This is extremely useful, but most teams still aren’t doing it: Preview...
This is extremely useful, but most teams still aren’t doing it:
Preview deployments - Automatically deploy each feature branch to a temporary environment and URL.
(This is also known as ephemeral environments).
Benefits:
✅ Code reviewers can easily run the PR.
✅ QA can review and test code *before* merge.
✅ Non-technical people like product owners can experience and approve the feature before merge.
✅ Work in progress can be easily demo'd and shared for early feedback
✅ Preview deployments can eliminate the need for long-lived environments. Long lived environments are typically used to manually test changes. But with preview deployments, we can validate before merge, so we can feel confident the code works and meets requirements *before* merging.
✅ Preview deploys are a great fit for trunk-based development and continuous delivery. Here’s why: All stakeholders can approve before merge! This is HUGE. It means any merged code is fully vetted, and can thus be automatically deployed. 🔥
So, why isn't everyone doing this?
🚩 It’s a hassle to set up
🚩 It can be expensive, especially if the environment has many complex moving parts (many DBs, services, microfrontends, etc).
Hosts like Vercel and Netlify make it easier with built-in support.
Bottom line: If your team isn't doing preview deployments today, consider it. They're fantastic.