How to duplicate a Page in WordPress? An Easy Guide [2022]
WordPress is a powerful website building tool. However, how to duplicate a page in WordPress is not so straightforward as the functionality is not available out of the box. In this article, we will go through the various methods you can use to duplicate a page or posts.
Why duplicate a WordPress page?
There can be several reasons why you may want to duplicate a WordPress page. For example, you may want to make changes to an existing page but might want to test the changes first before deciding on them. In such a situation you can duplicate the original page and make changes to the copy of the page. Should you wish to keep the changes, you can make your new page live or else you can leave your old page as is.
Another example is if you have a rather lengthy page that has a lot of media and you want to create a page that is like it and just make minor changes to it. In this situation, it would be tedious to add all the content to the page manually. It is often said, if the process seems tedious and lengthy you are probably not using the right tools for it. Similarly, in this case, rather than manually adding content it would be easier if you could duplicate the page and simply make changes to the duplicated page.
Also read:
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– How to add Expires Headers in WordPress? An Easy Guide
HOW TO DUPLICATE A PAGE IN WORDPRESS
Method 1: Manually copying content
This method is useful if you only have one page to duplicate. It also avoids the use of a plugin. Plugins can sometimes slow down your website and can also have compatibility issues. However, if you are planning to duplicate multiple pages this method may become tedious. For illustration purposes, we are using the WordPress Gutenberg Editor. This method does not work with the classic editor.
Open the page that you would like to edit. Make sure no block is selected by clicking anywhere outside the content area of the page. If a block is selected WordPress will only copy the contents of that block.
Click on the three dots in the top right-hand corner as shown below and then click on Copy All Content.
If you already have a page that you would like to paste the content to open it, else you can create a new page. If you create a new page add a title for it.
The paragraph block is always added by default when you create a page or a post. Click inside the paragraph block and use the keyboard shortcut to paste the content. (Ctrl + V on a PC, Cmd + V on a Mac) As shown below, the content of the page has been successfully copied.
You can now go ahead and edit the duplicated content. Make sure it is not exactly similar to what you just copied, and you have a valid reason for creating similar pages. Duplicate content can have detrimental effects on your SEO efforts. It can also be confusing for visitors.
Method 2: Using a plugin to duplicate pages or posts
There are several plugins available in the WordPress repository that can help you duplicate pages easily. A simple search in the WordPress dashboard shows several results for plugins that duplicate pages.
You can use any of these plugins. For purposes of this tutorial, we will use the first plugin, Duplicate Page.
https://wordpress.org/plugins/duplicate-page/
Install and activate the plugin. After activating the plugin you can configure its settings before using it. To configure the settings, under the Settings menu in your WordPress dashboard click on Duplicate Page. From this screen, you can configure the settings for the plugin. Click on save changes once you are done.
To duplicate a page under the Pages menu in your WordPress dashboard click on All Pages. Select the relevant page that you would like to edit and under it click on Duplicate This. An example is shown below.
Once you click on duplicate this a new draft page will be created which will be a copy of the page that you just duplicated. The status of the page will depend on the settings that you had configured for the plugin.
After duplication, you can now go ahead and make changes to the page.
The plugin method is easier and more accurate than the manual method. It’s also less tedious and less time-consuming. It is better to use the plugin method if you have several pages that you want to duplicate. The plugin can also be used to duplicate posts as well.
The other page duplication plugins from the WordPress repository work in a similar way.
The Duplicate Page plugin has a pro version available with some additional features. The pro version costs $15. Which doesn’t break your bank.
The pro version allows you to select which user roles can duplicate pages. It can also filter to show duplicated pages. It also has an option to add a prefix and a suffix to the duplicated page. It also has an option to show the clone link. These are only some neat tricks up the pro version’s sleeve.
How to Duplicate a Page in WordPress – Summary
Although it is possible manually, a free or inexpensive plugin like ‘Duplicate Page’ is an easy way of duplicating WordPress pages or posts.
Do note that if you are using a page builder plugin such as Elementor, Divi or Visual Composer, you can create templates of pages and use these templates as a method of duplicating pages.
