What are the best option or solution when dealing with site restructure.
Situation:
We use umbraco to manage the sub-sites of many departments within our org. Let's say one of the departments wants to re-do their site. Is there a way for us to build a website and once it's ready and approved, make it live?
We usually just make changes on prod. Most changes are smaller, page content here, navigation item there, etc. But when dealing with many changes and if the client wants to review prior to launch. What are the best solutions for this?
Does umbraco have a way to create a "branch" concept? so we can work on a particular version, while the live version is intact and once this new version is ready, merge it with the live one?
Our workaround has been to make copies of the node, make changes and when ready, delete the live node, and rename the new one, but this creates unnecessary redirects, we are wondering if there are better solutions.
This is the kind of thing you can do if hosted on Umbraco Cloud, you can setup multiple environments, one for development, one for Staging, and one for Production, and then move changes and content between the environments.
If you are not running on Umbraco Cloud then have a look at uSync Complete:
Which has 'uSync.Publisher' option that would allow you to restructure the content in a 'staging environment' and then when approved push the changes to live.
Other options like creating a temporary duplicate environment for the changes that then becomes the live site when approved (but require double entry of other content during the restructuring) really rather depend on how long the restructuring takes and what changes would be made in production in the meantime - it's low tech, but for some sites, and for some refreshes this is viable!
Otherwise, having a duplicate content tree in the same production Umbraco, and working on it alongside production 'can work', using Cultures and Hostnames to set a different test Url at your work in progress version, and then either switch the domains or copy them into live, but it can get pretty messy pretty quick, as I think you are finding!
Site Restructure
What are the best option or solution when dealing with site restructure.
Situation:
We use umbraco to manage the sub-sites of many departments within our org. Let's say one of the departments wants to re-do their site. Is there a way for us to build a website and once it's ready and approved, make it live?
We usually just make changes on prod. Most changes are smaller, page content here, navigation item there, etc. But when dealing with many changes and if the client wants to review prior to launch. What are the best solutions for this?
Does umbraco have a way to create a "branch" concept? so we can work on a particular version, while the live version is intact and once this new version is ready, merge it with the live one?
Our workaround has been to make copies of the node, make changes and when ready, delete the live node, and rename the new one, but this creates unnecessary redirects, we are wondering if there are better solutions.
Hi MARam81
This is the kind of thing you can do if hosted on Umbraco Cloud, you can setup multiple environments, one for development, one for Staging, and one for Production, and then move changes and content between the environments.
If you are not running on Umbraco Cloud then have a look at uSync Complete:
https://jumoo.co.uk/usync/complete/
Which has 'uSync.Publisher' option that would allow you to restructure the content in a 'staging environment' and then when approved push the changes to live.
Other options like creating a temporary duplicate environment for the changes that then becomes the live site when approved (but require double entry of other content during the restructuring) really rather depend on how long the restructuring takes and what changes would be made in production in the meantime - it's low tech, but for some sites, and for some refreshes this is viable!
Otherwise, having a duplicate content tree in the same production Umbraco, and working on it alongside production 'can work', using Cultures and Hostnames to set a different test Url at your work in progress version, and then either switch the domains or copy them into live, but it can get pretty messy pretty quick, as I think you are finding!
regards
Marc
Thank you Marc. This is very helpful.
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