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I run an online web community and currently I have a local version of the site which I modify and then after I upload via FTP the edited files to make them live once I have made the necessary modifications (using XAMPP)

However now I am outsourcing work to work on it and now this way of working is becoming quite troublesome because I have to recognise which files were modified by the other company, download them to my local server so everything is up to day - but isn't there a much easier way to do this?

What is the best way to maintain a "test" version of the site to make modifications to, try out new things where subcontracted businesses can work on developing parts of it, and where the live version is kept separate?

Jake
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1 Answers1

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This is a common problem with a common solution: a version control system. Here is my suggestion, but feel free to look up version control systems and find what suits you best.

GIT is a popular version control tool for these types of problems. Using GIT, you can create a development "branch" where nonlocal users can change and modify files. You may also set passwords, etc. for security purposes. With GIT you can track changes amongst many other great features. Then, when you are ready to merge the changes of the development branch to your working site, you can do so with GIT's merge feature. I believe several online solutions like BitBucket and others will even do some of this repository service for you.

GIT Website
http://git-scm.com/

jarrodparkes
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