How & Why to Create a Duplicate Before Making Edits

If you’ve ever made edits to your Squarespace site, saved the page, and then realized you made a mistake and desperately tried to go back to the original, you know how upsetting that can be.

I particularly appreciate that duplicating a site will not change anything on the original, live site.

It’s also stress-relieving that any changes I make to the duplicate site will not sync to the original.

I make a duplicate of every 7.1 site I work on.

To make a duplicate of (almost) your entire site:

1. When logged in, click on your Account Dashboard

2. Click … on the site you want to duplicate

3. Click “Duplicate Website” (takes a few minutes, depending on the size of your website)

4. Your duplicate site will have the same site title but will end with the word “Copy.”

Some site-specific settings will not duplicate, but having a duplicate of MOST of your website, particularly the content pages, is handy insurance before making any major edits.

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What will not duplicate with this feature?

• Add-on features and subscriptions, like domains and Email Campaigns

• Audio files uploaded to audio blocks

• Blog comments

• Demo content or content marked for deletion, like pages and blog posts in trash cans

• Files uploaded through the link editor

• Free or premium licensed stock images

• Images and videos in the Asset library that aren't used on the pages of the site

• Saved sections (you can save a section to your “account” and reuse on the duplicate site)

• Selling settings, including orders, discounts, and subscriptions

• Third-party integrations that require authenticated access, like connected accounts and API keys

• Website-specific settings and panels, like analytics, billing plans, contacts, and contributor permissions

• Sites with over 150 pages

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Duplicating “SECTIONS”

When I’m building on Squarespace, I reuse “sections” frequently. That way, when I want to replicate the style or formatting that I used within a specific section, I can reuse it anywhere on my site or on another Squarespace 7.1 site that I own or manage. This saves a lot of time!

Here’s how to take advantage of the “save section” feature:

• Hover your mouse anywhere within the section you want to duplicate. You must be in EDIT mode. You’ll see the heart icon in the floating section toolbar.

• Click on the “heart icon” and save to your website.

If you want to tackle duplicating your website, individual sections, pages, and more, Squarespace’s video explains it all:

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