Can WordPress and I create a "shadow site"?
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I say “shadow” because my research on the forums suggests a “mirror site” may not be quite what I want.
I’d like to test a new title and theme that preserves all the blogs I’ve written, incorporates the new ones I’m writing as we go looking for a different audience, all the while preserving my present site.
Am I crazy? Has it been done already?
The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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Hi there. “mirror site” or “shadow site” are just terms. I refer to it as a “test blog”, a private site where I can test out themes, widgets and ideas before I incorporate them on my main site. Simply register another blog (http://en.support.wordpress.com/create-a-blog/#adding-new-site%C2%A0to-an-existing-account), set it to private (http://en.support.wordpress.com/settings/privacy-settings/) and then import your content you want to that site (http://en.support.wordpress.com/export/, http://en.support.wordpress.com/import/)
If you set up a site like this, make sure you do set it to private as having the exact same content on two different public sites can get them suspended.
Or you make the new site live and set your old one to private, but that means your existing followers won’t be able to see it anymore.
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Thanks so much for your quick reply. It’s clear and concise.
It seems I must take the leap of renaming my site; might you recommend one more link that describes how to make that change safely?
Thanks again.
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To just give your site a new title, go to Settings ->General in either the new or the classic dashboard.
Instructions to change your blog’s address (URL) are found in this support doc: http://en.support.wordpress.com/changing-blog-address/
Please make sure you read the support doc and all instructions and warnings carefully as this process cannot be reversed.
When prompted whether you’d like to keep the old URL or delete it, consider keeping it as deleted URLs can never be recovered: http://en.support.wordpress.com/recycling-blog-names/
Rather, set the old address to private, and then you can either use it as a test blog to try out new themes and widgets, etc., or you can use it as a backup to your regular blog by periodically importing content to it. http://en.support.wordpress.com/settings/privacy-settings/
As part of the process you’ll also have the option to change your username to match the new address. Note that if you do this your current username will cease to exist and you won’t later be able to go back to it. If you prefer, you can also keep your username what it is and simply change your display name (what will appear next to comments – on the forum it will still be the actual username that appears). Instructions to do that can be found here: http://en.support.wordpress.com/change-your-username/
To automatically redirect visitors from the old address to the new one you’ll need to buy the Site Redirect upgrade: http://en.support.wordpress.com/site-redirect/ You don’t have to buy this, but if you don’t people who had your old address bookmarked won’t be able to find it, and any links to your old address on other sites will no longer work, so if your blog has been around for a while it is recommended.
WordPress.com followers and email followers will automatically be subscribed to the new address if you change it this way, but it might be a good idea to just publish a post warning people that you will be changing the address before you do so, just to avoid unnecessary confusion.
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