Comparing Direct server edit(A) and Local + git(B)
A.) Direct server edit via ftp (current)
Edit files directly from the live server via ftp
Pros
* No local disk space used (no need to download files when doing updates)
* Quicker to roll-out updates/fixes for someone new who comes in to an existing project, since there is no need to download files and setup local environment.
Cons
B.) Local + git
Work locally and upload the changes to live via git
Pros
* Can utilize modern development tools like, resulting to better dev process and optimized output
– node & npm
– vite or webpack(bundler)
– sass (css pre-processor)
– js frameworks (react, vue, angular, etc)
* avoids code overwrite when multiple people are working on a single file simultaneously
* less likely for errors to show on live product since it is seen and fixed locally first
Cons
* Needs local disk space, since you would need to download all the project files and setup the environment locally. This could be challenging if you are managing hundreds of sites, specially for support where they come in new to a project and only need to do a small update, they would need to download the entire project files to do it.
* Replicating issues from live could be challenging if there are environment setting differences between live and local.
* If the update involves data from the database, you would need to import the database from live site to replicate the current setup.