CI/CD
CI/CD stands for continuous integration and continuous delivery or deployment and describes automated pipelines that test, build and ship code changes — fast, repeatable and with fewer errors.
With continuous integration, every change is built and tested automatically. Continuous delivery keeps tested versions ready to ship; with continuous deployment they go live without a manual step.
Improvements thus reach the software in small, manageable steps rather than rare, risky big updates. Errors surface early and every version is traceable.
At agroplanta, for example, the website runs on CI/CD with GitHub Actions, with separate staging and production environments, uptime monitoring and health checks.
What to look out for
- Have every change built and tested automatically before it is merged.
- Set up a staging environment that matches production as closely as possible.
- Include automated checks for errors, security and code quality in the pipeline.
- Label every shipped version clearly and allow a quick rollback to the previous one.
- Store deployment credentials securely, never in the source code.
Common mistakes
- Tests exist but do not run automatically — and are forgotten before release.
- Changes go straight to the live site without a staging environment.
- Passwords or keys are stored in the source code.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, often from the first update: automated builds and tests save time and prevent errors from going live unnoticed. With tools such as GitHub Actions the setup effort is manageable.
With continuous delivery every tested version is ready to ship and released with a click. With continuous deployment every successfully tested change goes live automatically.