Question

I like to use a simple Git workflow for static web sites but I build Joomla and WordPress sites a semi-regular basis too. However I am at a loss as to how to use Git with with database driven site development.

For a static site I would ‘Push’ to dev.websitename.com, then push to http://www.websitename.com once the dev site checks out. How would I mimic that process with database driven site like wordpress or joomla.

Thanks in advance for you insight!

Answer 1

You can definitely use Git with your website code, such as changes to your WordPress theme/plugin, exactly as you would if you are developing a static website.

However, you wouldn’t use it for your database. Git provides version control for code, while WordPress and Joomla already manage content stored in the database. Plus, Git wouldn’t understand a database, so it wouldn’t have any advantage over a periodic backup, which you should already be doing. Take a look at running a dev copy of your site for how to download your database directly from your server.

By the way, if you use Git with WordPress/Joomla, you should add e.g. cache, logs, tmp to .gitignore. There are also lots of tutorials out there–try searching e.g. http://google.com/search?q=wordpress+git.