Every update checked, risky ones tested on a copy first: how Verploy decides

Agencies ask us one question more than any other: does every update really go to a test copy first? The honest answer is: not every update, and on purpose. Every update is checked. The risky ones are tested on a copy first. Here is how Verploy decides which route an update takes, and what happens on each route.

Route 1: the test copy

Themes, page builders, shops and major versions are where updates break sites. Those always go to a private copy of the site first, on the site’s own hosting. The copy is isolated: it sends no email, makes no outgoing requests, runs no scheduled tasks and cannot be indexed by Google. Verploy checks that isolation on every run.

On the copy, Verploy installs the update and then checks it:

• Every tested page is compared before and after, on desktop and on mobile.
• Forms from Contact Form 7, Gravity Forms and WPForms are filled in and sent; in a WooCommerce shop, a product goes into the cart and the checkout must open. Nothing is ever paid or ordered.
• If something worked before the update and not after it, the update is held back. Your live site is not touched.

Only when everything passes does the exact tested version go live. After that, the live site is checked again.

Route 2: small, proven plugin updates

Small plugin updates from WordPress.org with a good track record do not need a full test copy. Building one for every minor plugin release mostly made agencies wait. These updates go live directly, with a backup taken beforehand, a check after going live and an automatic rollback if anything is off.

Why two routes

Testing every update the same way sounds safest, but it means slow runs and many updates waiting for a click. Putting the effort where the risk is gives you the same safety on the updates that matter, and fewer updates that need you. Either way, nothing goes live unchecked, and every change can be reversed.

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