When you purchase any Astra package, you』ll find zip files for the package plugins on your store account under Account > Downloads.
Sometimes you may find more than one zip file for the Astra theme and other purchased plugins. You might be wondering which zip you should install from the list. This article will help you to understand various zip files available in the store. For example –
In the above screenshot, you can see various zip files are available for Astra Theme & Pro Addon. While working on a major update for the Astra, we make it a point to release a few beta or RC versions before the final stable product. Here, users can try out the new features, test them, and share the beta/RC version feedback. The stable version releasing process follows the pattern: Alpha -> Beta -> RC -> Stable. Below is the description for these versions –
Alpha This package contains very initial development for the new feature.Generally, it is for the internal usage of the development team and it is not available in public. Beta This is the next version of the alpha and contains the basic functionality of new features. They are available in public.It is strongly recommended to use beta zip on staging or local environment. DO NOT use them on live sites as they release in the middle of development.Beta is released so that users can try the new features, test and share feedback. Read more here. RC ( Release Candidate ) As the name suggests, this package is a candidate for a stable release.Usually, we do not update any major thing after RC package.Again it is strongly recommended to use RC zip on staging or local environment. DO NOT use them on live sites. Stable Zip files that do not have a suffix like RC or beta are stable version zip files. As in the above screenshot, Astra Pro Addon Plugin – Version 1.5.2 is a stable version zip for Astra Pro plugin.You can use stable version zip on your live sites.
Conclusion
If you wish to test new features, you can use the beta/RC version on the staging/ test environment. As they might need some improvements we DO NOT recommend to use them on live sites.
Finally, if you want to update Astra Pro on your live website, use only a stable version (e.g., Astra Pro Addon Plugin – Version 1.5.2). A stable version is tested and usually error-free, so there should be no major issues after the update.