WordPress clone plugins allow you to create a complete copy of your website (without the domain name).

Unlike a regular backup which may only backup and create copies of certain parts, usually just the database, a clone, creates a complete copy of everything, including the theme, all plugins, the settings, pages and posts, the database, images, etc.

There are several times where you may need to create a clone of your website. Some of the reasons you might need to clone your site include:

WordPress, is no different than any other web based application, it can be vulnerable to everything from security flaws, server crashes, fatal plugin and theme updates, hacking attempts that corrupt all your data including the backups provided by your hosting provider. 

When bad things happen, you need to be ready to react immediately to mitigate the issues. Cloning provides you with the peace of mind that you will be ready when disasters strike.

One of the main reasons to clone your WordPress site is for testing and development (staging).

 The last point, I would like to mention is that you can move your site manually without the use of plugins, however going that route entails a very technical process, that is also time consuming and confusing. We highly recommend the use of a plugin when the need arises to clone your site.

With over 25 million downloads Duplicator effectively enables WordPress users to  migrate, transfer, move, or clone their sites. Duplicator also functions as a straightforward backup utility

Duplicator provides a package that contains all of the site’s plugins, themes, content, database, and WordPress files. This program may then be used to migrate a WordPress site effortlessly to any location. Move inside the same server, between servers, or to virtually any location where a WordPress site can be hosted. No installation of WordPress is necessary, as the package contains all site files.

UpdraftPlus is one of the highest-rated and most popular backup plugins available. Not only is it feature-rich, but it is also simple and intuitive to use. Additionally, due to its large user base, it has been tried and tested in a variety of diverse settings.

With UpdraftPlus you can backup directly to Dropbox, Google Drive, Amazon S3 (or a compatible cloud storage provider), UpdraftVault, Rackspace Cloud, FTP, DreamObjects, Openstack Swift, or email.

 In addition, UpdraftPlus Premium has a tool called UpdraftMigrator which allows you to clone and migrate your website.

UpdraftPlus’s free edition backs up your website perfectly well. If you require additional features and settings, you can upgrade to the Premium edition.

UpdraftPlus Premium, you can enjoy the following benefits:

BackupBuddy is also one of the better Backup and Cloning plugins for WordPress. The BackupBuddy plugin gives you a complete copy of your WordPress site in a downloadable zip file that you can use as a duplicate version of the site.

Once you run a complete backup with BackupBuddy, you can download a zip file of your site that can be used as a cloned site. All you have to do is upload importbuddy.php at your new location with your backup zip file. When you run the installer, you can enter your new database details and new URL

Backup buddy is a great tool because it covers all four backup elements which are:

Introduced in 2013 and now used by over 60 million websites, All-in-One WP Migration is unquestionably one of the most trusted and widely used WordPress plugins for easily migrating websites. Over 60 million websites make use of it.

All-in-One WP Migration was designed with the non-technical user in mind and includes a slew of newbie-friendly features that enable you to migrate your WordPress website with little to no technical expertise or experience.

Numerous enterprise companies, government agencies, and colleges use, appreciate, and rely on All-in-One WP Migration. This widespread adoption and use of All-in-One WP Migrating demonstrates the plugin’s safety, reliability, and adaptability to virtually any website migration demand.

1. Install the plugin All-in-One WP Migration.

2. Export your database, media files, plugins, and themes into a single tidy file by clicking the export button.

3. Unpack the file in the new location using the simple “drag and drop” option in your new website’s WordPress admin.

NS Cloner is the simplest, quickest, and most user-friendly method of creating fully cloned sites on your Multisite networks. The NS Cloner will take any current site in your WordPress multisite network and clone it into a new site that is absolutely identical to the original in terms of theme and theme settings, plugins and plugin configurations, content, images, videos, and site settings.

Everything is preserved and intelligent replacements are made to ensure that the new site settings reflect your chosen name and title, as well as automatic URL replacements and other background updates to ensure that the new site functions exactly as if you had taken the time to set it all up manually.

Nota bene: this plugin is only compatible with WordPress Multisite (although the pro version works for single sites as well). Your network administration dashboard (wp-admin/network) contains a menu for it.

NS Cloner Pro’s Features