How to Clone an App in WordPress (in 3 steps!)

Wondering how to clone an app in WordPress? With Formidable Applications, bundle apps & views together for use on multiple WordPress sites. Join us & learn how!

When we think of apps, most of us think of the ones from the Google Play Store or the Apple Store. But did you know you can create (and use) apps in WordPress?

And no, I'm not talking about WordPress plugins. I'm talking about applications you can build with almost no coding required. We built a tool for this exact purpose. It's called The Formidable Application Builder. It's the perfect tool if you like saving time and building powerful websites.

Today we're going to show you how easily you can clone an app in WordPress (one that you built using our app builder of course). But first, let's do a quick intro to how apps work in WordPress.

Quick intro to The Formidable Application Builder

Put simply, The Formidable Application Builder for WordPress allows you to create forms using our top-rated form builder, and then create views that display form data however you want.

Quick example: a new user signs up for a community site by putting data into a form. Then, the data from the form generates a new profile page for that user.

So what else can you make with this tool? Here are a few ideas:

• Online directories
• Real estate listings
• Ecommerce sites
• Fitness communities
• Much more!

How does the application builder work?

Let's take a closer look at one example from the above list: Real estate listings.

It's common to see a website where agents can add listings and buyers can request viewings. But did you ever stop to think how it all works? These sites are powered by user generated content:

1. Agent uploads listing details (including text, descriptions, and images).
2. The listing details generate a page automatically.
3. Buyers see the listing page and request a viewing of the property.
4. Agents receive notification and confirm the viewing request.

Seems straightforward, but without the help of a skilled developer, you'll need help...

And that's where the Formidable Application Builder comes to the rescue! Using this tool, you'll be able to collect data (with forms), display that data (with views), and connect all the different parts together.

Now we've got a solution that takes things one step further and save you a ton of time: The Application Organizer.

Using the app organizer, we're going to show you how to clone an app that you've created using the app builder. If you're a developer making similar sites for multiple clients, this will be a dream come true!

Why would you want to clone a WordPress application?

If you're a busy developer making websites, you've probably found yourself clipping bits of code to use again later. Smart moves - why reinvent the wheel every time?

But what if you didn't even need to clip code? What if you could use a low-code application builder and export apps that you can deploy across as many WordPress sites as you want?

This is one way our Application Organizer really shines. Once you've built a web app that you are happy with, you'll be able to export it as a bundle. That means you'll be able to export all the forms, views, and connections that make your web app function.

If you're building real estate websites, for example, this means you'll be able to clone everything, change the front-end design, and voila! You're in business.

No need to export all the individual WordPress forms and Views components. Just bundle everything together with the Application Organizer and scale your web development business the easy way!

Want to see how it works? Check out the brief guide below.

How to clone an app in Formidable Forms (3 steps)

Cloning an application is super easy. Essentially you are just exporting a bundle of forms that you can reuse as many times as you want. 

Let's look at how to clone an app on your WordPress site. If you haven't done so already, you'll need to install and activate Formidable Forms Pro for this tutorial. Formidable Pro gives you access to all the form building and application building tools you'll need to follow along.

Here's how to clone an app in Formidable Forms:

1. Create your application by selecting forms and views.
2. Export your app as an XML file.
3. Import your app to your WordPress site.

Step 1: Create your application

First, you'll need to select the forms you want to export and create an application. To do this, navigate to Formidable → Applications in your WordPress dashboard. Then, click on the Add New button:

This will launch a popup window. Give a name to your bundle, then click on Add existing forms and views to select your content:

Alternatively, you can create an empty application and add to it later. Once you create an app, you can simply add more forms and views to it by selecting Add Item.

Step 2: Export your app

After you create your app, you can navigate to the Applications page to export it. Simply select your app and click on the Export button:

This will download an XML file to your computer, which you can import to your other site. We'll show you how to do this in the next step.

Another option for exporting applications is to go to Formidable → Import/Export. Here, you can select a format (XML or CSV) as well as the content that you want to export (Forms, Entries, Views, and/or Styles):

Note that the CSV format only allows for a single item to be exported at a time. Meanwhile, the XML option enables you to export multiple items together, essentially creating an application. However, you won't have the option to name the app with this method.

Step 3: Import your app

Now, open the site where you want to import your app. Then, navigate to Formidable → Import/Export as shown above.

In the Import section, simply choose the file you want to add and click on Upload file and import:

This will automatically add the application to your site. You can then view the imported app on the Applications page. Remember that you'll need to have Formidable Forms Pro installed on all of your WordPress sites for this process to work.

Conclusion

When you use our Formidable Applications feature, you won’t need to rebuild the same forms for multiple sites. You can simply create and export an app, and then import it to other pages.

With Formidable Forms, you can create engaging surveys, signup forms, and more. Check out our full list of features!