Hey melange,
The Duplicator is really not the right tool for synchronization. You could technically use the plugin, but there are other ways that are more simple. Here is how I perform that routine:
1. I normally edit all my theme template files and keep a small ledger of the changes I make on the theme options that are saved to the Database. Then I just FTP the files and make the theme updates. This works well if your changes are not large in scope.
2. If you doing a really large migration then you can just use the wp-migrate-db plugin to migrate the tables you want. If you end up needing the pro version you can get a discount here.
Hope that helps!
Oh, okay, thanks. If I’m making changes to theme options and menus, categories, plugins, etc – would it be simpler to migrate the tables with the WP Migrate plugin then? How will I know which tables to move?
Yes, if the changes are in the DB then using wp migrate is going to be cleaner. From what I recall the plugin will help you keep the data in-sync retaining the URLs from one site to the next, so in theory you could just check them all… Its been awhile since I played with it but that is the purpose of the plugin. There is a bit of a learning curve but once you get it then its well worth it…
How does Duplicator differ in function from WP Migrate then? If I’m reading you correctly, WP Migrate is the best way to transfer DB changes, whereas Duplicator is best if you also have many files and media that need transferring? Or am I missing the mark?
That is correct. The Pro version WP migrate will let you do a pull push from within the plugin, which may be solution that fits your workflow… They both have allot of similarities, its just that the workflow is a bit different for each…
