Common questions I sometimes get asked are around the subject about how to duplicate pages on WordPress. It’s useful to know, especially when you’re making changes to your site. It can also be very useful to duplicate pages on WordPress, especially if you want to create a template for your pages or if you need to create multiple pages that are similar. In this article, I’ll show you how to duplicate pages on WordPress and give you some tips on how to do it effectively. I will also discuss when it is not advisable to duplicate pages, and briefly explore how to duplicate a WordPress site.
Can You Duplicate Pages on WordPress?
This post is specifically for self-hosted WordPress sites (using WordPress.org) who want to duplicate pages on WordPress.
Before diving in, let’s quickly understand the difference between pages and posts.
Posts are entries that are (usually) listed in reverse chronological order on your home page. In contrast, pages are static and are not listed in a particular order. Pages are often used to create an “About” page or a “Contact” page. Whereas posts are used to regularly add, edit content to your websites.
Pages generally don’t change much.
Posts often change and update.
As any WordPress user knows, duplicate content itself, is a big no-no. Google and other search engines penalize sites that duplicate content, and it can result in a drastic drop in traffic. So what happens if you need to duplicate a page on WordPress? Is it possible to do so without getting penalized?
The answer is yes!
But you’ll need to understand how to duplicate pages on WordPress, in a way that improves your productivity.
WordPress actually has plugins to duplicate page (and even posts) that makes it easy to duplicate pages on your site. This will create a copy of the page, which you can then edit and publish as you wish.
What is a Duplicate Page and Why Would You Want to Create One?
Duplicate pages on WordPress are an excellent way to create multiple versions of a page while still using some of the same content. This is especially useful if you want to make slight changes to a page but don’t want to start from scratch.
Duplicate pages can also be used as templates for new pages. To duplicate a page on WordPress, go to the Pages section of your dashboard and hover over the page you want to duplicate. A new menu will appear with the option to duplicate the page – If you have the appropriate plugin installed.
Click on this option and a new page will be created with all of the same content as the original page. You can then make any changes you desire and save the page as a new page. Duplicate pages are an easy and efficient way to manage your website’s content.
What are Good Useful Plugins that Can Duplicate Pages on WordPress?
While some of us might not know how to duplicate pages on WordPress, there are several reason that we should! Maybe you want to duplicate a page so you can use it as a template for other pages, or maybe you just want to have a backup in case something goes wrong.
Either way, there are some great plugins that can help you duplicate pages on WordPress. Here are three of the best:
- Duplicate Page and Post: This plugin is great for duplicating both pages and posts on WordPress. It’s easy to use and lets you duplicate any page or post with just a few clicks.
- Duplicate Page: This plugin is another great option for duplicating pages on WordPress. It’s easy to use and lets you clone any page or post with just a few clicks.
- Duplicate Pages, Posts and CPT: This plugin is great for duplicating both pages and posts on WordPress. It also handles custom post types (if you use them). It’s easy to use and lets you duplicate any page or post with just a few clicks.
- Duplicate Post Page Menu & Custom Post Type: This is a super feature that will also duplicate pages on WordPress (and posts). It has a simple feature where you can also duplicate your WordPress menus.
So if you’re looking for a way to duplicate pages on WordPress, these four plugins, and others, are some of the best options available. Give them a try and see which one works best for you.
Key strategy: Before installing and using a new plugin, always create a backup of your website and database first! This way if something goes wrong, you can restore back to a working version of your website. I can’t stress this point enough… Backup – Always – Often!
How to Manually Duplicate a Page on WordPress.
The latest version of WordPress uses Gutenberg as the default editor, one easy way to duplicate a page on WordPress is to simply copy the block that contains the content you want to copy, and then paste that block into another page.
To clarify, it’s helpful to have two browser tabs open when doing this.
On the other hand, if you need to use the whole page, you can copy the code for the whole page – then past that into a new page.
I find that it’s a fast method.
Here’s what works for me…
I switch the edit window to “Code editor” using a keyboard shortcut to do this: Ctrl+Shift+Alt+M
Or, you can use the options to do the same thing:
- Click on the “Options” menu. (The three vertical dots on the far upper right of the window).
- Select “Code Editor”.
