Clone a MyListing-Based Business for Use in Another Market

Real-World Scenario

Let’s talk about a scenario one of my clients faced at the time of this writing.

We built a MyListing-based business that targeted a specific niche and location (city). While the website was not 100% completed (they are never really “done”), it was ready to be introduced to additional markets (i.e., cities) in the form of new websites.

So, how do we go about this with efficiency and cost in mind? That’s what I address within this guide.

Website Cloning

Overview

Cloning a website for use in another market can be a cost-effective way to expand a business’s reach into new markets. It allows businesses to reuse existing content and infrastructure while making necessary modifications to suit the new market’s requirements. 

The process of cloning a website involves several steps, which include:

1. Original Website Analysis: The first step is to analyze the original website and identify whether it has most of the needed features and functionalities that will be common across the new markets. This website will become your blueprint.
2. Website Hosting: Ensure you have available installs in your hosting plan to accommodate future websites.
3. Solution Licensing: Ensure you have the required licensing for any premium solutions (SaaS, WordPress theme, WordPress plugins, etc.). Be sure to see what solutions are already available to you under Managed MyListing, MyListing Website Care, Kinsta Hosting, or a MyListing Starter Site purchase, and check the Club’s Partner Deals before purchasing. Buy in bulk where it makes sense, such as lifetime deals for multiple websites.
4. Clone Your Website: After your blueprint is ready to go, it’s time to perform the actual cloning of your website. I cover the steps in the next section of this guide.
5. Website Customization: Based on the analysis of the original website and the target market, the cloned website is customized to suit the new market’s requirements. This includes modifying the website’s content, design, and layout to appeal to the target audience. For my client’s scenario, we need to address things related to the specific city, like domain name (e.g., spotschicago.com, spotscharlotte.com, etc.), Region (Neighborhood), Taxonomy/URLs/Pages, etc.
6. Localization: The website is then localized by translating the content into the target market’s language and adapting it to the local culture and customs. For my client’s scenario, we are simply cloning websites into different cities within the United States, so culture, language, etc., would largely be the same.
7. Apply Solution Licensing: Assign the required licensing for any premium solutions (SaaS, WordPress theme, WordPress plugins, etc.
8. Testing and Launching: After customization and localization, the website is tested to ensure it functions correctly and meets the target market’s requirements. Once testing is complete, the website will be launched in the new market.
9. Website Care: Managing multiple websites is not easy, especially when you need to focus on the business itself, and then there’s the investment (time and money) into these websites/businesses. Consider MyListing Website Care so I can be there as your trusted partner.

Clone Your Website

From the beginning, my client planned to use the original site as a blueprint, cloning it over and over for use in other cities, and since they are hosting their website with my preferred web host, cloning it will be much easier.

There are many ways to go about cloning a website, but for this guide, I will continue documenting the process we’re taking to get my client’s website into new markets.

1. Log into the Kinsta dashboard.
2. Add Site > Create New Site
3. Choose ‘Clone an Existing Environment.’
4. Click ‘Continue.’
5. Environment to Clone > Choose the site you wish to clone.
6. Site Name > Enter the desired site name.
7. Click ‘Continue.’

At this point, the new website will start spinning up. After the site is created, continue with the steps below.

8. Optional – Request the website to be relocated to a different data center. You want to choose the data center closest to the website’s primary audience.

Note: At the time of this writing, when you clone a website with Kinsta, they don’t allow you to select a different data center. Not to worry, though – Jump on a support chat with Kinsta support, and they will help you move the website to your desired data center.

9. Select your new site from your Kinsta dashboard.
10. Domains > Click ‘Add Domain.’
11. Enter the production domain and click ‘Add Domain.’
12. Follow the provided instructions for completing the DNS records.
13. Using the ‘vertical dots’ next to your production domain, select it as the ‘Primary Domain.’
14. Make Primary Domain > Check the box to run the ‘Search and Replace.’

Note: ‘Search and Replace’ is one of the many perks of Kinsta. What this is doing for us here is going through all the URLs on the website and changing them to match the domain of the new market (i.e., city) we’re entering. For example, spotschicago.com URLs get replaced with spotscharlotte.com.

Housekeeping

Important: If you use WooCommerce Subscriptions, you will receive a notification in the WordPress Dashboard for ‘Enabling Automatic Payments.’ DO NOT enable automatic payments until you have cleared out all WooCommerce Orders.

