About Development Sites

A development site is a free Wix site you create specifically for testing your Wix app as you build it, before your changes reach real users. It lets you install your app, exercise its extensions, and see how it behaves on an actual Wix site.

A development site is a real Wix site, and can be built in any of the site editors. Anything you already know about working with a Wix site applies. For example, you install business solutions the same way, and you publish the same way. Two things set it apart for app development:

• It's free, and includes Premium capabilities that a regular site gets only with a paid Premium plan.
• It's meant for testing your app before changes reach real users, including a live preview of your local code.

For the steps to create and remove development sites, install your app on them, and switch between them, see Work with Development Sites.

How app installation works on a development site

Wix apps aren't standalone web apps. They run only when they're installed on a Wix site. Like any site, a development site uses the version of your app that's installed on it, which is what you see when you open the site normally, such as from your sites list. As on any site, if no version is installed, your app doesn't appear at all. Even the Wix CLI's live preview needs your app installed on the site first.

A development site can have several apps installed on it for testing, and your app can be installed on several development sites at once. That lets you compare setups, for example a different editor or template on each.

How a development site reflects unreleased changes

In-progress changes, the ones that aren't in any release yet, can reach a development site too. How that works depends on your development framework:

• Wix CLI: The links wix dev prints load your local project instead of the installed version, with hot reloading, and only while the session is running. Once the session stops, those links can no longer load your app's extensions. A project uses one development site at a time, so you switch sites rather than previewing on several at once.
• Wix Blocks: Blocks can install a test version of your app that includes changes you haven't released.
• Self-managed: Your extensions load from a URL you control, so the site always loads whatever your server serves, and there's nothing to release to see a code change.

How the editor and template affect what you can test

Every development site is built in one site editor. A development site is additionally based on a template, which either pre-installs business solutions or is blank, with nothing special pre-installed.

Both affect what you can test:

• The site editor affects which of your app's extensions are supported. Some extension types work only in certain editors. For example, an Editor React Component runs only on a Wix Harmony site, so it isn't available on a Wix Studio development site. For how extension support differs on Wix Harmony, see About Wix Harmony and Apps.
• The template determines the site's design and which Wix business solutions and apps are already on it, so it sets what you can test against right away. Choosing a template doesn't limit the site. You can install other apps and business solutions from the Wix App Market later, the same as on any Wix site built in that editor.

For the available combinations and what each one pre-installs, see Available editors and templates.

Available editors and templates

A development site created in the app dashboard has one site editor and one template, both chosen when you create the site.

The following table lists the available combinations, and what each one pre-installs.

Editor	Template	Pre-installed Wix business solutions	Pre-installed apps
Wix Editor	Wix Stores (Catalog V3)	Wix Stores	Wix Members Area
Wix Editor	Wix Stores (Catalog V1)	Wix Stores, Wix Forms, Wix Pro Gallery, Wix Chat	Instagram Feed, Wix Members Area, Wix FAQ, Wix Site Search
Wix Editor	Wix Events	Wix Forms	None
Wix Editor	Wix Bookings	Wix Bookings, Wix Forms, Wix Pro Gallery, Wix Pricing Plans, Wix Chat	Instagram Feed, Wix Members Area
Wix Editor	Wix Restaurants	Wix Restaurants Orders, Wix Restaurants Menus, Wix Forms, Wix Pro Gallery	Wix Tips, Wix Members Area
Wix Editor	Blank	None	None
Wix Studio	Wix Stores (Catalog V3)	Wix Stores	Wix Members Area
Wix Studio	Wix Stores (Catalog V1)	Wix Forms, Wix Stores, Wix Blog	Wix Gift Cards, Wix Members Area
Wix Studio	Wix Events	Wix Forms, Wix Pro Gallery, Wix Events & Tickets, Wix Blog	Wix Members Area
Wix Studio	Wix Bookings	Wix Forms, Wix Pricing Plans, Wix Events & Tickets, Wix Bookings	Wix Members Area
Wix Studio	Wix Restaurants	Wix Pro Gallery, Wix Restaurants Orders, Wix Restaurants Menus	Wix Tips, Wix Members Area
Wix Studio	Blank	None	None
Wix Harmony	Wix Stores (Catalog V3)	Wix Stores	Wix Members Area
Wix Harmony	Wix Events	Wix Events & Tickets	Wix Members Area
Wix Harmony	Wix Bookings	Wix Bookings	Wix Members Area
Wix Harmony	Wix Restaurants	Wix Table Reservations, Wix Restaurants Menus	Wix Members Area
Wix Harmony	Blank	None	None