- Copy the code for the page. (You’ll see that code in the main editing window).
- Navigate to the other tab, where you’re creating a new page).
- In that new page, also switch it to use the code editor.
- Then paste the code in the edit window.
- Click on the “Exit code editor” feature (it’s near the top right of the edit window).
- Also close the code editor on the original page.
- The new page will now be the same as the old one, all you need to do is change the content.
Finally, here’s a nice trick. If there is something you want to be the same on all pages, and you want it duplicated across all pages (so you don’t have to keep recreating something)… Consider using the “Add to reusable block” option. Check out the video below, which shows you how to use that feature.
Tips for Duplicating Pages Effectively.
Let’s say you have a WordPress page that’s getting a lot of traffic and you want to duplicate it to create a similar page on your site. Here are a few tips to help you duplicate pages on WordPress effectively:
- Start by looking for the page you want to create a duplicate (copy) from.
- Next, you’ll want to edit the new draft page – That used the “Copy Page” plugin to copy the content from the original page onto the draft page. There’s a video below, showing you how this works.
- Once you’ve copied over the content you can edit it, you’ll also want to make sure that all of the links on the new page are working properly. You can do this by using a plugin like “Broken Link Checker“.
- Finally, once you’ve checked all of the links, you can publish the new page.
When Not to Duplicate Pages.
There are a few circumstances when you should not duplicate pages on WordPress. If the page you’re duplicate is too long, it could take a while for the duplicate to load – As has happened to me a few times, my internet connection drops out, and somehow the page gets broken.
Or the theme used didn’t fair well with duplicating an existing page, often it was traced back to the theme builder used (but I’ve not had this issue in ages).
Remember too… if the page contains too many images or videos, it could take even longer to load.
Additionally, if the page is already optimized for search engines, duplicating it could actually hurt your ranking (if you don’t make the needed changes), as you’ll have to ensure you remove the existing optimization work, then reoptimize for the edited content. (Of course… You’ll still need to optimize and new page you create for SEO anyways).
In general, duplicate pages should only be used as a starting point for new pages. You can then customize the new page as needed to make it unique. If you do decide to duplicate a page, be sure to check all the settings and make sure everything is configured correctly before you publish it.
You’ll also want to avoid duplicating pages where the WordPress theme or plugin adds code that would be unique to each page. This can become painful if “unique” code is duplicated, resulting in error messages.
I’ve also been in situations where there is an issue with other plugins not playing nice with a duplicated page.
This is why it’s important to always create a backup before you do any work on your website (even when just adding or editing a page). This might sound a bit overly protective at times, but it’s helped me out of a jam more times that I care to remember.
How to Duplicate a Page in WordPress Without a Plugin.
If you want to duplicate a page in WordPress without using a plugin, there are a few methods you can use. One effective method is demonstrated in the video below.
Can You Duplicate a WordPress Website?
If you want to duplicate an entire WordPress website, that’s a little more complicated. You would need to export the content from your current site and then import it into a new WordPress installation.
This would give you a duplicate of your site, but it would not be an exact copy – some things, like your theme and plugins, would need to be set up again. However, if you’re looking for a way to quickly create a new WordPress site with similar content to an existing one, duplicating pages is a great way to do it.
Having said this, the #1 plugin that will duplicate pretty much the complete website, including the database, plugins, and other files is: Duplicator.
It’s one of the most powerful migration tools I use. I particularly like using it when I duplicate client WordPress websites to another domain name (because it can update all links from the old domain name to the new one – automagically) – And it’s seamless, as in no down time when duplicating (and moving) an existing site.
It’s also a great tool to duplicate a working copy of all pages (and Post) of a WordPress website onto your laptop; if you’ll need to display a website in an area where internet connectivity is poor.
Below is a quick overview video.
Conclusion: How to Duplicate Pages on WordPress.
Duplicating pages on WordPress can be a useful way to create a new page, but it’s important to check all the settings and make sure everything is configured correctly before you publish it. You’ll also want to avoid duplicating pages where the results might cause issues with your website. Using plugins to rapidly create duplicate pages on WordPress are often the most effective approach, compared to manually duplicating pages. Whatever solution you use, always ensure you have a working back, in case you need to recover from errors when creating duplicate pages.
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