When you clear out the orders, this also clears out all WooCommerce Subscriptions, and then it’s safe to ‘Enable Automatic Payments.’ The steps below are for cleaning out data from the old website so we can start with clean data on the new website.

1. WordPress Dashboard > Posts > Delete all and empty trash.
2. WordPress Dashboard > Users> Customer > Delete all and choose ‘Delete All Content.’
3. WordPress Dashboard > Users> Subscriber > Delete all and choose ‘Delete All Content.’
4. WordPress Dashboard > Users> Editor > Delete all and choose ‘Delete All Content’ UNLESS the Editor account has valuable Posts associated with their account, in which case you would want to ‘Contribute All Content’ to some other user account.
5. WordPress Dashboard > Listings > Delete all and empty trash.
6. WordPress Dashboard > Comments > Delete all and empty trash.
7. WordPress Dashboard > Media > Delete any images that don’t apply to the new market and empty trash.
8. WooCommerce > Orders > Delete all and empty trash.
9. WordPress Dashboard > Products > Delete any products that don’t apply to the new market and empty trash.
10. WooCommerce > Status > Tools > WooCommece Transients > Click ‘Clear Transients.’
11. WooCommerce > Status > Tools > Expired Transients > Click ‘Clear Transients.’
12. WooCommerce > Status > Tools > Clear Customer Sessions > Click ‘Clear.’
13. WooCommerce > Status > Tools > Product Vendors Transients > Click ‘Clear All Transients/Cache.’
14. WooCommerce > Status > Tools > Clear Analytics Cache > Click ‘Clear.’
15. WooCommerce > Status > Logs > Delete All

New Market Build

Instead of listing all the steps here, I will share the resources I would use for this part of the process. These are the exact steps you took to build the first website, but much of the work is already done as part of the cloning process.

I highly recommend using the MyListing Project Template, which provides guidance and checklists for launching a MyListing-based website from beginning to end so you don’t miss any steps.

Data Import

Some of you may have data (Listings, Products, etc.) that you would like to import to get the website started. If you are familiar with importing data into MyListing, that’s great! For everyone else, the Club offers a MyListing Export/Import service.

Cost

These costs reflect those using the Club’s products/services, so your costs may differ.

• MyListing Website Care (If I’m managing the website for the client.) -OR-
• Kinsta Hosting (If the client will manage their own website.)
• MyListing Project Template
• MyListing Website Support (Optional – If the client has “mini projects.”)
• MyListing Export/Import (Optional – If the client has data to import into their cloned website.)

MyListing Website Care

As I mentioned earlier in this guide, managing multiple websites is not easy, especially when you need to focus on the business itself. You must protect your investment (time and money) in these websites/businesses. 

Aside from the management aspects, consider the many other perks included in MyListing Website Care, like Kinsta Hosting, $3k+ worth of premium solutions (every year), Small Tasks Included, and more.

Kinsta Hosting

If you don’t go with website care, you can sign up for Kinsta separately and get award-winning web hosting, 24/7 expert support, enterprise-level features that would cost you a ton of money on your own, access to $3k+ worth of premium solutions (every year), and more.

I trust Kinsta with every website under my management. It’s a no-brainer decision!

MyListing Project Template

You might be thinking to yourself – “I don’t need this if I’ve already built the website once.” That would be the wrong thinking!

Things change from website to website, even if it’s cloned. Are you sure you’ll remember to change all the little things that are easily missed?

The MyListing Project Template pays for itself right away. It provides checklists and links to resources so that you can do less thinking and more clicking.

MyListing Website Support

If you would like my help cloning your business, MyListing Website Support is available. It’s worth noting that Managed MyListing and MyListing Website Care clients receive deep discounts for my support services.

If you’re not interested in website care and think my full rate is too high, remember that my hour is not equivalent to other web professionals:

1. Have you ever paid someone and they didn’t know what they were doing? I help people build MyListing-based businesses every day, and I know how to do things right the first time.
2. Have you ever paid someone and had them produce no results? I help people build MyListing-based businesses every day, so I know where the bodies are buried and can get things done fast.
3. If you need a Template, CSS Package, Listing Type, Product Package, or Code Snippet, those resources are free while I’m working for you. For example, a request might be, “Ryan, please import Template XYZ and add my color scheme to it.”

MyListing Export/Import

If you’re going to pre-populate your new website with data, the MyListing Export/Import service might be of interest. This service will help you migrate your MyListing data (Listings, Posts, Products, etc.) and includes all migration software.

Note: This service is only available to Managed MyListing and MyListing Website Care clients.

Video Tutorial