Do you want to copy the look and feel of a WordPress website?
Cloning an already-existing WordPress website is usually the first step in moving to an alternative host, launching an ongoing client development project using localhost, and establishing an online staging site, as well as others.
In this post, we’ll show you how you can easily copy an existing WordPress website.
What Is WordPress Website Cloning, and Why Use It?
The principle behind the idea of cloning the WordPress website is to create an exact copy of one website and then transfer it to a different site.
There are many reasons you should clone the website. It could be that you need to move a site to a different host, or the domain name has changed. When you clone a website, you will cut down on time and effort as well as complete the process of migration much quicker.
Another option is to create websites for clients using your hostname. After the work is done, you can copy the website and transfer it to the live server of the client.
You could also copy an existing WordPress website and create a staging site in order to test modifications before putting them into live.
Let’s guide you through how to replicate an existing WordPress website in a couple of simple steps.
Step 1: Set Up the Duplicator WordPress Plugin for Easy Cloning
The most efficient method of cloning a WordPress website is with Duplicator. Duplicator plugin. It’s an extremely powerful WordPress duplicate and cloning plugin that is still simple to utilize.
The plugin backs everything you have on your website into one file, which you transfer to a new site.
The first thing to do is install and activate your plugin to the site you’d like to copy. For more details, check out our step-by-step guide on how you can install the WordPress plugin.
Notice: There’s a pro version of Duplicator that comes with extra features such as scheduled backups, multisite migration, and much more. However, we’ll choose to use our Free version for this guide since it comes with everything you require to copy the functionality of a WordPress website.
Step 2: Create a Duplicator Package for Your WordPress Site
After activation, visit the Duplicator tab, then Programs, and click the ‘Create New’ link on the right side of the screen.
Then, you’ll be directed to an area where you are able to enter a name for this duplicate document. This is for reference, so you are free to utilize whatever you want.
After that, click the ‘Next Click Next.
The Duplicator is now scanning your website. If it discovers an issue with one of the components or part of your WordPress site and you are unable to fix it, you will receive a message with details about how to fix the issue.
If you get the “Scan Complete message, you can click the button ‘Build’ to proceed.
The plugin now backs all of your WordPress database images and templates, plugins, as well as all other files, in one single download package.
Based on the size of your website, it could take just a few minutes.
Step 3: Prepare to Clone Your WordPress Site
When the backup process is complete, it’s now time to download your backup files.
You will need to download your archive, the file which holds your backup, as well as the installer, which will open the archive.
To download this file, you need to click on the “One-click Download the link.
Step 4: Upload Your WordPress Site Archive and Installer to a New Location
Now that you have a full backup of your site as well as the installer file. The next step is to upload your backups to a new site.
The new site could be an active WordPress blog or a website on an existing server. If your site is located located on a local server, then you’ll need to create a new folder on the root folder on your local server. This is the location in which your local server will store the websites.
For example, if you are using MAMP, then it will be the ‘/Applications/MAMP/htdocs/’ folder.
In addition, if you’re making use of WAMP and WAMP, it will be the C:wampwww directory.
Once you’ve done that, you’ll need to access the file that you have created for your website clone and then copy the installer and archive files into the folder.
If you’re using an active website that is hosted using another WordPress hosting platform, you’ll have to transfer your installer as well as archive into the root directory with the FTP client.
If you’ve never done this before, check out our beginner’s guide to how to utilize FTP for uploading files onto WordPress.
Wherever you upload your files, you must ensure that the directory only contains the installer.php or archive.zip files.
Step 5: Create a New WordPress Database for Your Website
In the next step, you must create a brand new WordPress database in order to detach your cloned version of WordPress. If you already have databases, you’re able to do this without a problem.
There are several ways to build an account, based upon whether your new site is live or a site hosted on the local server.
If you’re running live sites, sign in to the WordPress hosting account dashboard. Scroll down through the section ‘Databases’ and choose MySQL Databases’.
You will be taken to the screen where you are able to input a name to your database.
After that, click on the button ‘Create Database.
The next step is to connect a new user to your MySQL database.
Just scroll down to the MySQL Users section. After that, enter an account name and password for the user you want to create, and select the ‘Create User button.
Once you’ve done that, the next thing is to add the user’s name to your database.
Click on the “Add User to an existing Database section, then select the user dropdown. Choose the database user that you created in the earlier step.
Then, you can go to the dropdown menu for ‘Database’ and select the database that you have created previously.
Take note of the database’s name, username, as well as password, as you’ll require these details for the next step.
Once you’ve done that After that, click the “Add” button.
If you are using a localhost installation, visit ‘http://localhost/phpmyadmin/ ‘ or ‘http://localhost:8080/phpmyadmin/’ in your web browser to launch phpMyAdmin.
Then, click on the menu tab and select the ‘Database’ option.
Then, it would help if you created a new database name. The database.
After that, click the button ‘Create.
The database name will be used as the database name in the following step. In most localhost installations, the hostname will be localhost, and the username will be root with an unfilled password.
Step 6: Run the WordPress Website Importer Script
Once the files you’ve created are accounted for, it’s time to execute your Duplicator install script. This script can unpack the archive file with just a couple of clicks.
The first step is to type your website’s URL into your web browser and then add installer.php at the end. This will look something like ‘https://example.com/installer.php.’ Make sure to substitute ‘example.com” with your domain name or your site’s localhost URL.
Then, after that, the Duplicator install script is going to be displayed in the display. It will first check for existing backup files and then the initial setting.
If there is no error, you can make sure to check the Terms and Notices box at the bottom, then press Next to proceed.
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