How to Duplicate a Page in WordPress?
Duplicating a WordPress page is a time-saving technique for website owners, designers, and developers. Whether you’re creating a similar layout, testing different content versions, or designing multiple landing pages, cloning a page can save a lot of time and effort. Fortunately, WordPress provides several methods to duplicate a page, each catering to different needs and technical skill levels.
In this detailed guide, we’ll walk you through 5 simple methods to clone a WordPress page. Whether you prefer using a plugin, the Gutenberg block editor, or manual methods, this guide will ensure that you can duplicate pages quickly and efficiently without losing valuable time.
Why Clone a WordPress Page?
Cloning a WordPress page can be incredibly helpful in various scenarios. Here are some common reasons why you might want to duplicate a page on your website:
1. Create Similar Pages Quickly
If you need to create several pages with the same layout, design, or content (such as product pages or service pages), duplicating a page will save you from rebuilding the same structure over and over again.
2. A/B Testing
A/B testing allows you to test different variations of a page to see which version performs better. By cloning a page, you can easily create a duplicate version and modify one or more elements (like headings, CTAs, or images) to conduct an experiment and track the results.
3. Maintain Consistency in Design
If you have a specific layout or design that you want to replicate across multiple pages of your website, cloning helps you maintain consistency. You won’t need to worry about redoing the design, saving both time and effort.
4. Landing Pages for Campaigns
When running multiple marketing campaigns, you might need several landing pages with slightly different content but the same structure. Cloning a page lets you quickly create these landing pages while maintaining the original design.
Method 1: How to Duplicate a Page in WordPress Using a Plugin
Plugins are the easiest and most efficient way to duplicate a WordPress page. Using plugins like Duplicate Post or Post Duplicator, you can clone any page or post with just one click. These plugins make the process incredibly fast and straightforward.
Step-by-Step Guide: Using the Duplicate Post Plugin
- Install the Duplicate Post Plugin
- From your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New.
- In the search bar, type Duplicate Post.
- Click Install Now, and once the installation is complete, click Activate.
- Clone a Page
- After activating the plugin, navigate to Pages in your WordPress dashboard.
- Find the page you want to clone.
- Hover over the page title, and you will see two new options: Clone and New Draft.
- Clone: Creates an exact duplicate of the page.
- New Draft: Creates a draft version of the page that you can edit before publishing.
- Click Clone to duplicate the page immediately.
- Edit the Cloned Page
- The cloned page will now appear in your Pages list. Click Edit to modify the content or design of the cloned page.
- After making changes, click Publish to make the cloned page live.
Method 2: How to Duplicate a Page in WordPress Manually
If you don’t want to use a plugin, you can manually duplicate a WordPress page by copying its content and creating a new page. This method is a bit more time-consuming but gives you complete control over the duplication process.
Step-by-Step Guide: Manual Duplication
- Copy the Content of the Original Page
- Go to Pages in your WordPress dashboard and click Edit on the page you want to duplicate.
- In the page editor, select all the content (Ctrl + A to select everything) and copy it (Ctrl + C).
- Create a New Page
- Go to Pages > Add New in your WordPress dashboard.
- In the new page editor, paste the copied content (Ctrl + V).
- Recreate Custom Settings and Layout
- If the original page has custom settings, such as specific page templates, page builders, custom fields, or metadata, you will need to manually recreate these on the new page.
- This can include selecting a page template, adding widgets, or reconfiguring custom shortcodes.
- Publish the New Page
- After adjusting the content and custom settings, click Publish to make the cloned page live.
Method 3: How to Duplicate a Page in WordPress Using the Gutenberg Block Editor
The Gutenberg block editor is the default content editor in WordPress, and it makes it easy to duplicate pages by copying the content blocks and creating a new page from them.
Step-by-Step Guide: Using Gutenberg Block Editor
- Edit the Original Page
- Go to Pages and click Edit on the page you want to clone.
- Open the page in the Gutenberg editor.
- Copy the Content Blocks
- In the Gutenberg editor, each piece of content (text, images, buttons, etc.) is placed inside a block.
- Click on the block you want to copy, then click the three vertical dots in the block’s toolbar and select Copy.
