Duplicating an existing WordPress page or post is a great way to save time. We often already have a post with the format we want, such as headings, lists, tables, or other elements. Cloning those posts gives us a template so we don’t have to start from scratch every time. Cloning an existing page or post is easier than it sounds. In this article, we’ll discuss how to duplicate WordPress pages and posts quick and easy.

Duplicate Post Plugin

There are lots of good plugins to clone pages and posts. By far the most popular is a free plugin in the WordPress depository by Enrico Battocchi called Duplicate Post. It has over 2 million active installs and a 5-star rating. Duplicate any page or post with a single click.

When you activate Duplicate Post, a new menu is added to the dashboard. Go to Settings > Duplicate Post. Here, you can choose what to copy, set user permissions, and determine where to show the clone links.

In the What to Copy tab, choose the post and page elements such as the title, meta, excerpt, content, template, featured image, author, password, menu order, etc. You can also set the title prefix and suffix, increase the menu order by a specific amount, enter fields to not copy, and choose which taxonomies are not to be copied.

The Permissions tab lets you choose which roles are allowed to copy. You can also enable the post types. It will even clone Gutenberg Blocks.

The Display tab lets you select where the links will show. Choose post list, edit screen, Admin bar, and bulk actions.

Cloning a WordPress Page or Post

In your page or post list, a couple of new cloning options are added to the editing tools when you hover over the title. It works exactly the same for pages and posts.

Clone – creates an exact duplicate and adds it to this list. This is a good choice if you want to copy in bulk or come back later and work on the page or post.

New Draft – clones the page or post and opens it where you can edit. This is a good choice if you want to work on the page or post immediately.

Clicking Clone adds a copy as a draft.

You can also duplicate the posts in bulk. Here, I’ve select the classic WordPress posts and I can clone them all at the same time.

I now have a list of drafts that I can edit whenever I want to.

Selecting New Draft opens the draft so you can edit. I’m using Gutenberg, so it opens the post in a Classic block (which works about the same as the Classic editor). Also, a new link is added to the top menu bar called Copy to a New Draft. This creates a duplicate of the current post.

Cloning a Gutenberg Page or Post

The duplicating tool works exactly the same for Gutenberg posts. This time, I’ve clicked New Draft.

This opens a duplicate of the Gutenberg post where I can edit. It includes the categories, tags, and the featured image of the original.

Cloning a Divi Page or Post with Duplicate Post

The cloning tool also works the same for Divi. This is a handy way to clone Divi posts or pages in bulk.

Cloning with the Duplicate Post works the same for Divi as it does for the classic editor and the Gutenberg editor- it includes all of the extra settings that you’ve included in its options. The cloned page includes the featured image, excerpt, and page attributes.

Cloning a Divi Page or Post with the Divi Visual Builder

If you’re creating a new page or post in Divi and you don’t need the page attributes you can also use the cloning feature that Elegant Themes has added to Divi. There’s no plugin needed for this to work.

Create a new post or page and then choose to use the Divi Builder. If you’re using Gutenberg, when you choose the Divi Builder you’ll automatically be taken to the Visual Builder where you can work from the frontend.

If you’re using the classic WordPress editor, choose the Divi Builder and then choose Visual Editor.

Next, choose Clone Existing Page.

A list of your current pages, posts, and projects opens. Here, you can search, select the category (pages, posts, or projects), and choose the view mode. If your pages include featured images they will show in this screen. You can also choose a premade layout or a saved layout. This is an excellent way to convert any page, post, or project to a different post type.

You now have a duplicate that you can edit. This duplicate will only include the layout. It will not include the featured image, template, page order, etc. This is a great way to copy or convert a page or post, but if you need any of the other settings then using the Duplicate Post plugin is a better option.

Don’t Publish Duplicated Content

Cloning a page or post is a great way to get a head start on creating content, but make sure you don’t publish content that you’ve already published. It’s bad for SEO. Google shows that it’s best to avoid duplicating content. Use this as a template for your content’s structure. If you do need to use the same information, then consider rewording it so it isn’t exactly the same.

Ending Thoughts

Duplicating a post is a great way to create content from templates. You could even create a library of content-types and clone them as needed. Using the Duplicate Post plugin keeps all of the extra settings and gives you full control over what gets cloned. This can save a lot of time because you start with the structure and settings you already need.

Have you tried Duplicate Post to clone your posts or pages? Let us know what you think about it in the comments.