Background of the issue:
I am working on a site under development and trying to set up a copy of the site. The site URL is hidden link. I am not following any documentation.
Symptoms:
No specific issue or error message mentioned.
Questions:
How do I set up a copy of my site using WPML?
For a new/separate WordPress setup and different domain, you will always need to go here (https://wpml.org/account/sites) and generate a new site key for that new domain. While in the process of creating the key, you can also set the key as "Production" or "Development."
Here is a small tutorial on how to use Duplicator: hidden link
This plugin should also easily take care of the URL-replacing process.
After migration, register WPML in your new site and enter the new key:
Please Login to your WPML account >> go to the "Sites" page (https://wpml.org/account/sites/) >> Remove your old site/domain from there >> and add your new site >> it will give you a new key which you can add back in your site in Plugins > Add new > Commercial.
You might want to take a look at this page, too, as it contains essential information that you might need when WPML sees that the current site has been copied over a different domain. You must set that new site to "this is a copy of the main site."
I hope that you will find this information helpful.
Sorry, I did not realize you would like to set up a new WordPress environment from scratch.
In that case, you will need to redo the WPML settings (in case you have changed specific settings), and regarding the content, you will need to move it manually (export it from the current site and import it into the new site).
A migration plugin (like "Duplicator") will practically migrate everything from your current site (including the other plugin's data and files). From my understanding, you don't want that, so the manual method is the way to go.
Regarding updating translations in the current site, you can do that, but there won't be any connection between the two sites because the second one is built from scratch, so the updated content would need to be migrated again.
When you set up WPML from scratch on the new site, you will have a button/link available to generate a new key for that site, or you can go here (https://wpml.org/account/sites) and generate a new key for the domain of your new WordPress setup, copy that and use it when the WPML wizard is going to ask for that.
Based on your statement, "I am creating a new website with a fresh theme," I understand that you prefer to set up a new WordPress installation from scratch rather than perform a migration.
When you migrate a site, all translations are stored in the database, and they will remain intact as long as the migration process is carried out correctly and completely.
However, if you choose to create a brand new WordPress site from scratch and manually reinstall WPML, you will need to register it with a new key first. After that, yes, you can follow the manual method to export content from the old site to the new one.
Please let me know if I’ve missed anything or if I misunderstood your request.
You can either download it from here (https://wpml.org/download/wpml-export-and-import/?section=changelog) then install it (by uploading it) to the site (Plugins > Add new > Upload > install > activate) or you can go to your site's backend > Plugins > Add new > Commercial > and try to find it there and install it + activate it from there.
so the import and export plugin will copy all pages from wpmp database will it also copy my settings inclsuing taxonomy and the new languages etc that I have set up on the live site ?
I completely understand how important it is to ensure that everything, including settings and custom configurations, is properly transferred when working on a development site.
When it comes to the WPML Import/Export plugin will indeed help you move over your content, including pages, posts, and translations. However, I want to clarify that while it does a great job moving the content, it won’t automatically move some of the more intricate settings, like custom taxonomies or language configurations.
If you've set up new languages or custom taxonomy settings, you will need to manually replicate those settings on the development site before importing the content. It might take a little extra time, but that way, you can make sure everything is set up the same way as on the live site.
As for the import/export process itself, once we’ve gotten the content across, the development environment should be ready for testing and further work. But, once again, just a heads-up: if there are any specific WPML-related settings or configurations that need to be migrated (like language switcher settings, etc.), those need to be handled separately.
