How to Use Magento’s Content Staging and Preview

Magento’s Content Staging and Preview feature allows you to create, preview, and schedule changes to your website’s content and layout without immediately making those changes live. This is especially useful for planning marketing campaigns, seasonal promotions, or any updates that need to be published at a specific time.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to use Magento’s Content Staging and Preview feature:

Step 1: Enable Content Staging

Content Staging is available in Magento Commerce (formerly known as Magento Enterprise Edition). Ensure your Magento installation includes this feature.

Step 2: Create a New Content Staging Campaign

1. Navigate to: Content > Staging > Dashboard.
2. Add New Campaign:
   • Click on Add New Campaign.
   • Campaign Name: Enter a name for your campaign (e.g., “Summer Sale 2024”).
   • Description: Optionally, add a description for your campaign.
   • Start Date and End Date: Set the start and end dates for your campaign.
3. Save Campaign: Click Save and Continue.

Step 3: Add Updates to the Campaign

You can add various types of updates to your campaign, such as changes to products, categories, CMS pages, blocks, and widgets.

3.1 Adding Product Updates

1. Navigate to: Catalog > Products.
2. Select Product: Choose a product you want to update.
3. Schedule Update:
   • Open the product for editing.
   • Click on the Schedule New Update button.
   • Select Campaign: Choose the campaign you created earlier.
   • Update Information: Make the necessary changes to the product (e.g., price, description, images).
   • Save and Close: Save the changes to schedule them for the selected campaign.

3.2 Adding Category Updates

1. Navigate to: Catalog > Categories.
2. Select Category: Choose a category you want to update.
3. Schedule Update:
   • Open the category for editing.
   • Click on the Schedule New Update button.
   • Select Campaign: Choose the campaign you created earlier.
   • Update Information: Make the necessary changes to the category (e.g., name, description, products assigned).
   • Save and Close: Save the changes to schedule them for the selected campaign.

3.3 Adding CMS Page and Block Updates

1. Navigate to: Content > Elements > Pages or Content > Elements > Blocks.
2. Select Page or Block: Choose a CMS page or block you want to update.
3. Schedule Update:
   • Open the page or block for editing.
   • Click on the Schedule New Update button.
   • Select Campaign: Choose the campaign you created earlier.
   • Update Information: Make the necessary changes to the page or block content.
   • Save and Close: Save the changes to schedule them for the selected campaign.

Step 4: Preview Scheduled Updates

Before your campaign goes live, you can preview the scheduled updates to ensure everything looks and functions as expected.

1. Navigate to: Content > Staging > Dashboard.
2. Select Campaign: Choose the campaign you want to preview.
3. Preview Updates:
   • Click on the Preview button next to the campaign.
   • View Changes: Browse your website to see the scheduled changes in action. This preview will show how your site will look when the campaign is active.

Step 5: Managing and Editing Campaigns

You can manage and edit your campaigns from the Content Staging dashboard.

1. Navigate to: Content > Staging > Dashboard.
2. Edit Campaign: Click on the campaign name to edit its details, including start and end dates, or to add/remove updates.
3. Activate or Deactivate Campaign: Manually activate or deactivate campaigns as needed.

Step 6: Monitoring Campaign Performance

After the campaign goes live, monitor its performance using Magento’s reporting tools to analyze the impact of your changes.

1. Navigate to: Reports > Marketing.
2. Campaign Performance: View reports related to sales, customer engagement, and other metrics to evaluate the success of your campaign.

Example: Scheduling a Product Update for a Campaign

1. Create a Campaign:
   • Navigate to Content > Staging > Dashboard.
   • Click Add New Campaign.
   • Enter campaign details (e.g., “Winter Sale 2024”), set start and end dates, and save.
2. Schedule Product Update:
   • Navigate to Catalog > Products.
   • Select a product to update.
   • Click Schedule New Update.
   • Choose the “Winter Sale 2024” campaign.
   • Update the product details (e.g., set a discount price).
   • Save the scheduled update.
3. Preview Campaign:
   • Navigate to Content > Staging > Dashboard.
   • Click Preview next to “Winter Sale 2024”.
   • Review the changes on the storefront to ensure they appear as expected.

Conclusion

Using Magento’s Content Staging and Preview feature, you can plan, schedule, and manage content updates and marketing campaigns efficiently. This feature ensures that you can make changes without affecting the live site until you’re ready, providing a seamless experience for both administrators and customers.

If you need further assistance or specific recommendations on using Magento’s Content Staging and Preview feature, feel free to ask!

Ready to take your e-commerce business to the next level? We’re here to help you succeed in the digital marketplace. Whether you’re looking to launch a new online store or optimize an existing one, our team at 247Commerce has the expertise and solutions to meet your needs.

Email: hey@247commerce.co.uk

Phone: +44 20 4547 9292