Aggregator’s licensing system allows you to use the same license key on both a live site and a development/staging site simultaneously, without taking up multiple license activations.
This setup is ideal for testing changes or setting up new configurations in a safe environment before going live. To enable this, your staging or development site’s URL must contain certain terms or patterns, as explained below.
Supported Staging Environments
Aggregator’s licensing system will automatically detect staging environments provided by the below hosting providers and allow the activation of license keys without using up your site limit.
- WP Engine
- InstaWP
- Cloudways
- Kinsta
- GoDaddy
- FlyWheel
- BlueHost
- HostGator
- SiteGround
If your hosting provider is not listed here, they may use a standard method for creating staging sites, which allows our standard detection rules to work without additional configuration.
Standard Staging Environments
For Aggregator’s licensing system to recognize a site as your development or staging site, the URL must use one of the following standard formats:
*.staging.example.org*.test.example.orgstaging-*.example.orgdev.example.orglocalhost
Only URLs containing these terms will qualify as development or staging sites. If your site’s URL does not match one of these patterns, the licensing system may consider it a separate activation, which may impact your license’s site limit.
Note: Staging URL doesn’t match any of these patterns and can’t be changed? You don’t need an extra license. Our support team can approve your staging site’s exact URL for you. See Requesting a Staging Site Exception below to find out how to request it.
Examples of Supported Scenarios
Here are some examples of how the licensing system treats different URL patterns.
Supported
Activating a single-site license on both example.com and staging.example.com would work perfectly. Both sites will function and receive updates without exceeding your license limit, as staging.example.com includes the required `staging.` term.
Not Supported
Using the license on both example.com and devexample.com would not work, as devexample.com does not contain one of the required terms. Only one of these sites will be able to use a single-site license, otherwise you’ll need to shift the license across sites as needed or upgrade to a larger license. That said, if devexample.com really is a staging copy of your site, just ask our support team to approve it for your license. See Requesting a Staging Site Exception below.
Multiple Development Sites
You can use a license on example.com, dev.example.com, staging.example, 10.0.0.0/8, and localhost simultaneously without any issues, as each of the additional URLs qualifies as a staging or development environment based on the required terms.
You can use a license on as many staging or development environments as you want, simultaneously.
Not Meeting the Requirements
If your development or staging site URL doesn’t contain any of the terms listed above, the system will not recognize it as a staging or development site, and it may impact your license limit. In this case, consider the following alternatives:
- Ask Us to Approve Your Staging URL: If your site is a staging, development, or test copy of your live site, get in touch and we’ll approve its exact URL for your license so it doesn’t count toward your site limit. See Requesting a Staging Site Exception below for what to send us.
- Temporary URL Adjustment: If possible, adjust the URL to include one of the recognized terms (for example,
dev.example.cominstead ofdevexample.com). - Switch License Between Sites: You can temporarily activate the license on your development site during setup, then deactivate it and activate it on the live site once you’re ready to go live.
Requesting a Staging Site Exception
A staging site exception lets you use your license on a staging site whose URL doesn’t match any of the standard patterns. We approve your staging site’s exact URL on our end, and from then on it’s treated just like any other staging site.
The staging site will still show up in your list of activated sites, but it won’t use up one of your paid activations. Your live site keeps counting as usual, so even a single-site license can run on both. Here’s how to request one:
Step 1: Send us the details
Send your request through our contact form. To speed things up, include the following in your message:
- Your license key, or the email address you used when purchasing, so we can find the right license.
- Your live site’s URL, meaning the site that is currently using the license.
- Your staging site’s exact URL. Copy it straight from your browser’s address bar, including
https://and any subfolder. This matters becausehttps://example.com/temp/andhttps://example.com/are treated as two different sites. - A quick confirmation that the site is a staging, development, or test copy of your live site (or a migration in progress), rather than a second live website.
Step 2: Activate your license on the staging site
Once we’ve let you know the URL is approved, go to Aggregator › Manage Plan on your staging site and activate the same license key you use on your live site. There’s nothing else to configure, as it works just like a regular activation.
If it goes through, you’re all set! If you see an error instead, send us the exact message and we’ll take a look.
Good to know
- One exception covers one exact URL. If your staging site moves to a new address, or you’d like another staging site approved, just let us know and we’ll sort it out.
- It’s meant for copies of your own site. A staging exception isn’t an extra activation for a second live website. For that, you’ll want to upgrade to a larger license.
- Finished with the staging site? Deactivate the license there first (see Activating or Deactivating a License Key), then drop us a message so we can remove the exception. If the staging site is still active when the exception is removed, it will start counting toward your site limit again.
