Setting up free WordPress test installs has never been easier than with Poopy.life. Let’s learn all about this new service and how it works.
Before we dive into the rest of the article – yes, the service we’re going to talk about is called Poopy.life. We’ll tell you why in a minute, but for now, let’s focus on what it can do.
If you’re the kind of person that uses WordPress test sites regularly, you know that spinning them up and deleting them when you’re done gets old, fast. That’s where Poopy.life comes in. In this article, we’ll tell you all about what Poopy.life can do, explore how it can help you streamline your WordPress development, and teach you three different ways to use it.
What is Poopy.life?
Poopy.life is, quite simply, the quickest way to set up free WordPress test installs. In fact, anyone can do so in a matter of seconds (we clocked it) without signing up for an account.
Each of these installs has a default shelf life of seven days, although you can extend that shelf life as you see fit. Plus, you can have as many installs as you want running simultaneously. If you have a particular setup that you’d like to use for future installs, the platform also enables you to create templates and share them with other users.
Now, let’s talk about what you’re really dying to know about – where on earth does the name Poopy.life come from? The team behind the platform chose that name to prevent the service from being used commercially by other companies. Their thinking was, with a name so ridiculous, no one would consider using it professionally.
That same team is also behind other popular WordPress services, including WP All Import and Oxygen. In fact, they’ve been using a similar solution to Poopy.life internally for years, so that users can test their products before purchasing them using disposable installs.
For now, the service remains completely free, but its creators have already revealed their plans to add commercial tiers in the future (probably under a different name than Poopy.life).
Key Features:
- Create unlimited free WordPress test installs
- Extend the ‘life’ of your installs for as long as you want
- Use multiple instances of WordPress simultaneously (on different tabs)
- Each install comes with a unique link
- Share WordPress site templates with other users
Price: Free | More Information
3 Ways to Use Poopy.life to Create Free WordPress Test Installs
As we mentioned earlier, there are multiple ways you can use Poopy.life to speed up your WordPress testing. Let’s find out what they are now.
1. Create a Basic WordPress Test Install
Creating a basic WordPress site with Poopy.life couldn’t be easier. All you have to do is go to the service’s homepage and click on the link that reads poopy.life/create (the one under the friendly-looking emoticon):
The platform will open a brand new WordPress install in a new tab:
It really is that simple. There are no limitations to what you can do with the install, so feel free to play around as you see fit, or even use it as a staging site.
Keep in mind though, if you want to access a particular installation at a later date, you’ll have to either bookmark it or save its unique link somewhere else. That link should be the first thing you see as soon as you access your test install, right below your admin bar:
As you can see, Poopy.life also provides you with a default username and random password (which can be changed, of course). Remember to save those as well if you’re planning on holding on to a particular install for later use.
Finally, keep in mind that each Poopy.life test install only lasts for one week by default. If you want to extend that time, you’ll need to head to the Sandbox tab on your dashboard, and click on the button that reads Add 1 Week:
You can do this as many times as you want, and you can add multiple weeks in advance if you want to play it safe.
2. Use Poopy.life’s Email Command to Keep Track of Your Installs
Unless you’re using a Poopy.life sandbox site on a one-off basis, you’ll want to grab its URL in order to come back to it in the future. Fortunately, the service enables you to send an automated welcome email with your site’s login information to a particular address. To do that, just use the following URL:
http://poopy.life/[email protected]
Then, the service will spin up a new install as usual and send you an email during the process:
This feature comes very handy if you’re looking to keep a record of your Poopy.life test installs, so we encourage you to take advantage of it.
3. Create a WordPress Test Install Template
A while ago, we mentioned how Poopy.life enables you to create templates of your sites and share them with other users. To do that, you’ll have to access the Sandbox tab within one of your installs and find the Create Sandbox Template button:
Doing this will cause your website to reload, only now you’ll find a unique URL within the Sandbox Template Settings section:
Using this link, anyone can set up a carbon copy of your test install. The only difference is that Poopy.life will change the passwords between each of them, for security purposes.
Keep in mind that each template represents a snapshot of your site at the exact moment you took it. You can always return to the Sandbox tab and update yours by clicking on the Save Sandbox Template button at the bottom. There’s also an option to delete your template altogether if you want to – all you have to do is click on Delete Sandbox Template, and it’ll go away.
Conclusion
Poopy.life is the latest in a long line of WordPress testing environment tools, but it’s also one of the most interesting ones (and not only due to its name). While other tools focus on streamlining local development, Poopy.life is all about creating disposable sites. It’s not the perfect solution for every situation, but it can save you time if you need to run some quick tests.
If you’re looking to get the most out of Poopy.life, here are the three top ways it can help you:
- Create basic WordPress installs
- Use its email command to keep track of your installs
- Craft reusable WordPress templates