How to Clone a WordPress Site (3 Methods, Step by Step)

To clone a WordPress site, create a backup of its files and database with the free Duplicator plugin, upload the two files it gives you to the new location, and run its installer, which builds the copy and swaps in the new address throughout the database. If your host has a clone or staging tool, that does the same job in a few clicks, and developers can do it with a handful of WP-CLI commands.

We tested the Duplicator and WP-CLI methods on October 1, 2026, cloning a WordPress 7.1.2 site into an empty folder with Duplicator 5.0.5, the current version. Both copies came up with the same pages and the new URL in place of the old one, and the screenshots below come from that test.

Which method should you use?

Method	Best for	What you need
Duplicator (free plugin)	A copy on another host, domain or folder	Admin access to the original site, a way to upload files (FTP, SFTP or a file manager) and an empty database at the new location
Your host’s clone or staging tool	A copy on the same hosting account	A host that offers one
WP-CLI	Developers, and clones you repeat often	SSH access to both locations

If you are moving a site for good rather than copying it, the steps are nearly the same, and our roundup of WordPress migration plugins compares the alternatives to Duplicator.

Video tutorial

The video shows an older version of Duplicator. The written steps below match Duplicator 5.

How to clone a WordPress site with Duplicator

Duplicator is free on WordPress.org and has more than 1 million active installs. It packs your whole site, files and database, into an archive plus an installer script, and the installer rebuilds the site wherever you upload them, without installing WordPress there first.

Need scheduled backups? Duplicator Pro adds scheduled backups, cloud storage integrations, drag and drop imports and staging sites.

Step 1: Install Duplicator

In the dashboard of the site you want to copy, go to Plugins > Add Plugin, search for Duplicator, then click Install Now and Activate. Our guide to installing WordPress plugins covers the details.

Step 2: Create a backup

Go to Duplicator > Backups and click Add New. Duplicator 5 calls the copy a backup, where older versions called it a package.

The defaults suit most sites: a name built from the date and site title, the Default local storage, and No protection. If the files will pass through anywhere you do not fully control, choose Installer password or Archive encryption here instead, because an unprotected archive lets anyone who gets it read your whole site and database.

Click Next. Duplicator scans the site and reports on your hosting setup, such as available memory and execution time. When it shows Scan Complete, click Create Backup and wait for the build to finish.

Step 3: Download both files

Back on the Backups list, open Download next to your backup and choose Both Files. You get two files:

• The archive, which holds your files and database. Duplicator 5 uses its own .daf format by default, and you can switch it to ZIP in Duplicator’s settings.
• The installer, a PHP file whose name starts with the backup name and a random string, such as 20261001_originalsite_[hash]_installer.php. The random part makes the installer hard to guess, and you can switch to a plain installer.php in Duplicator’s settings.

Your browser may ask whether to let the site download multiple files. Allow it.

Step 4: Upload both files to the new location

Connect to the new host with an FTP or SFTP client such as FileZilla or Cyberduck, or open your host’s file manager, and go to the folder the new domain points to (often public_html). Upload the archive and the installer into that folder. If you have never used FTP, your host can give you the login details and tell you whether it uses FTP or SFTP.

The folder should be empty apart from placeholder files your host may add, such as a default index.html, which you can delete. You do not need to install WordPress there first, because the installer sets it up from the archive.

Step 5: Create an empty database

In your hosting control panel, create a new MySQL database and a database user, give the user all privileges on that database, and note the database name, username, password and host (usually localhost). On cPanel hosts this is under MySQL Databases, and other panels use similar names.

If your database user is allowed to create databases, the installer’s Create New Database action can make one for you instead.

Step 6: Run the installer

In your browser, go to your new address followed by the installer’s file name, for example https://newsite.com/20261001_originalsite_[hash]_installer.php. The installer opens on Step 1 of 2: Deployment.

Enter the database host, name, user and password from step 5. Leave Action on Empty Database only if the database is new or holds nothing you need, because it removes all data from it. The installer fills in the New Site URL from the address you are visiting and shows the old one underneath, so check that it is right, then click Validate.

If the checks pass, or show only notices, tick I have read and accept all terms & notices, click Next and confirm. The installer extracts the files, imports the database and replaces the old URL with the new one, repairing serialized data as it goes.

Step 7: Log in so Duplicator can clean up

When you reach Step 2 of 2: Test Site, leave Auto delete installer files after login ticked and click Admin Login. Sign in with the same username and password as the original site, since the copy has the same users. Duplicator then confirms the migration and deletes the installer, the archive and its dup-installer folder from the site’s root.

Do not skip this step. Duplicator’s installer warns that the install is not complete until the installer files are removed, and that leaving them on the server can lead to security issues.

How to clone a site with your host’s tools

Many managed WordPress hosts include a clone or staging feature that copies your files and database and rewrites the URLs for you. On SiteGround, for example, the staging tool is under Site Tools > WordPress > Staging and creates the copy automatically. Look for Clone, Copy or Staging in your hosting dashboard, and see our guide to WordPress staging sites for how these copies work.

How to clone a WordPress site with WP-CLI

If you have SSH access, WP-CLI does the same job in a few commands. Here is the full sequence, with example paths and addresses to swap for your own:

# On the original site: export the database
wp db export site.sql

# Copy the files to the new location (here, a folder on the same server)
rsync -a /var/www/original/ /var/www/clone/

# On the clone: point wp-config.php at a new, empty database
wp config set DB_NAME clone_db
wp config set DB_USER clone_user
wp config set DB_PASSWORD 'your-database-password'

# Import the database, preview the URL swap, then run it
wp db import site.sql
wp search-replace 'https://example.com' 'https://staging.example.com' --skip-columns=guid --dry-run
wp search-replace 'https://example.com' 'https://staging.example.com' --skip-columns=guid

wp search-replace understands serialized data, which a plain find and replace in SQL would break, and --skip-columns=guid leaves post GUIDs alone, which the WordPress documentation says you should never change. The --dry-run pass shows how many replacements each table will get before anything changes.

After you clone: what to check

• If the copy is for testing, go to Settings > Reading on the clone and tick Discourage search engines from indexing this site, or run wp option update blog_public 0. Password-protecting the copy is safer still.
• Click through the copy and confirm that links and images use the new address. An old URL that survives is usually hard-coded in a custom field or page builder setting, and another search and replace fixes it.
• A copy of a store or membership site keeps the original’s email and payment settings, so turn off outgoing email and payment webhooks before you test anything that sends messages or takes orders.
• If you skipped the Admin Login step, delete the installer, the archive and the dup-installer folder from the site’s root yourself.

Can you clone someone else’s WordPress site?

Not with these tools. Duplicator, host tools and WP-CLI all need admin or server access, so they only copy sites you own or manage. Copying another site’s content or design without permission can also infringe its copyright.

What you can do is see how a site is built. Our WordPress plugin detector shows which theme and plugins a site uses, and themes in the WordPress.org directory must use GPL-compatible licenses, so you are free to install the same theme and build your own design on it.

Copying a single page instead

To copy one page or post rather than the whole site, use the editor’s Copy all blocks command or the free Yoast Duplicate Post plugin. Our guide to duplicating a page in WordPress walks through both.

Frequently asked questions