Cloning your live site to staging with Jetpack VaultPress Backup

Cloning allows you to use Jetpack VaultPress Backup to copy your live site over to an existing staging site with just a few clicks. This feature is a quick and easy way to spin up a current copy of your site in order to test changes and debug issues.

Before you start

Both your live site and your staging site should be online and accessible.

Note: While not necessary, a fresh WordPress installation on your staging site is highly recommended. This is because the clone/copy process will not delete any files currently on the destination site.

How to start

Set up SSH/SFTP/FTP credentials on your live site

Cloning is only possible once you’ve added SSH, SFTP, or FTP credentials to Jetpack for your live site. For more information about finding and adding your server credentials to Jetpack, check out this guide.

Set up your staging site

This process will vary depending on your web host. In order to copy a Jetpack backup to your staging site, the staging site needs to be online and accessible with a working URL that is different from your live site. 

Configure your staging site for Jetpack

It’s not necessary for your staging site to also have a Jetpack VaultPress Backup plan in order for you to clone to staging. However, if your staging site does have a paid plan, you can easily save your server credentials for the future, which will speed up the process of cloning to staging.

If your staging site doesn’t have a paid plan, you can skip to the Let’s get cloning section below.

If your staging site has a paid plan, you can add and save your server credentials according to this guide. Then, visit the Settings tab at cloud.jetpack.com and click the toggle to Set this site as a Staging Site. 

Let’s get cloning

To start the cloning process, visit Jetpack Cloud.

1. Click on VaultPress Backup on the left menu.
2. Click on the button that says Copy this site.
   
3. If your staging site has a paid Jetpack VaultPress Backup plan, and you’ve already configured it as a staging site, you can start typing the URL in the box, then click on your staging site and skip to step 8. Otherwise, click Enter credentials for a new destination site. You can check out this guide for more information and troubleshooting suggestions for entering your server credentials.
4. Enter your destination site URL. This is the URL of your staging site.
5. Enter the server credentials. Jetpack will use these to clone your site from your live site to your staging site. If you’re unsure, check with your host for the right information. You can check out this guide for more information and troubleshooting suggestions for entering your server credentials.
6. Enter the destination WordPress path. This is where your site’s files are stored and is probably something like /public_html. If you’re unsure, your host should be able to provide this information. Click Confirm credentials.
7. Jetpack will test the credentials to confirm they work to connect to your new site. If there are any errors, you’ll see them on the next screen with some troubleshooting suggestions. If all tests pass, click Continue.
8. Select Clone from latest point to clone using the most recent backup. To clone from an earlier backup, scroll down and find the backup in your Activity Log, then click Clone from here.
9. You will see a confirmation screen where you can choose the content in the backup you want to clone. If you’re migrating your site to a new host, you will usually want to leave all the boxes checked. Select the items you wish to clone and click Confirm configuration.
10.  A final confirmation message will appear to confirm you want to overwrite all content on the destination site with the content from your backup. Click Yes, Continue to begin the cloning process.
11. You can follow the cloning progress from the Jetpack Cloud dashboard, or click Go to Activity Log to return to your site’s Activity Log.

Logging in to your staging site

After cloning your site, you’ll be prompted to log in to your staging site. For that, use the WP-Admin username and password for the site you copied from. The cloning process overwrites everything, including the WP Admin user information. It also automatically updates all of your site’s URLs.

Important: After logging in to the staging site, the Jetpack Safe Mode prompt will be shown everywhere on the dashboard. More information about Safe mode is here.

Troubleshooting

The clone restore starts, but it fails before finishing.

Please contact our support team, and we’ll be happy to investigate the cause of the issue.