Title: creating alternative layouts – development
Last modified: April 17, 2025

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# creating alternative layouts – development

 *  [stormthedog](https://wordpress.org/support/users/stormthedog/)
 * (@stormthedog)
 * [1 year ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/creating-alternative-layouts-development/)
 * I have a site up and running but I want to experiment with alternative layouts/
   pages before selecting one. I also want to “park” the current site fore reference.
   How do I go about this?
    -  This topic was modified 1 year ago by [stormthedog](https://wordpress.org/support/users/stormthedog/).

Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)

 *  Moderator [threadi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/threadi/)
 * (@threadi)
 * [1 year ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/creating-alternative-layouts-development/#post-18389467)
 * If you just want to test something, it’s worth creating a copy of your website
   and performing the changes there. There are many ways to create such a copy. 
   For example, you could set up a copy on your local computer. Or you can use the
   WP Staging plugin to create a copy within your current hosting: [https://de.wordpress.org/plugins/wp-staging/](https://de.wordpress.org/plugins/wp-staging/)
 *  Thread Starter [stormthedog](https://wordpress.org/support/users/stormthedog/)
 * (@stormthedog)
 * [1 year ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/creating-alternative-layouts-development/#post-18389519)
 * Hi threadi, Thanks for the quick reply. I’ll look at the staging plugin. That
   looks interesting. Meanwhile, which files would I copy to my PC? Would it not
   involve installing WordPress there?
 *  Moderator [threadi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/threadi/)
 * (@threadi)
 * [1 year ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/creating-alternative-layouts-development/#post-18389528)
 * If you want to work locally, it’s not about copying files. You have to migrate
   the entire WordPress installation, including the database. You can set up a web
   server with a database locally, for example, using [https://localwp.com](https://localwp.com),
   XAMPP, or other custom solutions. Then, you can use a migration plugin to create
   a copy of the original, which you can then import locally into the chosen solution.
   Examples of migration plugins can be found here: [https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/migration/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/migration/)
 *  Thread Starter [stormthedog](https://wordpress.org/support/users/stormthedog/)
 * (@stormthedog)
 * [1 year ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/creating-alternative-layouts-development/#post-18389533)
 * Hhmm. Suddenly, the plugin seems a lot simpler!
 *  Moderator [threadi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/threadi/)
 * (@threadi)
 * [1 year ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/creating-alternative-layouts-development/#post-18389543)
 * Yes, in most cases it is. However, there is one stumbling block: the plugin creates
   a 1:1 copy of the original website on the same hosting plan. This means that 
   the storage space is used twice. If you have a very large website and limited
   space, this could be a deal breaker for the plugin. Otherwise, you’ll have to
   contact your hosting provider’s support and request more storage space.
 *  Thread Starter [stormthedog](https://wordpress.org/support/users/stormthedog/)
 * (@stormthedog)
 * [1 year ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/creating-alternative-layouts-development/#post-18389545)
 * OK. I guess I’ll find out when I try. Thanks.
 *  Thread Starter [stormthedog](https://wordpress.org/support/users/stormthedog/)
 * (@stormthedog)
 * [1 year ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/creating-alternative-layouts-development/#post-18389677)
 * Realising, the more alternatives I wish to create, the more memory I’ll need.
   Hhmm.
 * I’ll look to You Tube for How To videos on migration. Maybe it’s not as awkward
   as it seems.

Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)

The topic ‘creating alternative layouts – development’ is closed to new replies.

## Tags

 * [development](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/development/)

 * In: [Fixing WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/how-to-and-troubleshooting/)
 * 7 replies
 * 2 participants
 * Last reply from: [stormthedog](https://wordpress.org/support/users/stormthedog/)
 * Last activity: [1 year ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/creating-alternative-layouts-development/#post-18389677)
 * Status: not resolved

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