By default, your shadow environment uses the same domain as your production site, with access controlled by a cookie. You can optionally configure the shadow environment to use its own (sub)domain.
While distinctive domain can have it's own benefits, you can also reach shadow environment directly with correct shadow parameter:
example.com/?seravo_shadow=ID1234
ID1234 is your shadow's identifying number which can be found from Seravo Plugin under Tools > Site Status > Shadows.
Domain is Under Seravo's Management
We will make the changes for you. Please notify our customer service what kind of subdomain you want to use for your shadow environment.
Domain is Managed Elsewhere
Point the desired subdomain to the server with a CNAME record (below).
Example of a CNAME record where the subdomain (subdomain.example.com) is pointed to the Seravo server cluster fi-tolonen (edit to match your own needs):
subdomain.example.com. 10800 IN CNAME fi-tolonen.seravo.com.
You can see the identifiers for all our server clusters in our list here. The TTL time (10800) can be according to your choice. The server cluster is listed in the DNS records in your order confirmation email. If necessary, the correct server cluster can also be checked with our customer service.
Once the DNS update has been done and the subdomain's web traffic is directed to the Seravo server, contact our customer service so we can add the subdomain to your desired shadow environment.
Change Shadow's Domain
After you've had confirmation from our customer service that the domain has been added to the shadow environment you need to change the new domain to the database. Like with production this can be done with search-replace, depending on your preference you can do it either with Seravo Plugin's search-replace tool or from the command line with WP-CLI search-replace.
ATTN! Every time you do a shadow reset the domain needs to be set again with search-replace.
Hide the Shadow from Search Engines
If the shadow environment is set to run on its own subdomain, remember to ensure that search engines do not find and index it. You can prevent search engines from listing the shadow environment in WordPress settings, under the menu Settings > Reading > Discourage search engines from indexing this site. Please consider this also when resetting the shadow environment. Remember to check the settings of any SEO plugins (e.g., Yoast) as well.
By default, shadow environments operate with a cookie, which tells search engines not to index them.
More Information in Developer Documentation
You can read more about how shadow environments work in Seravo's developer documentation here.
How Can I Get a Shadow Environment Opened?
Contact our customer service to open a shadow environment. You can check how many shadow environments are included in your plan from the Plans -page.