How to Duplicate a Page in WordPress: 1 Advanced and 2 Simple Methods

Learn how to duplicate a page in WordPress the right way by using some tried-and-tested techniques.

WordPress is by far the most popular content management system on the planet. It has some truly remarkable features that make its management a breeze for everyone. However, there are certain functions that are “hidden” from the eyes of ordinary users and require some digging around to leverage them to the maximum. One of these is duplicating pages. In this post, we discuss several simple and more sophisticated methods to perform this task in WordPress.

GetDevDone has been active in the web development, WordPress development and design market for over a decade and a half. We’ve successfully built thousands of online stores and sites based on a range of content management systems. The largest share among these belongs to the world’s most popular platform for creating and modifying content — WordPress.

There’s nothing we don’t know about this tool — something that the community and our clients can attest to. With every major release, WordPress gets new features (the multisite function, the Gutenberg editor, etc.) that make it more convenient and modern.

In addition to the core functionality, there are a huge number of supplementary tools to handle every task that users might need to perform. These include helpful plugins, ready-to-apply themes, page builders, and developer solutions. In short, you have every reason to keep the “Proudly powered by WordPress” credit in the footer of your site (although you can always remove it).

With all these improvements and enhancements, WordPress still has some secrets to reveal to its users. One of the functions that the developers have preferred to obscure for some reason is duplicating WordPress pages. This process is not as straightforward as many beginners might think.

They might believe that to duplicate WordPress pages or posts, you only need to Ctrl+A and Ctrl+C (or Command-A and Command-C for MacOS users) the content of the original page, create a new one, and Ctrl+V (Command-V) the copied text into the fresh document.

However, they suddenly discover that this doesn’t do the trick. The resulting page or post turns out to be just plain text without any original formatting. Why so?

Well, the fact is that you need to follow a different path to duplicate WordPress pages. Moreover, this path has several ramifications that lead to the same destination. In this post, we’ll walk you through some of them. That is, we’ll show you how to duplicate a page in WordPress by using 1 advanced and 2 simple techniques.

First, though, let’s take a look at the main reasons why you may want to duplicate WordPress pages.

The Most Common Reasons to Duplicate Pages in WordPress

There are multiple scenarios when you may wish to have an identical copy of a page or post. Here are the most typical:

1. A page or post has a specific structure that no other page has. Why recreate it from scratch? It will take time, which you could otherwise spend creating the content. This is where you can duplicate a page in WordPress and save yourself these precious hours.
2. A page or post has a lot of content you can use on another page with some slight modifications. For example, this can be a product page for a model of a vacuum cleaner or an air conditioner. Another model normally has similar but a bit different characteristics. The page can be well formatted and contain photos, videos, testimonials, and so on. By simply copying this content, you will lose the original formatting. When you duplicate pages in WordPress, on the other hand, you retain it. You can simply replace the specifications and photos fast and let your customers see the page live.
3. A post belongs to a series of posts with the same formatting and structure. For example, there can be quotation boxes throughout the text, a frequently asked questions accordion at the bottom of each page, and so on. To ensure consistency for the entire series, just duplicate a page the WordPres way and replace the text and visuals.

If you’ve come across one of these use cases, we’ve prepared a review of some effective methods to duplicate WordPress pages.

How to Duplicate a Page in WordPress: 2 Simple Techniques

#1: Use the Code Editor

This method is straightforward and requires no technical knowledge. Here’s what you should do:

1. Go to the page/post you need to copy.
2. Select Tools >> Source Code.
3. Choose Code Editor.
4. Ctrl+A, Ctrl+C or Command+A, Command+C the content.
5. Select New Page (New Post).
6. Click on the Code Editor (Text) tab.
7. Ctrl+V or Command+V the content. This should create a new page/post with the same text, visuals, and formatting as the original one.

However simple this method may seem, it has one serious drawback: it’s time-consuming. If you need to copy several posts to create a series, for example, there is a more efficient way to accomplish this: plugins.

#2: Use Plugins

Installing a plugin to duplicate a WordPress page is the easiest way to achieve your goal. The official plugin repository has no shortage of these. We’ve picked two of the most popular for our brief review: Duplicate Post and Post Duplicator. Let’s take a look at each.

Duplicate Post

This “grab all” tool allows you to create an exact replica of your post/page. That means you cannot only have a new post with the same content but also with the rest of the post elements, such as a slug and comments.

