How to Clone a Website Using SitePad?

Cloning a website in the simplest terms, is a web project that is modelling the source website the time it was created including but not limited to coding, content, images and database. One of the most famous site cloning solutions is a SitePad that gives you a possibility to clone any site any time you need it.

Cloning can be utilized for a number of reasons - creating a staging environment, moving a website to a new host, backup your site, even cloning a competitor's website is of the same vein. SitePad will thus save you the trouble of having to come up with duplicate materials since it offers you with an automated way of the process.

This knowledgebase will show you how to do a 100% step-by-step cloning of a web site using the SitePad facility.

Benefits of Cloning a Website

Prior to delving into the specifics, let's examine some of the main advantages of website cloning:

• Create the test in a staging environment - Copy the existing site and impliment the changes before updating the production. This ensures bugs do not enter your main website through the production of the site.

• Host Switch - Connect your report to the present host to bring about the instant motion.

• Take the backup of your web site - Make a clone of your site for the necessity of backup if you ever have to restore it.

• Take the competitor's web site apart - Collect a competitor's site to analyze by creating a copy and dissecting.

• Refresh your existing site - Completely rebuild your site by cloning it first. Retain essential code structure while updating the design.

• Train developers - Let new developers experiment and learn on a cloned staging site without impacting live data or traffic.

Step 1 - Sign Up for a SitePad Account

First in line is opening SitePad by signing up with them so you can utilize your cloning service.

Log on to [www.sitepad.com and click on"Sign Up"in the sat in the upper right corner. Go for the free plan if at the start of the ML projects. This also make each of you eligible for one more free website clone for each month.

You are required to provide your name and email address as well as set the password for your account. Shake hands with the law. Then complete email verification.

Once logged in, you'll arrive at your SitePad dashboard. This is where you'll initiate and manage clones.

Step 2 – Install SitePad Cloner App on Server

The SitePad cloner app needs to be installed on the server where your existing site is hosted. This allows the app to access the site's files for cloning.

Log in to your current site's hosting account and go to Applications or Software. Look for SitePad and install the latest version.

If unavailable in your control panel, you can manually upload and install the SitePad cloner files to your site's root folder.

This integration only takes a minute and does not impact your live site.

Step 3 – Enter Source Website Details

Go back to your SitePad dashboard. Click on 'Websites' and then 'Clone Website'. This will launch the cloning wizard.

Enter the URL of the website you want to clone as the source.

Configure the source website access details:

• Protocol - Choose HTTP or HTTPS

• Host / IP - Enter your site's host IP address

• Username - The cPanel or FTP username

• Password - The account password

• Clone files - Check this to clone all files

• Clone database - Check to also clone the MySQL DB

• Email access - Leave unchecked since we are cloning
  
  

Check the details carefully to avoid any errors. Then click 'Validate Website Credentials'. SitePad will test the connection.

Step 4 – Select Clone Hosting Server

If validation succeeds, you can proceed to select the hosting server where you want to create the cloned copy.

You can clone to a new SitePad hosting plan or any external server like shared hosting, VPS, or a local environment.

For external hosting, you'll need to install the SitePad cloner app just like the source in Step 2 above.

Choose your preferred clone destination and enter the access credentials. Then click ' Validate Server Credentials'.

Once validation is done, click 'Clone Website'. This will initiate the cloning process.

Step 5 - Configure Clone Settings

You'll now configure settings for the cloned website:

• Website Name - Enter a label for your clone site

• Website Folder - The folder path on the server

• Database Name - Name of the new MySQL database
  
  

Check the auto-generated names or manually configure them if needed.

For cloning a live site, make sure to:

• Use a different folder path to keep it isolated

• Create a new database so it does not impact real data

• Update the domain name in wp-config.php after cloning
  
  

Under Advanced Settings you can exclude specific directories or files from the clone if required.

Review all details and click 'Clone Website' to proceed. The cloning will now begin.

Step 6 – Let Cloning Process Complete

It will take a few minutes to a few hours for the clone process to fully complete depending on site size. You can close the browser and come back later.

On the clones page, you'll see the progress along with the option to pause/restart anytime.

Once done, the status will show ‘Clone Completed’. You can click the name to access and preview your cloned site.

Step 7 - Update Content and Settings

For a staging or dev clone, make sure to now:

• Update the clone site domain name and links

• Clear any cached files

• Empty or reset the clone database

• Modify content like removing real emails / customer data
  
  

This transforms your production clone into an isolated staging environment

For migrating a site or reversing a competitor’s site, keep the existing content as-is.

Update Domain Name

To use your clone site independently, it needs a new domain name.

Go to the wp-config.php file and replace the old domain name with the new one.

Also update site and WordPress URLs in the options table of the database.

Reset Database

PHPMyAdmin or similar tools allow cleaning the clone database:

• Delete all tables to remove content

• Keep just wp_* tables to retain configuration

• Or import a fresh database and retain just site-specific tables

Clear Cached Files

Delete any cached CSS, JS, image files from wp-content/cache or other cache folders.

You may need to reset permissions on the clone files to delete caches.

With these steps done, your clone site is ready for testing!

Step 8 – Configure Custom Domain (Optional)

The clone will be accessible via a sites.sitepad.com subdomain URL initially

To use your own custom domain

• Point the domain to the SitePad nameservers

• Go to SitePad Domains and connect your domain

• Update the site URL in wp-config.php accordingly

 

This allows you to preview the clone directly on your domain before promoting it to production.

Step 9 – Promote Staging Site to Live (Optional)

For a staging clone that you are happy with, swap it into production:

 

• Initiate a clone of your current production site for backup

• vacant the live folders and database completely

• Deploy the staging site files and database to live

• Perform final testing to ensure it works as expected

• Empty the old production clone and previous staging site
  
  

This cuts over your live site to the optimized staging copy with minimal downtime.

Troubleshooting Cloning Issues

Here are some common cloning errors and fixes

• Connection failure - Check source site credentials are correct. Try FTP instead of cPanel access.

• Timeout - Increase the clone timeout threshold in settings for larger sites.

• File/DB not cloned - Verify credentials have adequate permissions. Manual file transfer or DB export may be needed.

• Changes not reflected - Clear caches and browser history. Use incognito window to test clone site.

• Styling issues - May be due to path references. Update CSS/JS file paths as needed.

• Domain not updating - Flush rewrite rules and clear cookies after changing clone site domain.

• 404 errors - Update .htaccess file with new redirects and clone site path.

Cloning Best Practices

Here are some best practices when using SitePad's cloning feature:

• Clone to an isolated subfolder to avoid impacting the live site

• Use separate databases for live and cloned sites

• Pick lean hosting for clones to minimize resource usage

• Schedule clones during off-peak hours to reduce server load

• Limit access to staging clones to prevent unauthorized changes

• Clean up unused clones when done to free up resources

• Keep clones up-to-date by re-cloning from production periodically

Conclusion

Cloning enables seamless copying of websites for staging, testing, migrations, and more. SitePad removes the manual work required to duplicate sites.

By following this guide, you can quickly create a cloned copy of any website. Adjust the clone settings and content to create an isolated environment.

So clone away! Use SitePad to streamline your workflows, protect your live site, and work more efficiently on enhancements before launching them.