- You can select multiple blocks by holding Shift and selecting them together, then copying all at once.
- Create a New Page
- Go to Pages > Add New in your WordPress dashboard.
- In the new page editor, paste the copied blocks into the page editor.
- You can adjust the block settings or add new blocks as needed.
- Publish the New Page
- After pasting the content and adjusting any elements, click Publish to make the cloned page live.
Method 4: How to Duplicate a Page in WordPress Using the Classic Editor
For users who still prefer the Classic Editor, you can manually copy and paste the content from one page to another. This is a more traditional method and works similarly to the manual duplication process but uses the old WordPress editor.
Step-by-Step Guide: Using the Classic Editor
- Copy the Content of the Original Page
- Go to Pages in your WordPress dashboard and click Edit on the page you want to duplicate.
- Select all content in the editor and copy it (Ctrl + C).
- Create a New Page
- Go to Pages > Add New in your WordPress dashboard.
- In the new page editor, paste the content you copied (Ctrl + V).
- Recreate Custom Settings
- Manually apply any custom settings or custom fields from the original page. Since the Classic Editor does not use blocks, you’ll need to ensure that the customizations are transferred manually.
- Publish the New Page
- After ensuring everything is correct, click Publish to make the new page live.
Method 5: How to Duplicate a Page in WordPress Using a Page Builder Plugin
If you’re using a page builder plugin like Elementor, Beaver Builder, or WPBakery, you can quickly clone your page. These page builders make it easy to create custom layouts, and they often have built-in features for saving and loading templates.
Step-by-Step Guide: Using Elementor to Clone a Page
- Install Elementor
- Go to Plugins > Add New, search for Elementor, click Install Now, and then Activate.
- Clone the Page
- Open the page you want to clone in Elementor.
- In the Elementor editor, click the three horizontal lines in the top left corner and select Save as Template.
- This saves the page layout as a template.
- Create a New Page
- Go to Pages > Add New in your WordPress dashboard.
- Open the new page in Elementor and click Add Template to insert the saved template.
- Publish the New Page
- After reviewing and editing the new page, click Publish to make it live.
Conclusion
Duplicating a page in WordPress is a powerful technique that can help you speed up content creation, ensure consistency, and optimize your workflow. Whether you prefer using a plugin like Duplicate Post, the Gutenberg editor, a page builder plugin like Elementor, or the manual method, WordPress provides various solutions to make cloning pages effortless.
Each method has its advantages, so choose the one that best fits your needs, technical skills, and workflow. By following the steps in this guide, you can quickly create identical pages without losing time, ensuring your website remains consistent and your content creation process becomes much more efficient.
If you’re setting up WordPress on a cloud server, check out our detailed guide on how to install WordPress on Amazon Linux 2. For those looking to enhance their WordPress site with AI, our article on how to integrate ChatGPT into WordPress provides a step-by-step guide. Additionally, if you’re looking to save time and effort in page creation, learn how to clone a WordPress page and easily replicate your content and layouts across your site. These resources will help you optimize your WordPress site with powerful features and streamlined workflows.
FAQs
Q1: Can I clone a WordPress post?
Yes, you can apply the same methods for duplicating pages to posts. Whether you’re using a plugin or manual methods, the process is identical for both content types.
Q2: Does cloning a page affect SEO?
Cloning a page can lead to SEO issues, especially if the content is identical. Use canonical tags or modify the cloned content to make it unique and avoid duplicate content penalties. If you don’t want the cloned page to be indexed, you can also add noindex tags.
Q3: Are there free plugins for duplicating pages?
Yes, Duplicate Post and Post Duplicator are free plugins that let you clone pages and posts quickly and easily.
Q4: Can I clone pages with custom themes or templates?
Yes, cloning pages with custom themes or templates is possible. If you are using a custom page builder or theme, be sure to replicate any custom settings and widgets manually.
Q5: How do I ensure the cloned page is indexed by search engines?
Ensure that the content on the cloned page is unique, or use canonical tags to point to the original page. If you’re cloning for testing purposes, you can use noindex tags to prevent search engines from indexing the cloned page.