saying “community is under maintenance” and open it back up to members when the new one is done. Thanks so much!

Hi @Jess_0398 :wave: perhaps a staging server? [image] Set up a staging server Sysadmins There are several tricks that can help when you are setting up a staging server. What is a staging server? A staging server is essentially a clone of a production site. It also resides on a server, and functions identically. It runs inside a Docker container, just as a normal Discourse site does. It exists to give you a place to try risky things out, or to trial things that you cannot easily hide from your users. It is very useful for trialling adverts using the Discourse Advertising Plugin (A…

I’d say the approach depends on what “a complete overhaul” entails. If it’s primarily about updating branding and layouts, you can handle everything on a staging server, then push the changes to production without any disruption to service. However, if you’re making database-level changes, such as adding new categories or groups, those will need to be implemented directly on the production instance. Alternatively, you can stage them first, then replicate the changes on production to minimize risk and downtime.

A staging server is a really good idea. If all the changes are just Theme Components and Themes, you can handle that with a Test Theme on the same instance.

this is super helpful, thank you!

Can edits be done silently before launching?

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Lilly (Lillian ) October 4, 2024, 12:08am 2

Hi @Jess_0398 perhaps a staging server?

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Can edits be done silently before launching?

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