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Delete Unused Images and Clean up Disk Space in WordPress
As a WP Staging user, you know the importance of backups and enjoy the quick creation of test sites before installing updates, themes, and plugins. Maybe, you have…
Founder
Rene Hermenau
Building WordPress infrastructure tools since 2015
About
About René Hermenau
I'm René Hermenau, founder of WP STAGING. I've been developing WordPress infrastructure software since 2013, building WP STAGING since 2015, and publishing code on GitHub since 2011.
WP STAGING started as a developer project to solve a problem I kept running into during client work: cloning and migrating WordPress sites safely without breaking serialized data, file paths, media references, or database relationships.
Today, WP STAGING is built and maintained by a team of more than 10 people. The free plugin is used on 100,000+ active WordPress installations, and WP STAGING Pro powers backup, migration, staging, and deployment workflows for agencies, hosting providers, ecommerce stores, and professional WordPress teams.
I'm still hands-on with the codebase, architecture, and technical direction of the product. Much of my work focuses on reliable database exports, memory-efficient processing on large WordPress sites, safe restore workflows, staging-to-production deployments, and reducing the risk of partially written files or database tables during migrations.
On this author page, you'll find technical articles, documentation, and product guides I have written, reviewed, or helped shape with the WP STAGING team.
When you touch code, leave it 10% better than before and write a test.
If you're stuck on a WP STAGING question, start with the documentation. If you hit a bug, file it on GitHub. Our team reads everything that lands there.
Areas of expertise
WordPress backups and restore workflows
WordPress staging sites and cloning
WordPress migrations and site transfers
WordPress database structure and serialized data
Remote Sync and server-to-server WordPress transfers
WP STAGING CLI and local Docker-based WordPress development
Plugin architecture, large-site performance, and safe deployment workflows
At a glance
Role: Founder of WP STAGING
Focus: WordPress backups, staging, migrations, database handling, plugin architecture, and deployment safety
Experience: Developing WordPress infrastructure software since 2013 and building WP STAGING since 2015
Code: github.com/rene-hermenau
Recent articles by Rene Hermenau
1,288 total-
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ARTICLE
WordPress Stuck in Maintenance Mode? Here’s How to Recover Fast
Is your WordPress site stuck in maintenance mode? It occurs when WordPress is in the process of updates, such as upgrading themes or plugins, and temporarily takes your…
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Fix WordPress Posts Returning 404 Error
If your WordPress posts show a 404 error, the content is still there, but the links to those posts aren’t working. This is a common problem that can…
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Set Up Bulk 301 Redirects in WordPress
Setting up 301 redirects is integral to managing 404 errors on your website, especially when updating URLs, moving content, or deleting old pages. These redirects ensure visitors and…
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Stop WordPress from Overwriting .htaccess File
When managing a WordPress website, the .htaccess file is key in setting up URL redirects and improving security. However, updating WordPress or installing new themes and plugins might…
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How to Fix Changes that aren’t Visible on your WordPress Live Site
When you update your WordPress site, you expect to see your changes reflected immediately. However, there are times when updates, such as new posts, page edits, or design…
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How to Speed up And Cache Your WordPress Site – Ultimate Guide
In this guide, I’ll show you how to speed up your WordPress website tremendously by setting up a few tools. Learn how to speed up your website loading…
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How to Secure your WordPress Website – Full Guide for WordPress Security
Your website looks great, you have outstanding traffic, and you are overall satisfied. However, all of this is worthless if your website is hacked, and you lose content,…
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MySQL Query: How to Delete all WooCommerce Orders
When managing a WooCommerce site, especially in a development or staging environment, there may be times when you need to delete all orders. This could be to refresh…
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Add WordPress SSL and Move from HTTP to HTTPS
If your WordPress site lacks an SSL certificate, all visitors will get the message “site not secure.”At worst, your visitors will immediately leave your website at this point…
Try WP STAGING
Clone, stage, and back up WordPress sites in seconds. Built and maintained by Rene Hermenau and team.