It’s no secret that starting a business from scratch can be an incredibly daunting task. Not only do you have to come up with a groundbreaking idea, but you also have to build all of the components of your business from scratch – including the website. But what if there was a way to clone an existing website and modify it to fit your needs?

This article will show you how to clone a website step-by-step. So whether you’re looking to create a carbon copy of another business or want to save time and hassle, read on for all the information you need.

What Is WordPress Cloning?

WordPress cloning is the process of making an identical copy of a WordPress website. This can be useful when you want to create a development site or make a backup of your live site.

There are a few different ways to clone a WordPress site. This article will show you how to clone a WordPress site step-by-step using the Duplicator plugin.

Why Would You Want to Clone a WordPress Site?

There are a few reasons you might want to clone your WordPress site. Maybe you want to create a development site where you can test out changes before pushing them live. Or perhaps you want to move your site to a new host and need an easy way to migrate everything over.

Reasons For Cloning A Website

Some of the reasons for cloning a website are listed below:

• To make a backup: This is the most common reason people clone websites. It’s an easy way to create a full backup of your site if something goes wrong.
• To move to a new host: Cloning is an excellent way to do it if you’re moving your site to a new web host. This way, you don’t have to worry about losing any data.
• To create a staging site: A staging site is a copy of your live site that you can use for testing purposes. This is especially useful if you’re making significant changes to your site and want to test them out before going live.
• To create a development site: A development site is similar to a staging site, but it’s used for developing new features or plugins. Again, this is an excellent way to test things out before making them live on your actual site.

Now that you know some of the reasons for cloning a website, let’s look at how to do it.

How To Clone a WordPress Website

If you’re running a WordPress website, there may come a time when you need to clone it. Maybe you want to create a staging environment to test changes before pushing them live. Or perhaps you want to move your site to a new host.

Whatever the reason, cloning a WordPress website is a relatively simple process. In this post, we’ll walk you through the steps to clone a WordPress website step-by-step.

Before we get started, there are a few things you’ll need:

• Access to your WordPress admin panel
• A FTP client (we recommend FileZilla)
• A text editor (we recommend Sublime Text)

Now that you have everything you need let’s get started.

Step 1: Establish The Duplicator Plugin For Efficient Cloning

A duplicator plugin is a valuable tool for backing up or migrating a WordPress site. Duplicator allows you to clone an entire site, including the database and all files, to a new location.

The plugin backs up your WordPress website into a package that you can transfer to another location or server. You can also use the plugin to schedule automatic backups of your site.

You’ll need to activate the Duplicator plugin on your WordPress site before you can use it. To do this, log in to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to the Plugins page. Find the Duplicator plugin in the list of plugins and click the Activate button.

Similarly, a pro version of Duplicator is available with additional features such as cloning a site from an FTP server or migrating a live site to a local host for development.

While the free plugin is perfectly adequate for most users, the pro version is a good option if you need to clone a site hosted on a remote server.

Step 2: Build A Duplicator Package For Your WordPress Site

After activation, go to “Tools > Duplicator” and click on the “Create New” button. This will take you to the next screen, where you will need to provide a name and description for your package.

Next, you’ll move to the screen where you can choose what files and databases to include in your package. By default, Duplicator will consist of everything, but you can deselect any options that you don’t want to have.

For most people, the default settings will be fine. Click on the “Next” button to continue when you’re ready.

You’ll need to choose how you want Duplicator to archive your files on the next screen. The default option is to compress everything into a ZIP file, but you can also choose to create an installer PHP script.

The plugin will now back up your WordPress files and database. Depending on the size of your website, this process can take a few minutes. You should see a success message letting you know that the package was created successfully when it’s done.

You can now download your package by clicking on the “One-Click Download” button. Duplicator will also provide you with a link that you can use to download the box later.

