How to Keep your Product Demos Updated?
InstaWP’s Shared Templates feature allows product companies to create a ready-to-use WordPress sandbox so that they can set up product demos for their prospects. However, keeping these templates updated and well-maintained is crucial for providing a seamless experience. It’s because outdated plugins or settings can adversely affect sales.
This guide walks you through best practices for managing your Shared Templates efficiently.
Mark the Template’s Parent Site as Permanent
Identify What Needs to Be Updated
Refresh Demo Content
Auto-Sync with Parent Site
Automate Updates with InstaWP Connect
Test the Updated Sandbox Regularly
Bonus: Your Quick Product Demo Updation Checklist →
Shared Templates are created from parent sites built on InstaWP, but staging sites expire after some days. To avoid unnecessary steps when updating a template, mark the parent site as permanent.
You can do it in 2 ways:
Click Reserve for your Shared Template’s parent site.
Mark your site Permanent at the time of its creation.
This ensures that you don’t have to create a new site from your template when updates are needed.
Regularly review your sandbox to ensure the WordPress core, themes, and plugins are up-to-date. Your prospects won’t like a dashboard with many outdated plugins (like the one below).
Besides the above, make sure that:
Your product’s latest version is installed and fully functional.
Demo content is relevant and reflects recent updates.
User experience is smooth, without outdated settings or errors.
Keeping demo content fresh ensures a realistic and engaging experience for users.
Replace outdated text, images, and sample data with relevant content.
Ensure all sample transactions (if applicable) are reset.
Remove unnecessary test accounts or data.
Reapply import settings for a smooth onboarding flow.
✅ Your Product’s Latest Features & Settings
✅ WordPress Core Version
✅ Installed Plugins & Themes
✅ Demo Content
✅ Custom Code & Configurations ---
A Shared Template is a snapshot of its parent site at the time of creation. However, it does not update automatically when the parent site changes.
You need to sync your template from the parent site – manually or by setting a frequency for auto-sync.
Navigate to Shared Templates in InstaWP.
Find your template and click Sync from Site.
Choose a Sync Frequency (e.g., every 12 hours) or click Save & Sync
Click Save Settings.
If your Shared Template’s staging has expired, you must create the site from your template and then enable syncing.
Also read: Why is my site not synced with the template?
InstaWP’s site management plugin, InstaWP Connect, helps automate updates for WordPress Core, plugins, and themes. By managing your Shared Template’s parent site using this plugin, you can speed up maintenance while staying optimized and secure.
Key InstaWP Connect Features, useful for Product Demos, are:
Auto-Updates & Scheduling: Schedule updates for WordPress Core, plugins, and themes.
Bulk Updates: Update multiple sites with a single click.
Performance Monitoring: Track site speed and optimize performance.
Multiple Staging Sites: Test different configurations before updating your template.
Read more about InstaWP Connect here.
Keeping your templates optimized ensures a smooth user experience and reduces support issues.
Before making the updated template live or after every few days, thoroughly test it to ensure the following:
✅ Can a user launch the sandbox without errors?
✅ Does your product work correctly with the latest settings?
✅ Are all integrations functioning as expected?
✅ Are permissions and access levels properly configured?
✅ Does the sandbox load quickly without delays?
It will be better to schedule template reviews weekly or monthly to ensure everything remains updated. Perform manual and automated tests, if applicable.
You should assign someone from your team to test the sandbox after each update.
This guide walks you through best practices for managing your Shared Templates efficiently.
Mark the Template’s Parent Site as Permanent
Identify What Needs to Be Updated
Refresh Demo Content
Auto-Sync with Parent Site
Automate Updates with InstaWP Connect
Test the Updated Sandbox Regularly
Bonus: Your Quick Product Demo Updation Checklist →
Tip #1: Mark the Template’s Parent Site as Permanent
Shared Templates are created from parent sites built on InstaWP, but staging sites expire after some days. To avoid unnecessary steps when updating a template, mark the parent site as permanent.
You can do it in 2 ways:
Click Reserve for your Shared Template’s parent site.
Mark your site Permanent at the time of its creation.
This ensures that you don’t have to create a new site from your template when updates are needed.
Tip #2: Identify What Needs to Be Updated
Regularly review your sandbox to ensure the WordPress core, themes, and plugins are up-to-date. Your prospects won’t like a dashboard with many outdated plugins (like the one below).
Besides the above, make sure that:Your product’s latest version is installed and fully functional.
Demo content is relevant and reflects recent updates.
User experience is smooth, without outdated settings or errors.
Tip #3: Refresh Demo Content
Keeping demo content fresh ensures a realistic and engaging experience for users.
Replace outdated text, images, and sample data with relevant content.
Ensure all sample transactions (if applicable) are reset.
Remove unnecessary test accounts or data.
Reapply import settings for a smooth onboarding flow.
Your Quick Product Demo Updation Checklist
✅ Your Product’s Latest Features & Settings
✅ WordPress Core Version
✅ Installed Plugins & Themes
✅ Demo Content
✅ Custom Code & Configurations ---
Tip #4: Auto-Sync with Parent Site
A Shared Template is a snapshot of its parent site at the time of creation. However, it does not update automatically when the parent site changes.
You need to sync your template from the parent site – manually or by setting a frequency for auto-sync.
Navigate to Shared Templates in InstaWP.
Find your template and click Sync from Site.
Choose a Sync Frequency (e.g., every 12 hours) or click Save & Sync
Click Save Settings.
If your Shared Template’s staging has expired, you must create the site from your template and then enable syncing.
Also read: Why is my site not synced with the template?
Tip #5: Automate Updates with InstaWP Connect
InstaWP’s site management plugin, InstaWP Connect, helps automate updates for WordPress Core, plugins, and themes. By managing your Shared Template’s parent site using this plugin, you can speed up maintenance while staying optimized and secure.
Key InstaWP Connect Features, useful for Product Demos, are:
Auto-Updates & Scheduling: Schedule updates for WordPress Core, plugins, and themes.
Bulk Updates: Update multiple sites with a single click.
Performance Monitoring: Track site speed and optimize performance.
Multiple Staging Sites: Test different configurations before updating your template.
Read more about InstaWP Connect here.
Keeping your templates optimized ensures a smooth user experience and reduces support issues.
Tip #6: Test the Updated Sandbox Regularly
Before making the updated template live or after every few days, thoroughly test it to ensure the following:
✅ Can a user launch the sandbox without errors?
✅ Does your product work correctly with the latest settings?
✅ Are all integrations functioning as expected?
✅ Are permissions and access levels properly configured?
✅ Does the sandbox load quickly without delays?
It will be better to schedule template reviews weekly or monthly to ensure everything remains updated. Perform manual and automated tests, if applicable.
You should assign someone from your team to test the sandbox after each update.
Updated on: 02/03/2025
Thank you!