Copy a Wordpress Site for Development

Applies to:

• Wordpress CMS v4.1.1

What?
A note to myself on how to create a development/test version of a production/live Wordpress CMS site.

Why?
I have a website sitting at a domain (eg. www.myexample.com), and I want to create an exact copy at a subdomain entitled "dev1" (eg. dev1.myexample.com).

How?
A quick copy from copy 1 (LIVE) to copy 2 (DEV):

1. Backup all files in LIVE environment
2. Delete any files in DEV except for "wp-config.php"
3. Copy all files except for "wp-config.php" from LIVE to DEV
4. Copy the salt and secret keys from LIVE\wp-config.php to DEV\wp-config.php
5. Backup the database in LIVE environment
6. Clear the database in DEV
7. Copy database from LIVE to DEV
8. Change database values: Navigate to wp_options table and change the two values
   copyrawstyler

   // ** MySQL settings - You can get this info from your web host ** //
   /** The name of the database for WordPress */
   define('DB_NAME', 'my_database_name');
   
   /** MySQL database username */
   define('DB_USER', 'my_database_user');
   
   /** MySQL database password */
   define('DB_PASSWORD', 'my_database_password');
   
   /** MySQL hostname */
   define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');
   
   /**
    * Authentication Unique Keys and Salts.
    */
   define('AUTH_KEY',         'my_auth_key');
   define('SECURE_AUTH_KEY',  'my_secure_auth_key');
   define('LOGGED_IN_KEY',    'my_logged_in_key');
   define('NONCE_KEY',        'my_nonce_key');
   define('AUTH_SALT',        'my_auth_salt');
   define('SECURE_AUTH_SALT', 'my_secure_auth_salt');
   define('LOGGED_IN_SALT',   'my_logged_in_salt');
   define('NONCE_SALT',       'my_nonce_salt');

   1.  // ** MySQL settings - You can get this info from your web host ** // 
   2.  /** The name of the database for WordPress */ 
   3.  define('DB_NAME', 'my_database_name'); 
   4.   
   5.  /** MySQL database username */ 
   6.  define('DB_USER', 'my_database_user'); 
   7.   
   8.  /** MySQL database password */ 
   9.  define('DB_PASSWORD', 'my_database_password'); 
   10.   
   11.  /** MySQL hostname */ 
   12.  define('DB_HOST', 'localhost'); 
   13.   
   14.  /** 
   15.   * Authentication Unique Keys and Salts. 
   16.   */ 
   17.  define('AUTH_KEY',         'my_auth_key'); 
   18.  define('SECURE_AUTH_KEY',  'my_secure_auth_key'); 
   19.  define('LOGGED_IN_KEY',    'my_logged_in_key'); 
   20.  define('NONCE_KEY',        'my_nonce_key'); 
   21.  define('AUTH_SALT',        'my_auth_salt'); 
   22.  define('SECURE_AUTH_SALT', 'my_secure_auth_salt'); 
   23.  define('LOGGED_IN_SALT',   'my_logged_in_salt'); 
   24.  define('NONCE_SALT',       'my_nonce_salt'); 
9. Search and replace any other occurrences in the `wp_options` database table (note: include `wp_postmeta` and `wp_posts` if you want images and attachments)
10. Done

Sample Configuration PHP
Note that the following are sample values and just for myself to quickly modify a Wordpress configuration file.

// ** MySQL settings - You can get this info from your web host ** //
/** The name of the database for WordPress */
define('DB_NAME', 'my_database_name');

/** MySQL database username */
define('DB_USER', 'my_database_user');

/** MySQL database password */
define('DB_PASSWORD', 'my_database_password');

/** MySQL hostname */
define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');

/**
 * Authentication Unique Keys and Salts.
 */
define('AUTH_KEY',         'my_auth_key');
define('SECURE_AUTH_KEY',  'my_secure_auth_key');
define('LOGGED_IN_KEY',    'my_logged_in_key');
define('NONCE_KEY',        'my_nonce_key');
define('AUTH_SALT',        'my_auth_salt');
define('SECURE_AUTH_SALT', 'my_secure_auth_salt');
define('LOGGED_IN_SALT',   'my_logged_in_salt');
define('NONCE_SALT',       'my_nonce_salt');