How to Clone Wordpress Website ?

[Administrator]

I want to clone wordpress website on different wordpress website. In short what i mean is i want to duplicate the contents from my existing wordpress website on new website. Please guide me proper steps.

[Neha]

STEPS TO CLONE THE WORDPRESS WEBSITES:

Its very common issue for the new WordPress users how to transfer a WordPress Website.

Here is the solution we can use wp-clone plugin for easy migration or transferring of the websites.

Wp-clone Plugin

Wp-clone is the easiest fastest and most secure way to move a copy or WordPress site to another domain or webhosting server.

Wp-clone Plugin Installation Steps:

Login to the WordPress admin area -> Go through Plugins sections ->Add new plugin-> Search wp-clone

Please see below screenshot:

Install the plugin and activate it.

Step 2:

Click on Wp-clone from the dashboard i.e. from left sidebar. It will show 2 options:

1. Create Backup
2. Restore from URL

So, create the backup first so once the backup is completed copy the link and save in notepad.

Please see below screenshot:

Step 3:

Now login to the new WordPress wp-admin where you have to install the clone website.

Install the clone plugin in that website and paste the URL in Restore Backup.

That’s it. This how you can move the data successfully.

It copies all the mysql database, files, folders, username and password too.

So, you can use the same old password of the WordPress website which you have created the backup and use for cloning.

This process doesn’t work for different server it works for the same server.

[Administrator]

Thank you, I will give a try with the plugin wp-clone and will report if any errors.

[Neha]

Sure! Let me know if you face any errors.

[DavidKumar]

Clone a WordPress Site in 7 Easy Steps

Step 1. Setup the Duplicator WordPress Plugin for Easy Cloning
For this tutorial, we’ll be using the Duplicator plugin. It’s a powerful WordPress cloning and duplication plugin that’s still very beginner friendly.

The plugin backs up everything from your website into a single file, which you can easily move to a new location.

First thing you need to do is activate and install the plugin on the domain you want to clone. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Note: There’s a pro version of Duplicator available that packs additional features like scheduled backups, multisite migration, and more, but we’ll use the free version for this tutorial since it can fully clone a WordPress site.

Step 2. Create a Duplicator Package of Your WordPress Site
Upon activation, you need to go to Duplicator » Packages and then click on the ‘Create New’ button at the top of the page.

Create new duplicator package
After that, you’ll be taken to a screen where you need to give your duplicate a name.

Then, click the ‘Next’ button.


Duplicator will now start its duplication wizard. It will run some tests to make sure everything is in order to run the plugin.

If it finds an issue with any part of your site, then you’ll see a warning with steps you can take to fix it.

If everything is good, then click the ‘Build’ button beneath the scan to continue.

Completed scan click build
The plugin will now backup your WordPress database, images, templates, plugins, and all other files in a single downloadable package.

Depending on your website’s size, the process might take a couple of minutes.

Step 3. Prepare to Clone Your WordPress Site
Once the backup process is finished, it’s time to download your files.

You need to download two different files, the archive file containing your backup and the installer that will unpack the archive.

One click download both files
You need to click on the ‘One-click Download’ link to download both files to your computer.

Both of these files are extremely important to properly clone your WordPress site in the new location.

Step 4. Upload Your WordPress Site Archive and Installer to a New Location
Now that you have a complete backup of your site and the installer file, the next step is to upload them to the new location.

This new location can be a live website or a site on your local server. If it is a site on your local server, then you need to create a new folder in your local server’s root folder. This is the file where your local server stores all websites.

For example, if you’re using MAMP, then it will be ‘/Applications/MAMP/htdocs/’ folder.

Alternatively, if you’re using WAMP, then it would be ‘C:\wamp\www\’ folder.

Next, open up the folder you created for your cloned website and copy both the archive file and installer into the folder.

Upload files on local install
If it is a live website on a different WordPress hosting platform, then you need to upload these files to the root directory using an FTP client.

If you haven’t done this before, then see our beginner’s guide on how to use FTP to upload files to WordPress.

No matter where you upload the files, you need to ensure the folder is completely empty and only has the installer.php and your archive zip files.

Upload files via FTP
Step 5. Create a New WordPress Database for Your Website
Next, you need to create a new WordPress database to unpack your cloned version of WordPress.

If you’ve already created a database, then you can skip this step.

There are a few ways you can create a database, depending on if the new location will be a live site or a site on your local server.

If you’re using a live site, simply login to your hosting account dashboard, then scroll down to the ‘Databases’ section and click the ‘MySQL Databases’ icon.

Click MySQL databases
This brings you to a screen where you need to enter a name for your database.

Then, click the ‘Create Database’ button.

Enter database name and create database
Next, you need to add a new user to the MySQL database. Simply scroll down to the ‘MySQL Users’ section.

Then, add a username and password for your new user and click the ‘Create a user’ button.

Create new database user
Once you’ve done that, you need to add this user to your database.

Simply scroll down to the ‘Add User to a Database’ section, select the database user you created in the ‘User’ dropdown, then select the database you created from the ‘Database’ drop down.

Add new user to database
After that, click the ‘Add’ button. Make sure you take note of the database name, username, and password. You’ll need this information in the next step.

If you’re using a localhost installation, simply visit ‘http://localhost/phpmyadmin/ ‘ or ‘http://localhost:8080/phpmyadmin/’ in your web browser to launch phpMyAdmin.

After that, click on the ‘Menu’ tab, then select the ‘Database’ option.

Create new phpMyAdmin database
Next, you need to enter a new name for your database.

Then, click the ‘Create’ button.

Enter database name and create
You need to remember the name of your database for the next step. For most localhost installations, your host will be localhost, and the username will be root, with a blank password.

Step 6. Run the WordPress Website Importer Script
Now that all your files are in place, you need to run the Duplicator installer script. This script unpacks your archive file in a few clicks.

First, type your website URL into the web browser and add installer.php to the end of it. This will look something like, ‘https://example.com/installer.php’.

Make sure you replace ‘example.com’ with your own domain name, or the localhost address of your new site.

Next, the Duplicator installer script will appear on the screen. First, it will automatically look for existing backup files and the initial settings.

If there are no errors, then check the terms and notices checkbox at the bottom and click ‘Next’ to continue.

Accept duplicator terms and notices
On the next screen, you need to enter your WordPress database information.

This is the database information that you copied above.

Add database information
At the bottom of the page, there’s a ‘Test Database’ button you can use to make sure all of your database information is correct.

If everything looks good, then you can click the ‘Next’ button.

Database test and click next
Duplicator will now import your WordPress database. It will automatically detect any changes and will fill in the ‘URL’, ‘Path’, and ‘Title’ fields for you. Simply click the ‘Next’ button to continue.

Confirm information and click next
Duplicator will now finish the installation, and you will see the admin login button.

Clicking on it will take you to the new cloned site’s WordPress admin area.

Go to WordPress admin area
Step 7. Test Your Cloned Website and Delete Temporary Files
You can now go ahead and test your cloned WordPress blog.

We recommend testing both the WordPress admin area and the front end of your website to make sure all your data is there and the website is working as intended.

If you run across any new WordPress errors, then check out our beginner’s guide to troubleshooting WordPress errors.

Once you’re satisfied that everything is imported correctly, you can go ahead and delete the installation files created by the Duplicator plugin.

On your cloned WordPress site, go to Duplicator » Tools and then click on the ‘Remove Installation Files’ button.

Remove installation files
That’s it, you have successfully cloned a WordPress site.