Step 3: Get Ready To Clone The WordPress Site

Once you’ve concluded the backup process, it’s time to begin prepping your WordPress site for the clone. This usually involves two essential tasks:

• Deactivating plugins: You likely won’t need all of your WordPress plugins to be active on your cloned site. Some may cause conflicts or not be necessary. Deactivate all plugins except for those essential to the functioning of your site.
• Exporting Your WordPress Database: You need to export your WordPress database and save it as an SQL file for your cloned WordPress site to work. You can accomplish this through phpMyAdmin (most hosts will have this installed by default). If you’re not comfortable working with phpMyAdmin, check with your host to see if they offer a database management tool. Once you’ve exported your database, save it in a safe place on your computer.

Step 4: Transmit Your WordPress Site Installer And Archive To A New Destination

After finishing the backup process, you will need to transfer your WordPress site archive and installer to the new location. You can do this using an FTP client or a file manager provided by your web hosting control panel.

Once the transfer is complete, you will need to extract the WordPress site archive. You can do this using an FTP client, a file manager, or a command line.

If you are using an FTP client:

• Connect to your web server using an FTP client.
• Navigate to the directory where you want to install WordPress.
• Upload the WordPress site archive to the directory.
• Extract the WordPress site archive.

If you are using a file manager:

• Log in to your web hosting control panel.
• Navigate to the File Manager.
• Navigate to the directory where you want to install WordPress.
• Upload the WordPress site archive to the directory.
• Extract the WordPress site archive.

If you are using a command line:

• Connect to your web server using SSH.
• Navigate to the directory where you want to install WordPress.
• Upload the WordPress site archive to the directory.
• Extract the WordPress site archive.

After the WordPress site archive has been extracted, you will need to run the WordPress installer. You can do this by accessing the installer URL in a web browser.

The WordPress installer will ask you for information such as the database name, database username, and database password. You will need to enter the data from the previous step.

After entering the information, click on the “Install WordPress” button. You will now install WordPress on your new server. Congratulations! You have successfully cloned your WordPress website.

Step 5: Develop An Advanced WordPress Database

Next, you need to generate a WordPress database for your new cloned website. You can do this by logging into phpMyAdmin and following these steps:

• Click on the Databases tab at the top
• Enter a name for your database in the “Create new database” field and click on the Create button
• Next, you need to create a user for your database. Click on the “Users” tab and click on the “Add User” button.
• Enter a username and password for your database user and click on the “Create User” button
• Finally, you need to add your user to your database. Click on the “Databases” tab, select your database from the list of databases, and then click on the “Add User To Database” button.
• Select your database user from the list of users and click on the “Add” button
• You should now see your database user listed under the “Database-specific privileges” section.
• Click on the “Go” button to save your changes.

Step 6: Start The Importer Script On Your Website

You’ll have to run your duplicator installer script now, which you will find in the WordPress directory.

YourWebsiteName/wordpress/installer.php. If it doesn’t upload, ensure you’ve got all the files correctly. When you run the installer, you’ll be asked to provide your database name and password. If you’re unsure about these, you can find them in your wp-config file.

After you’ve provided the necessary information, click on the RUN THE INSTALLER button. The script will now start importing all your WordPress files and database. This process might take a while, so be patient. Once it’s done, you’ll see a success message like the one below:

You can now click on the WordPress Login link and enter your username and password to login to your new WordPress website. And that’s it! You’ve successfully cloned your WordPress website.

Step 7: Try Out The Cloned Website and Do Away With Temporary Files

You can now test your cloned website. If everything looks good, you can delete the temporary files.

To test your website:

• Go to your WordPress admin dashboard.
• Create a new post or page.
• Add some content and publish it.
• View your website to see the latest post or page.

If everything looks good, you can delete the temporary files. To do this:

• Go to your WordPress admin dashboard.
• Go to Settings > Delete Cloned Website.
• Click the Delete button.

This will delete all of the temporary files associated with your cloned website.

Conclusion

Cloning a website is not difficult. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can easily clone any website. Be careful when cloning sensitive information, and test your cloned website before making it live. Happy cloning!