How to Make a Duplicate Website

When the term "duplicate website" or "cloning website" is mentioned, the first thought that pops up in our mind is "illegal,” which is correct; cloning a trang web based on malicious intent is considered illegal and a violation of intellectual property under copyright law.

However, just as criminal hacking exists, ví does ethical hacking, e.g. "White Hat," in which hacking techniques and tools are employed đồ sộ uncover flaws or weaknesses in a system in order đồ sộ improve its security. There are many reasons developers may need đồ sộ duplicate a trang web, but before we discuss why you would want đồ sộ clone a trang web, let's go through a brief explanation of what the term "duplicate website" means.

Duplicate Website Definition

The term "duplicate" in the English language means đồ sộ make a copy, and the term "duplicate website" means đồ sộ create a copy or a replica of a trang web. This means that you can create a trang web using the structure and nội dung of an existing one.

In essence, duplicating a trang web means replicating its appearance and layout, as well as its underlying code and nội dung and it is common đồ sộ duplicate websites based on the following reasons;

• To Serve as a Backup: Duplicating is another means of backing up a trang web, for instance, in the case of mayhem, the trang web can be restored đồ sộ itself with all of its data.

• For Geo-Targeting: Versions of a trang web are made đồ sộ target certain geographical regions. e.g. certain regions may have laws that must be complied with, đồ sộ vì thế ví, you may have đồ sộ customize a trang web that complies with the regulations and requirements. In this case, duplicate websites are made đồ sộ save the process of building a trang web from scratch.

• Recycle/Customization Purpose: Sometimes, websites are copied đồ sộ build upon their structure and add new elements đồ sộ make them stand out, much lượt thích a template or blueprint for creating another trang web with the same features. It is quicker đồ sộ vì thế this than vãn đồ sộ start from scratch.

• For Analysis: A Website can be cloned đồ sộ examine the elements or structure. You may want đồ sộ study a trang web through and through đồ sộ understand its strengths and weaknesses, design, elements, and structure. However, this should be done only for research purposes and legally đồ sộ avoid legal issues.

• For Testing and Development: Developers may clone a trang web for the purpose of testing and development. For instance, if they need đồ sộ add features or functionalities đồ sộ a live trang web, the cloned trang web would be tested first đồ sộ see how well these features or functionalities work before they are integrated into the live trang web, this is đồ sộ avoid crashing the trang web.

What You Should Know Before Duplicating a Website is as Follows:

1. Intent: The intent behind building a duplicate trang web must be taken into account; it might be for testing, educational purposes, etc. As a result, you will know what approach đồ sộ use when duplicating a trang web.

2. Technical Knowledge: In order đồ sộ duplicate a trang web, you must possess technical knowledge. This will enable you đồ sộ choose the appropriate techniques or tools for the site's structure, dynamic nội dung, functionalities, and other technical aspects involving databases, server-side languages, hosting, etc.

3. Copyright Laws: If it’s an open-source project, you can clone the repository and make changes đồ sộ it. In the sự kiện that it isn't, it's crucial that you understand the legal and copyright repercussions of copying a trang web. Copyright laws protect websites, ví unauthorized duplication may have legal repercussions unless you work for an organization that permits it, in which case it would be a work project or duplicating your own trang web. You must make sure that you’re not violating any laws đồ sộ avoid legal issues.

3 Ways đồ sộ Duplicate a Website:

1. Copying Tools

Duplicating a trang web is more difficult than vãn it appears because there are numerous functionalities required. There are technologies available that can effortlessly copy websites, speeding up the process of developing a trang web from the start.

After copying the source code đồ sộ your local computer, you can host it on your server. However, if the trang web does not belong đồ sộ you, duplicating it without permission is considered bad practice. Website copying software examples include HTTrack, ArchiveBox, Cyotek Webcopy, and others.

The first step in using any of the copying software mentioned above is đồ sộ tải về and install the program; in this case, we'll be using HTTrack.

After installation, all you need đồ sộ vì thế is type the name and project category (you can skip this step) and select the path where you want the project stored.

The next step requires that you enter the URL of the trang web you want đồ sộ copy;

Start the duplicating process;

After you click Finish, HTTrack will begin đồ sộ crawl and copy the trang web, which will then be hosted on your local machine. This process may take a while, depending on the size of the tệp tin.

After it’s done copying, you can browse the mirrored trang web. If we take a look at the image below, we’ll see the duplicated trang web beside the main trang web. Notice that the URL is different; the duplicated trang web is hosted on our local machine (HTML file)

2. Copy Source Code via Extension in Chrome

To tải về the source code of a trang web, we can use an extension in the Chrome Web Store named Save all resources. We'll add this extension đồ sộ begin.