Additionally, you can prefix or postfix your post titles. This feature lets you know exactly which of the posts or pages is a copy and which is the original. For instance, you can set “_copy” as the postfix for a duplicate. Then, a post with the original name “How to duplicate a page in WordPress” will be copied as “How to duplicate a page in WordPress_copy.” Very convenient!

Here is what you should do after installing the plugin:

1. In the dashboard, select the Pages option and then All Pages. Alternatively, select the Post option and All Posts to have a copy of a post.
2. Find the post/page you’d like to copy. Mouse over it.
3. Click the Copy link. This will bring up the popup you see in the screenshot below:
4. Choose how many times you’d like to duplicate the post and change the settings if necessary
5. Click the Copy now! button. There should now be two posts/pages with the same title.

Post Duplicator

This is another plugin worth giving a shot. It’s lightweight and enables you to duplicate WordPress pages and posts in their entirety, including custom elements.

The process of creating copies with Post Duplicator is almost identical to that of Duplicate Post. The only difference is the last step. Here, you will see the link Duplicate Post or Duplicate Page. Select it and start editing the new document.

Plugins are very handy for duplicating pages in WordPress. Remember, though, that they can become a security threat if you don’t update them regularly. Read this post to learn what may happen if you use an outdated version of a plugin.

One last method to duplicate a page in WordPress we’re going to discuss today is a bit more advanced. Once you’ve applied it, though, you can easily copy any posts or pages in just one click.

How to Duplicate a Page in WordPress: Adding a Function to the Code in functions.php

If you’re familiar with coding and have edited core WordPress files before, you can try modifying the functions.php file in your WordPress theme. This will allow you to forget about plugins and duplicate WordPress pages and posts individually and in bulk easily.

Here’s how you can go about it:

1. Back up your WordPress files. It’s extremely important since you’re going to work with the core code. One inadvertent mistake may cause the entire site to crash. You can use one of these backup plugins, for example.
2. Create a child theme. The reason is the same. If you mess up with a child theme’s file, this won’t affect the main theme and your site will continue working normally. Besides, once the main theme is updated, your modifications will be left intact.
3. In the dashboard, open the child theme’s Theme editor. In the right-hand panel, locate the functions.php file and click it. NOTE: Your hosting provider may not allow you to edit files from the dashboard. In that case, you will have to use an FTP client like Filezilla to get inside your site’s file system and open the functions.php file using a text editor such as Notepad++.
4. Visit this site and copy the entire code in the window under the title “WordPress Duplicate post or page function.”
5. Return to the Theme editor and insert the code you’ve copied after the last line in the functions.php file.
6. Click Update File in the Theme editor or Save in a text editor.
7. Go to Posts -> All Posts and Pages -> All Pages. Make sure that the Duplicate link is displayed after the View option for every post and page.

Does this sound complicated? Our WordPress developers are always ready to help you get things right.

Closing Words

These are just some methods to duplicate WordPress pages. Which of them you pick depends on how frequently you need to copy posts or pages in your work. If you do this just occasionally, copying code manually will probably do. More often? Install a plugin. A lot? Add a function to the functions.php file.

Looking for a reliable WordPress development agency for your next project or MVP landing page? The GetDevDone team has unrivaled expertise in building sites based on this popular platform. We can customize your existing theme and functionality or build a solution from the ground up.

Let’s get in touch!

You might also find these posts interesting:

WordPress Multisite vs Single Site: Unveiling the Truth about the Controversial WP Feature
Top 3 WordPress Backup Plugins to Ensure Your Website Data Safety
How to Remove “Powered by…” in WordPress, Shopify, and Squarespace
What Are Core Web Vitals and Why They Matter
Can You Solve All Your Content Editing Problems with Gutenberg?
7 Reasons Why a Custom WordPress Theme Is Better for Your Business
Why Use WordPress Over Other CMS Platforms?
Turn Your WordPress Site into a Powerful E-Commerce Store With WooCommerce
React WordPress Theme Development: Benefits and Drawbacks
WordPress Website Development: Common Problems and How to Deal with Them
The Best WordPress Developer Tools to Use in 2021
WordPress.org vs WordPress.com: 4 Distinctions Worth Noting
The Best WordPress Page Builder Contest: WPBakery vs Elementor
P2H Inc Is Recognized by Clutch as a Top-Performing WordPress Development Company