Step 1, Create VIQ account and install StagingPro app
- Go the url https://app.vortexiq.ai/login
- If you dont have a VIQ account, click the ‘Create Account’ tab
- Select the option ‘I am a merchant’, specify your i) Full Name ii) Company Name and iii) Work email
- Click the button ‘Get a secure magic link’
- You will receive an email in your inbox with the magic link. Click on it to set your password and complete your account creation.
- After logging in to your VIQ account on the left navigation panel, click Settings or click this url https://app.vortexiq.ai/v2/settings
- Click Subscription tab to select your plan of choice.
- After the payment plan is successfully set, click the ‘Connected sources’ tab
- Scroll down to the VortexIQ Apps section and click on the ‘StagingPro’ tile’s Connect Button
- Click ‘Connect to StagingPro’ which will take you to the following url on the BigCommerce marketplace where you can install the StagingPro app on your root store. The StagingPro App Marketplace url is https://www.bigcommerce.com/apps/stagingpro/
- After installing the StagingPro app on your root store, repeat the install steps for the BigCommerce sandbox stores that you wish to link to your root store within your assigned StagingPro tenant.
- Once the StagingPro app is installed on the root and sandbox stores (permitted within your subscription slot count entitlement), It is highly recommended that you log a ticket with Helpdesk who will assist you with ‘Step 2 plan your environments’ as they need to ensure stores within your StagingPro tenant are linked and labelled correctly
Step 2, plan your environments
Before linking anything, decide what environments you actually need. The recommended naming convention:| Proposed name | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Production | Your live store. Reserved system name, not editable. |
| Staging | Pre-deployment store for smoke tests before going to Production. |
| UAT | User acceptance testing, run as a production build for client sign-off. |
| Integration1, Integration2, Integration3 | System integration test environments for third-party connectors and API checks. |
https://store-a1b2c3d4e5.mybigcommerce.com/, in this example a1b2c3d4e5.
You will need Store Owner access on every BigCommerce store you intend to link, both Production and the Sandbox stores. See the BigCommerce article on Store Owner User Role and Permissions for the role definition.
Step 3, link sandbox environments to Production
StagingPro is pre-installed on the Production store as part of the App Marketplace install. You then link each Sandbox store to Production by entering the Production store hash from inside the Sandbox.- On the Sandbox store, launch the StagingPro app. Enter the Production store hash in the field provided and click Save. The Plan Level helps you confirm which is which: Production shows
Plan Level: Enterprise Plan Store, a Sandbox showsPlan Level: Sandbox Store. - A connection request notification appears on the Production store. Switch over to Production, find the request, and click Approve.
- Specify the name for the connected environment, then choose one of three options:
- Just connect the Staging Environment, no data movement, just establish the link.
- Delete Products, Brands, and Categories from Staging Environment, clears the destination catalogue ahead of a clean migration.
- Delete all catalog data and move Data, Themes from Production to the Staging website, full one-shot copy from Production into the new sandbox.
- The newly linked environment appears on the StagingPro home page list.
- Repeat for each additional sandbox you have provisioned.
Step 4, connect your repository (GitHub or Bitbucket)
StagingPro uses Git as the deploy pipeline for theme code. You can connect either GitHub or Bitbucket.- GitHub via the GitHub App is the recommended path. One-click OAuth, organisation-level installation, automatic token rotation. See GitHub and Bitbucket for the full walkthrough including the requester and approver flow when the user installing the app does not have install rights.
- Bitbucket is supported through workspace invitation of
bitbucket@stagingpro.complus repository URL verification. Same page covers the Bitbucket setup.
Step 5, configure notifications
Set up at least one notification channel before running your first migration so you see the result. StagingPro supports three:- Email, add one or more addresses on Settings, Status Notifications.
- Microsoft Teams, paste a workflow webhook URL.
- Slack, paste an incoming webhook URL.
Step 6, run your first test migration
- Before touching anything resembling production, kindly review the StagingPro documentation so it is clearly understood before testing your workflow within your assigned StagingPro tenant.
- Only after validation and approval, should you migrate data to a live Production environment.
- For your first test migration between non-production environments, it is suggested that you can select a small dataset i) a data item (e.g. Brands) under Bulk Migration and/or ii) a test product under Selective Migration.
- Remember that you do not store business-critical data on a sandbox during support troubleshooting because items may need to be cleared between test migrations.
What is in the box after onboarding
| Surface | Where |
|---|---|
| Environment list and migration status | StagingPro Home page, see understanding the homepage |
| Bulk and selective migration screens | Bulk Content Migration / Selective Content Migration tabs |
| Deploy and rollback history | History and Rollback tab |
| Repository, notifications, B2B, agency access | Settings tab |
To view our Onboarding steps, please access the following article → StagingPro Onboarding