The discussion revolves around whether edits can be made silently before launching a new Discourse community. Jess_0398 asks if changes can be made in the background without affecting the live site. Lilly suggests using a staging server, referencing a guide on setting one up. manuel explains that the approach depends on the nature of changes—minor updates like branding can be done on a staging server, while database-level changes may require direct implementation on production. merefield adds that theme-related changes can be tested using a test theme on the same instance. Jess_0398 appreciates the advice.
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.
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.
perhaps a staging server?