Clone a WordPress site with WP Toolkit

Copy a WordPress installation to another domain or cPanel account using WP Toolkit in WHM, including Multisite networks Softaculous cannot handle.

WP Toolkit clones a WordPress installation — files and database — to another domain or another cPanel account on the same server. Applies to reseller accounts with WHM access.

Unlike Softaculous, it handles Multisite networks.

Before you start

Two things must be in place: the source site must be known to WP Toolkit, and the destination must already exist.

1. Make sure WP Toolkit knows about the source

Open the cPanel account holding the site and go to WP Toolkit. If the site is not listed, select Scan to detect installations on the account.

Scanning for WordPress installations in WP Toolkit

Once detected, it appears on the WP Toolkit dashboard.

The site listed on the WP Toolkit dashboard

2. Create the destination

Either create a new cPanel account, or add an addon domain or subdomain to an existing one.

The destination must be empty. Cloning onto a domain that already has a site overwrites it. If you are replacing an existing site, back it up first — see Download a backup of your account.

Clone the site

In WHM, open WP Toolkit — the quickest route is the search box in the left sidebar.

This lists every WordPress site owned by your sub-users. Use the search box top right on a busy server.
Find the site and select Clone.
Select Use existing domain and choose the destination.
Leave the path blank. Anything entered here installs the clone into a subdirectory of the destination, which is rarely what you want. The default database name is fine.
Select Start.

While it runs

A progress bar appears at the foot of the window.

The clone progress bar

You can close the window — the clone continues in the background.

The completion notice

If you closed it, a small notification in the bottom-right corner tracks progress.

The background progress notification

Verify

WP Toolkit rewrites the site URL in the database as part of the clone, but check it rather than assume:

The clone loads on the new domain without redirecting to the old one.
Images load — broken images mean URLs in the database still point at the source.
Log in to wp-admin on the clone. Credentials are copied from the source.
Settings → General shows the new domain in both WordPress Address and Site Address.

The clone is a complete copy, including plugins, users and content. If it is intended as a staging site, prevent search engines indexing it: Settings → Reading → Discourage search engines from indexing this site.