Artifacts on Shifter give users flexibility over how they deploy and manage specific versions of WordPress sites on Shifter.
Much like backups or snapshots, Artifacts are a copy of your entire site at a specific moment. Each time you generate a new version of your Shifter site, it’s kept as an Artifact. Like a git project, you can publish new versions as you update content or rollback to previous ones.
This recently released feature is a simple way to version, backup, and deploy but you can get more out of them depending on your workflow. Here are a few ways to get more out of Shifter Artifacts.
1. Staging Environments
When testing new a feature or publishing updates for client review, Artifacts can be helpful. Generate new versions of your site and attach them to a separate domain or Shifter domain. Once it’s ready and you’re happy with the changes, attach this new Artifact to your live site. Testing before moving to production is always a good idea. Either way, using Artifacts you can still roll back to previous ones if you need to.
2. Special Announcements, Updates, or Product Releases
If you’re a company or product creator there may be times you need to update your entire website like flipping a switch. If you’ve ever done this you know it’s more than a few blog posts moving from draft to publish. It’s usually new pages, changes to styles, layout, navigation and more. Prep your site for launch using Artifacts. Set up a staging environment on Shifter and when you’re ready to launch move that Artifact to the live site publishing all the changes at once.
3. Archiving Content
Say you have an annual event website. Artifacts are a great way to hang onto that previous year and update the current year without losing it.
If you’re new to Shifter and not sure how to use Artifacts, check out the Get Started guide. If you have questions, we are always here to answer them.