MagicSync allows developers to push or pull the files and/or database from staging and production environments. This update also expands Local’s MagicSync capabilities to include both Flywheel and WP Engine. “We attribute that increase to Local ‘Lightning’ which is the more reliable, performant version of Local that we launched last year,” Sellwood said.
More than 300,000 developers have tried Local since it first launched in 2017 and active users are up 90% year over year. “Our focus from here will be helping developers with pre-launch tasks like gathering feedback, testing, and optimizing their site before they go-live.” “We saw an opportunity to build new tools into Local that pivot away from focusing on Flywheel customers and towards solving common WordPress developer pain-points,” Local product manager Jack Sellwood said.
This major update focuses on pre-launch features that allow developers to check links, optimize images, share a live link, and make changes with live reload. The first version of Local Pro, launched in July 2019, was heavily geared towards Flywheel customers, but the tool has gradually evolved to be more host-agnostic. Flywheel has relaunched Local Pro, the commercial upgrade for its free local WordPress development product.
