It can be beneficial to copy/duplicate an entire WordPress page or post (what’s the difference?), including all the Tags, Metadata, and other information that are associated.
It’s not a native WordPress feature, but we’ll show you how to do it in this article and we’ll explain what additional options there are, and how people might be using this functionality.
How to duplicate or clone a Page/Post
- Install the free Duplicate Post plugin
- In Admin>Posts, hover under a title and click the “Clone” quick-edit option
- A new draft Post will be created as a new post, using the default author. That’s it!
By default, the following data is cloned: Title, Excerpt, Content, Featured Image, Template, Format, Menu Order, Categories, and Tags. There are more options we’ll cover later.
Alternatively, you can use the “New Draft” option, right next to the “Clone” option. Essentially, it creates a clone, then opens the editor so you can work on the duplicated post right away.
When editing a Page/Post, the admin bar should show “Copy to a new draft,” which has the same effect as the “New draft” action in the quick edit screen.
Duplicate Post options customization to fit your needs
You can open the Duplicate Post options page by going to Settings>Duplicate Post. By default, you will land on the “What to copy” options tab. There’s a “save” button at the bottom of this form, don’t forget to save any changes.
What to copy
The default options are probably the most common setting people want, but it is possible to personalize the cloning process.
For example, I like the idea of cloning the Date and Author. The screenshot above shows you other options you may want (or not), but generally, the plugin will save you a significant amount of time by doing a reliable job with duplication/copying/cloning – however you want to call it.
To learn more about the options, go to the official plugin website, and advanced users and developers can check the programming documentation.
Who can copy and What can be copied
Without touching anything, only the Editors and Administrators can make copies of posts. If you want, you can extend this privilege to Authors and Contributors. For a more in-depth look at WordPress user levels and privileges, check the official WordPress user Roles.
Post and Pages are not the only kind of content that can be cloned. For example, Custom Post Types (CPT) can be copied as well if you choose so. A lot of people use various forms of posts to customize their WordPress install, so CPT support is essential.
What’s the point of cloning/copying Posts and Pages?
There are a few reasons for wanting to copy a post down to the smallest details, just to cite a few:
- Testing new layout/content for a future update of the original, without affecting the original one that users may look at. Later, the final new page code can be copy-pasted back into the original.
- Having multiple users work on different sections, including layout, then merge later.
- Use a post as a Template to save time when creating a specific type of content.
It is not a native function of WordPress, but a common question that is asked over and over. The Duplicate Post plugin has over 3 Million installs and seems well maintained, so we can warmly recommend it.
If you need support, you can post a question on the official support page, but we found the plugin to be pretty straightforward to install and use, so chances are that it will just work out of the box.
Filed in . Read more about Productivity and Wordpress.