There are plugins that can clone sites but I’m pretty sure that you need back end access to the original site to use them. However, there’s absolutely nothing to stop someone copying a site manually. All it takes is a little ingenuity and a fair bit of work.
If this is a case of copyright theft, your best recourse is to contact their web host directly. You can use WHOIS to determine where they’re hosted, as well as resources like http://www.whoishostingthis.com to find relevant information.
Andrew Nevins
(@anevins)
WCLDN 2018 Contributor | Volunteer support
This is just the way it is, the Web is a file distribution system (files being websites).
Thread Starter
Terry
(@oxidesigns)
Thanks esmi I know of plugins as I’ve exported and imported WordPress sites often. It’s just one without back end access being cloned exactly is a concern.
Andrew, in this case it’s fine as it is a partner company of the original. So in this case I’m not worried that it was done, just curious as to ‘how’ it was done.
Andrew Nevins
(@anevins)
WCLDN 2018 Contributor | Volunteer support
Are you wanting to find out how that particular site owner duplicated the site without admin access? Did the author of the site tell you they cloned it without admin access, can you find out from them? We are no wiser than you.
Andrew Nevins
(@anevins)
WCLDN 2018 Contributor | Volunteer support
The process of copying a website doesn’t change with WordPress, though if WordPress is involved it will only make the process easier. What is output to a browser, what you see as a “website” is what people can freely copy. The CMS is irrelevant, it’s just HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
It’s no mystery how websites are copied if you understand how the Web works. It’s easy as putting a puzzle together. You’re given the pieces and you have to make them fit; you already know how they fit by looking at the website that gave those pieces to you.
To illustrate my puzzle analogy; Have you ever used the “Save” option from your browser? This option saves the Webpage, all images, content, styles onto your personal computer. Done, puzzle pieces downloaded & put together for you. This does not even require technical knowledge, it is a function that is built into all browsers.
I wouldn’t say a website is copied through a manual process. I’m sure there are many tools available on the Internet that will copy a website regardless of its CMS (or lack of).
Thread Starter
Terry
(@oxidesigns)
Thank Andrew, I’ve been left baffled by this because this is not just a front end copy.
This is a full wordpress copy with theme, plugins and everything without backend access. I’ll try and figure out how it was done. Thanks.
