Help Cloning a Website

11 replies
A merchant that I signed up owns the domain name but cannot access the files to transfer to a new hosting company.

Hosting company does not answer or return his calls.

Is there anyway we can clone the site and transfer it to a new hosting company without being able to access the files?
#cloning #website
  • Profile picture of the author silveraden
    Use Google cache to see the content and then copy them. There is no way you can take out the content without accessing the site unless you memorized everything.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7044137].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author acesites
    Wow, that's quite a pickle.

    He doesn't have any FTP log-ins written down anywhere? That's very strange that a host would not respond.

    I guess it depends on what kind of site it is. If it's Wordpress, you could get the same theme and just re-build from scratch. There's no easy way to clone it I think, it will have to be re-built from scratch.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7044141].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author pablo4103
      he had not accessed that site in over two years. tried his user name and password but kept telling me password invalid.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7044456].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author jfambrini
    Use archive.org to retrieve an archive of your site or use Google cache.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7044158].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Dan Curtis
      Unless I have completely misunderstood the situation...

      1. If you have access to the domain you can get hosting at any other company and use that domain. If you do not have access to the domain you will need to buy a new domain.

      2. Once you have hosting you should be able to use httrack to get all your files and upload them to your site with the new hosting company.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7044279].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author pablo4103
        Called go daddy and they told me that they host the domain but if I could not access the files through the c-panel of the other company i would have to start from scratch.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7044448].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Don Schenk
    Is it your domain and your website, but you let someone else set up the domain and website for you? Then the person setting it up registered the name in his name?

    This is one I hear all the time in the local business marketing workshops I do at my office.

    If that is what happend to you, then you don't own your domain name. The person who set it up for you owns it.

    If that person (or company) built your website, they own the design too. They may have proprietary code in the site, which they own. In that case you can't just copy the site and host it elswhere. It becomes a copyright issue.

    In most browsers you just hit "file - save," and select "save as website complete," and you will download the entire website. However, the designer may own the copyright.

    You may need to start over. Get the domain name yourself, in your name. Get a hosting account in your name, and either learn how to build a site, or hire a designer. There are folks in the warriors for hire part of the warrior forum who can do that for you.

    Go look at the whois database - I usually use the one listed at the bottom of network solutions dot com's website. Type in the domain name, and see in whose name that designer registered it.

    Sorry to be bearer of bad news. Don't shoot me, I'm just the messanger.

    :-Don
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7044432].message }}
  • {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7044803].message }}

Trending Topics