Open the trang web you want đồ sộ duplicate, right-click, and select the inspect option; it’ll show the dev tools. Click on "more options" >>, and you’ll find Resource Saver.

Select Resource Saver, tick the boxes, and select Save All Resources.

This will tải về all the resources đồ sộ your computer, kiểm tra your tải về, and extract the tệp tin đồ sộ open the thư mục. Enter the thư mục, tìm kiếm for the HTML tệp tin, and open it in your browser đồ sộ confirm that it works.

3. Version Control Software

Development teams or individuals can manage projects using version control software; the most popular example is Git. Git is a version control system distributed under the General Public License (GPL), which allows users đồ sộ use, share, and modify it for free; this is termed "open source". Using Git, developers have access đồ sộ all the source code, and development teams can work on small or large projects in a distributed server environment. To use git đồ sộ duplicate a trang web, the trang web tệp tin should already be saved đồ sộ GitHub.

Note: GitHub is a hosting service for git-based program management and version control. This article will help you learn more about Git, Github, and the commands involved in creating and pushing a repository đồ sộ GitHub.

Git Clone or GitHub Fork Feature đồ sộ Duplicate a Website

There’s a difference between both commands, and we’ll go over them for clarity.

Git Clone:

The command [git-clone] is used đồ sộ duplicate or clone a repository into a new directory. It is used đồ sộ make a duplicate of an existing repository. You can make modifications đồ sộ a repository after cloning it without impacting the original version. All you have đồ sộ vì thế đồ sộ implement these modifications is push the changes back đồ sộ the repository.

• Create a new thư mục where you want the files đồ sộ be saved, and copy the path, or you can create a thư mục in Git Bash by using mkdir.

• Open Git Bash, enter into the thư mục by using the cd command, and paste the path e.g cd “ C:\Users\LENOVO\Documents\clone folder”

• Go back đồ sộ GitHub and copy the SSH URL, in the git bash, type git clone “insert copied URL” e.g git clone “[email protected]:Jessica-Agorye/Jess_portfolio.git”

If you use the VSCode IDE, you can simply open it directly from git bash by typing “code .”, as seen in the image below.

We can see from the example that we’ve successfully cloned our GitHub repository.

GitHub Fork Feature:

The fork feature on GitHub is used đồ sộ duplicate a website; this is used đồ sộ isolate a tệp tin đồ sộ have full control over it. To fork a repository, all you have đồ sộ vì thế is click on “fork"

This will make an individual copy of the repository, which you can then clone with git clone đồ sộ have access đồ sộ the files in your local workspace.

Note: The distinction between GitHub's "git clone" and "fork" features is the level of control developers have over the repository. When you clone a trang web or a repository, you can work on it locally; however, you cannot submit changes đồ sộ the tệp tin unless you are part of the project team. You can only push modifications đồ sộ the forked tệp tin using a pull request; however, the owner must determine whether or not đồ sộ pull your changes.

Consequences of Duplicating Website Illegally

The majority of websites are secure against crawling software. The Robots.txt tệp tin, for example, is used đồ sộ tell tìm kiếm engines and other automated tools not đồ sộ crawl a trang web.

Copying tools are used by hackers đồ sộ clone websites and fool people into providing essential information for the goal of theft or other harmful intent. It is also considered copyright and trademark infringement, both of which are illegal. Duplicating websites might harm your reputation, which will harm your brand. It's fantastic đồ sộ be inspired by a brand for the sake of learning. It is less likely đồ sộ cause problems if permission is obtained đồ sộ clone a trang web for work purposes.

Summary

Creating a duplicate trang web can help trang web developers for a variety of reasons, including learning and contribution, backup, testing and development, and ví on. If you are reproducing a trang web đồ sộ learn from it or use it as inspiration for your own, making significant changes may not have an impact on you or put you in breach of any copyright laws. Nonetheless, duplicating a trang web without permission or for illegal purposes is neither advised nor encouraged.

Authors note

The webpage mentioned in this post was copied for educational purposes and was not meant đồ sộ be used maliciously or đồ sộ cause harm. We acknowledge that the example in this article may contain copyright material, and we have made sure đồ sộ properly credit the primary source.

About the Author

Jessica Agorye

Jessica Agorye is a developer based in Lagos, Nigeria. A witty creative with a love for life, she is dedicated đồ sộ sharing insights and inspiring others through her writing. With over 5 years of writing experience, she believes that nội dung is king.

View all posts by Jessica Agorye