Shopify doesn't offer a staging copy of your store. Create a second Shopify store (a development store works), then copy your products, collections, product fields, pages, menus and theme into it — by hand, with exports, or in one click with Cartsella Studio, which also keeps it in sync.
What is a staging store?
A staging store is a private copy of your live store where you can test changes before customers see them: a new theme, a redesigned product page, a new app, a big sale setup or a catalog restructure. If something breaks, it breaks where nobody is shopping.
Why a theme preview isn't enough
Shopify lets you preview an unpublished theme, but it still runs on your live data. You can't safely test new product fields, collection changes, menu restructures, discounts or apps that change your catalog — those changes hit your live store the moment you make them.
Step 1: Create the second store
Create a separate Shopify store to act as staging. Agencies and Shopify partners can use a free development store; merchants can open a second store. Keep it password-protected so shoppers and search engines never see it.
Step 2: Copy your live store into it
This is where most staging stores fall short. A useful staging store needs more than products:
| What staging needs | CSV export | Cartsella Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Products & variants | ✓ | ✓ |
| Collections with the right products | — | ✓ |
| Product fields (metafields) & content entries | — | ✓ |
| Images & files | — | ✓ |
| Pages, blogs & menus | — | ✓ |
| Discounts, markets & redirects | — | ✓ |
| Your live theme and other themes (coming soon) | — | ✓ |
| List of apps to install & settings to match | — | ✓ |
| Stays up to date afterwards | — | ✓ |
With Cartsella Studio you install the app on both stores, confirm the pairing on each side, and start a clone. It runs in the background with live progress, and everything stays connected: products stay in their collections and menu links point to the right pages.
Step 3: Keep it in sync
A staging store is only useful while it matches reality. Every time your team adds products or edits content, staging drifts. Cartsella Studio syncs changes from your live store — by hand, on a schedule, or live on Agency — and shows a preview first. If something was edited in both stores, it's flagged so nobody's work is overwritten.
Get a staging store that matches your live store today.
Join the waitlist: 50% off your first yearWhat should never go into staging
Customers and orders. They hold your shoppers' personal information and a staging store doesn't need them to test anything. Cartsella Studio never copies customers, orders or draft orders.
Staging best practices
- Keep staging password-protected and out of search results.
- Never let staging write back to your live store on its own. Cartsella Studio only reads from your live store when it clones or syncs; bringing product fields back from staging is a separate step you preview, confirm and can undo.
- Install the same apps and match store settings. Apps, currency, taxes and payment settings can't be copied by any app — check the run's “Apps to install” and “Store settings” lists after each clone.
- Refresh before big projects so you test against today's catalog.
- Test the full journey — collection page, product page, cart and checkout — not just the homepage.
Frequently asked questions
Does Shopify have a staging environment?
No. Shopify lets you preview unpublished themes, but there's no built-in staging copy of your store's data. You create a second store and copy your content into it.
Do I need Shopify Plus for a staging store?
No. Any Shopify store where you can install apps can act as staging, including development stores.
Will cloning change my live store?
No. Cartsella Studio only reads from your live store when it clones or syncs.
Is my theme published on the staging store?
Not automatically. Theme copies are coming soon, once Shopify approves theme access: your live theme will arrive as an unpublished theme so you decide when to publish it.
Read next: How Cartsella Studio's clone & sync works · Pricing