Best Plugin to Clone/Duplicate a WordPress Website

Whether you need to migrate a client project from a local development site or you’re just tired of your web host’s slow service and awful support, there are many reasons why you might need to migrate a WordPress site to a new host.

In any case, it’s crucial that the content corresponds exactly to the original. After all, what good is it to fiddle with your development version if the changes don’t translate to the live site?

Of course, you can clone your WordPress site manually. Generally speaking, this usually involves the following steps:

• Copying your files and database
• Uploading both to the new location
• Updating the database references
• Editing wp-config to fit the new environment

Let’s be honest, though Migrating a site manually can be fiddly and you risk messing things up.

If you want to avoid the hassle and cut down on the amount of time it takes to move a site, there are plenty of plugin options that make migration a piece of cake. UCG Development Team recommend “DUPLICATOR” plugin.

WordPress Duplicator

There’s a lot of love for this free plugin, which allows you to duplicate, clone, backup, move and transfer an entire site from one place to another.

How Dose it Work

Duplicator creates a package that bundles all the site’s plugins, themes, content, database and WordPress files into a simple zip file called a package. This package can then be used to easily migrate a WordPress site to any location you wish. Move on the same server, across servers and pretty much any location a WordPress site can be hosted. WordPress is not required for installation since the package contains all site files.

During setup, you can configure what should and shouldn’t be included in the archive, and include all necessary information for the site’s new location in the installer file. Doing this will automatically populate the wp-config.php with the values of the new host.

After configuration, a backup of your site is created with just two clicks. You can download both files directly at the end of the process or find them inside the wp-snapshots folder in your WordPress installation.

Redeployment of the site is just as simple as creating the package was. All you need to do is upload both the installer and package files to the new location of your site, and access the installer.php file via your browser. The installation will then let you either create a new database or connect your site with an existing one.

Lastly, Duplicator will also give you a report on possible problems and point out a few other points to note, such as updating your permalinks and cleaning up temporary files.

After moving you website you can follow our WordPress Security Checklist

Price: Free

Official Site: Duplicator