How to Clone a Website Using SitePad?

In the simplest terms, cloning a website is a web project that models the source website at the time it was created, including, but not limited to, coding, content, images, and databases. One of the most famous site cloning solutions is SitePad, which allows you to clone any site at any time.

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

This knowledgebase will show you how to clone a website using the SitePad facility 100% step-by-step.

Benefits of Cloning a Website

Before 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 implement the changes before updating the production. This ensures bugs do not enter your main website through the site's output.

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

Take a backup of your website—Make a clone of your site to ensure a backup if you ever have to restore it.

Take the competitor's website apart—Collect a competitor's site to analyze by creating a copy and dissecting it.

Refresh your existing site—You can completely rebuild your site by cloning it first. This will 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"Sign Up" in the upper right corner. Go for the free plan at the start of the ML projects. This also makes you eligible for one more free website clone each month.

You are required to provide your name and email address and 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 the 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 the SitePad cloner files are unavailable in your control panel, you can manually upload and install them 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' to 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 also to 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 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, such as shared hosting, VPS, or a local environment.

You'll need to install the SitePad cloner app like the source in Step 2 above for external hosting.

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 the 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 accurate 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

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

On the clones page, you'll see the progress and 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 know:

Update the clone site domain name and links.

Clear any cached files

Empty or reset the clone database

Modify content, like removing accurate emails/customer data.

This transforms your production clone into an isolated staging environment.

Keep the existing content as-is when migrating or reversing a competitor’s site.

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 the site and WordPress URLs in the database options table.

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, or 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 initially be accessible via a sites.sitepad.com subdomain URL.

To use your 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 lets you 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 that the source site credentials are correct. Try FTP instead of cPanel access.

Timeout - Increase the clone timeout threshold in settings for more significant 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 the incognito window to test the clone site.

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

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

Four hundred four errors - Update the .htaccess file with new redirects and clone the 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.

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.