Clone a Website
Do you need a website copied, duplicated or cloned to create a new website? Hire an experienced freelancer to take care of it for you.
When you hear the term “clone a website”, this means making a copy of a website, or to duplicate it. There are multiple reasons why someone would want to clone their website.
Why Clone a Website?
- To have a backup copy of a website
- To move a website to a new host
- To have a second copy of a website to test and make changes before applying to a live site.
- Your company is expanding services and you want to build a new website, similar to you existing website.
- You like a design, features or functionality of an existing website online, and want to use it as inspiration for a new website.
How to Clone a Website
How to clone a website depends on how it was built. It can be easy to make a copy or a challenge depending on:
- If you have access to the website code of the site that you want to make a copy
- If the website is using open source software (like WordPress.org)
- If the site is using page builder software like Weebly, Wix, WordPress.com
- If the site is using an online database
If you have access to the web hosting account, making a copy of a website is much easier.
If you are using website builder software, cloning a website is going to be more like a rebuild. By this I mean, the code can not be taken and copied (the content and images can though), A new site would have to be built to match what it currently looks like. The same concept applies if you see a website that you like and want to use for inspiration. A web developer can build a new site that has a similar look and functionality, but it would be build from scratch.
Questions about Cloning a Website
If you own the website you want to copy, yes.
Using a website that someone else owns as inspiration for a new website project is ethical. Taking an exact design and/or content is not. (Don’t ask me to do this, I won’t.)
There are a lot of factors that determine how easy or difficult it is to clone a site. Cloning a WordPress site where you have access to the admin area, I can do within an hour. Cloning a website from a website builder could take a couple hours up to 20 or more depending on the size of the site. Contact me for a free estimate to clone your site.
A website clone is an actual copy of the website code. This means the source code, database and all content. When you want to build a website with similar functionality to a website you do not own, this is new web design and development. Sure I can design and develop a new website for you.