What is an alpha site?
Simply put, an alpha site is a working version of a website that is not yet accessible to the public but can be viewed and tested by the client of a web developer. In most cases, alpha sites are hosted on the web developers server instead of the client’s web host.
If you want more information about this topic, check out the FAQ section below:
Question #1: What is the purpose of an alpha site?
The main purpose of creating this site is to give a client the chance to thoroughly test their new (or newly updated) website before it goes live and becomes accessible to the public—that and to give the development team a chance to iron out any bugs and make any other necessary tweaks before turning the finished website over to the client.
This is particularly important for websites where bugs on the live website could result in massive monetary losses for the client and their customers. Examples of such websites include:
- Online stores
- Online banking websites
- Investment websites
Question #2: Is it necessary?
In certain situations, such as those we talked about in the previous section, an alpha site is absolutely necessary. But even for lower-risk websites that practically only serve as online brochures, creating one is still a good idea to ensure that everything is in order before going live.
Question #3: What is the difference between an alpha site and a staging website?
There is no apparent difference between an alpha site and a staging website. They both refer to a working version of a website that is yet to go live but is already available for viewing and extensive testing by a client.
Once again, as we have seen earlier, the main goal at this stage is to ensure that a website is 100% ready for publishing before it goes live.
Question #4: What is the difference between an alpha site and a development website?
The main difference between an alpha site and a development website is their purpose. While an alpha site is meant to give a client a chance to review a website before it goes live, a development website is, as its name suggests, the form a website is in as it is being developed or under the development phase. At this stage, only the development team has access to the site.
But even after the development is completed, the website is not yet ready to be shown to the client. It must first pass through rigorous testing by the development team. The goal is to make it bug-free and close to what the live version would be before it is presented to the client.
Question #5: What is the difference between an alpha site and a production website?
While they look and function practically the same, there is one major difference between an alpha site and a production website: their audience.
The production site is the version of a website that goes live after the client approves its alpha version. It is the exact version of a website that the public will see and use.
Question #6: What are the benefits of creating this site?
As we have seen earlier, the biggest benefit of creating this site before going live is that it gives you the opportunity to fix any bugs before they turn into costly issues once the site goes live. This alone should be enough reason for you to consider creating one for your next project.
Question #7: What are the drawbacks of creating an alpha site?
One of the major drawbacks of creating is that since it is an extra step, it makes the whole development process take longer. But if you think of how much time and money it will save you by virtually eliminating the risk of having to make repairs on a live website, then spending a little extra time during development becomes well worth it.