Duplicating a page in WordPress is a powerful tool for website management, allowing users to save time and maintain consistency across their site. Whether you’re redesigning a page, creating similar content, or testing new layouts, having the option to duplicate a page helps avoid starting from scratch each time. This method is particularly useful for preserving formats, which is crucial for branding, or for when you need to experiment with design changes without affecting the live version of a page. Learning how to duplicate a page in WordPress can significantly improve your workflow, giving you the flexibility to make adjustments while keeping a backup of your original work.
WordPress Plugins for Page Duplication
If you need to duplicate multiple pages, plugins are the key to saving you time. These two are some of the best and most efficient plugins available. (They’re also free!)
1. Yoast Duplicate Post
2. Duplicate Post
The Duplicate Post plugin lives up to its name by allowing you to copy a post or page plus other elements like comments, slugs, or menu orders. Let’s go over how to use it — as one of the most commonly used plugins, other versions tend to follow the same steps.
First, install and activate the plugin, then go to Pages > All Pages.
As you hover over a page, you’ll see two new options pop up: “Clone” and “New Draft.”
“Clone” will create an exact copy of the page.
“New Draft” will open the cloned page in the editor so you can immediately start making changes.
Manual Techniques for Page Duplication
If you prefer not to use plugins, WordPress offers manual methods for duplicating a page. While these methods may take a bit longer, they give you full control over the process and can be more suitable for certain use cases, such as:
- Minimal Plugin Use: If your website already uses a lot of plugins, adding more could slow down performance or lead to compatibility issues.
- Simple Pages: For straightforward pages with basic text and images, manual methods like copy-and-paste are often sufficient.
- Custom Themes: If you’re working with a custom-built theme or a highly customized WordPress setup, plugins may not always work as expected or could break specific design elements.
- Advanced Customization: For developers or users familiar with coding who need specific duplication behavior that isn’t provided by a standard plugin.
- Security Concerns: Some users prefer not to use third-party plugins due to security concerns, especially for sensitive or high-traffic sites. Manual duplication minimizes the risks associated with potential vulnerabilities in external plugins.
One-click Copy Method
If you’re doing a one-time duplication, there’s no need to go through installing and activating a plugin. Just use WordPress’s built-in features.
Go to Pages > All Pages.
Hover over the page you want to duplicate. An array of options should appear.
Click “Duplicate.” It might also appear as “Copy.”
The editor should open with the new copy of the page.
Editing the functions.php File
If you’re comfortable with coding, you can skip the duplication plugin by directly editing the functions.php file of your WordPress theme. While this is more advanced, it adds flexibility for developers.
These are the core steps:
Access your theme’s functions.php file using FTP or the WordPress theme editor.
Add the following code snippet to the file:
function rd_duplicate_post_as_draft(){
global $wpdb;
if (! (isset($_GET[‘post’]) || isset($_POST[‘post’]) || (isset($_REQUEST[‘action’]) && ‘duplicate_post_as_draft’ == $_REQUEST[‘action’]))) {
wp_die(‘No post to duplicate has been supplied!’);
}
// Nonce verification
if (!isset($_GET[‘duplicate_nonce’]) || !wp_verify_nonce($_GET[‘duplicate_nonce’], basename(__FILE__))) {
return;
}
// Get the original post ID
$post_id = (isset($_GET[‘post’]) ? absint($_GET[‘post’]) : absint($_POST[‘post’]));
//… (rest of code continues)
}
Hit save and go back to your WordPress Dashboard.
Go to Pages > All Pages. Now, when you hover over a page, you should see “Duplicate” as an option.
Managing Duplicated Content
So, you’ve managed to duplicate your page. Now what? Unfortunately, there’s some potential risk to your SEO with duplicate pages or posts on your website. Duplicate content can confuse search engines, making it harder for them to determine which page to prioritize in search results.
How do you avoid that? Either create unique content for each duplicated page or use canonical tags to point search engines to the primary version of the content. Check regularly for duplicate content issues in your site’s SEO audits to prevent any negative impact on your rankings. Change page titles, URL slugs, and meta descriptions to match any modified content. Review internal links and multimedia files to avoid confusion. When you personalize duplicated pages, it makes it clear that the new version serves a distinct purpose, whether it’s A/B testing or creating variations of existing content.
Common Challenges of Duplicating Pages & Their Solutions
Even though duplicating a page in WordPress is generally straightforward, there are some challenges that can arise during the process. Here are a couple of common issues and how to solve them:
- Plugin Conflicts: Sometimes, page duplication plugins can conflict with other plugins on your site, leading to errors or malfunctioning features. To remedy this, test new plugins on a staging site before adding them to your live website. If a conflict does occur, deactivate other plugins one by one to identify the issue.
- Formatting Errors: Duplicated pages might not always retain the exact formatting of the original page. This issue often occurs when you’re using custom page builders or themes that don’t fully support the duplication process. To fix formatting errors, review the duplicated page carefully and make any necessary adjustments to restore the layout. If you were using a plugin for duplication, you might find more precision and success if you’re able to edit the functions.php file.