In real projects, developers work in two main environments.
One is for building and testing, and the other is for live users.
What Is Development Environment
The development environment is where developers write and test code.
It is safe to make mistakes here because users cannot see it.
What Is Production Environment
The production environment is the live website.
Real users visit this version, so everything must work perfectly.
Key Differences
Development:
- Used for coding and testing
- Can contain unfinished features
- Errors are acceptable
Production:
- Used by real users
- Must be stable and fast
- Errors are not acceptable
Why Separate Environments Matter
Separating development and production prevents:
- Breaking the live site
- Showing incomplete features to users
- Losing user trust
Only tested and approved content should go to production.
Testing Before Going Live
Before moving to production, developers should:
- Check all links
- Test forms
- Review content
- Test on mobile devices
Using a Staging Environment
Some teams use a staging environment.
It looks like the live site but is used for final testing.
Typical Workflow
A professional workflow usually follows:
- Develop locally
- Test changes
- Review work
- Deploy to production
Why This Matters for Jobs
Companies expect developers to understand safe deployment.
Knowing workflow reduces mistakes and increases trust.
Common Workflow Mistakes
- Editing directly on the live website
- Skipping testing
- Deploying unfinished features
Practice Task
Create two folders:
- dev
- production
Put test content in dev and final content in production.
What You Will Learn Next
In the next lesson, you will learn version control basics for HTML projects.