Create Snapshots
Snapshots are pre-designed layouts that include plugins, themes, and site pages to determine the appearance and structure of a WordPress website. InstaWP allows you to create and manage Snapshots, which save the current files and database snapshots of an active site so that when you create a site based on the Snapshot later, you will have the exact same site.
In this documentation, we will explore how to:
Let’s get started 🚀
🎥 Watch: How to Create Snapshots in InstaWP
Create a New Snapshot
InstaWP allows you to create a new Snapshot through any of the following two methods:
Method 1
Step 1: Go to the Snapshots page and click on the Add Snapshot button to create a new Snapshot. A new modal window will appear with a site list from which you can create Snapshots.
Step 2: Select a site you want to create your Snapshot with. Then, click Next.
Step 3: You will now be prompted to save the Snapshot by filling out the following fields:
| Fields | Description |
|---|---|
| Snapshot Name | Name of the Snapshot |
| Description | Description of the Snapshot |
| Snapshot Type | Select Private Snapshot or Shared Snapshot that can be used by you or your team. |
| Instant Snapshot | When you create a new site from the Snapshot, it takes about 5-7 secs of time, selecting this option will instantly create a new site. Only available for premium accounts. |
Now, enter Snapshot name, and other options according to your preference and click Save. Your Snapshot will be created within a few moment.
Initially, the state of the Snapshot is in progress. It takes some time to be ready. Once the Snapshot status is changed to ready then the user can create the site from this Snapshot but not before.
Method 2
Step 1: Go to Sites and click on the Template/Snapshots button from the site you want to make the Snapshot with.
Step 2: Enter Snapshot name, select Snapshot from the option, and other options according to your preference and click Save. Your Snapshot will be created within a few moment.
| If a Snapshot based on this site already exists, you will find "Save As New" or "Overwrite Existing" radio buttons on the top. To test, you can create a new Snapshot from the same site from the site page.
Once you've created your Snapshot, you can delete the parent site from which you choose to generate it.
Delete a Snapshot
To delete a Snapshot, you can follow the steps from the demonstration below:
Step 1: Go to the Snapshots page and click the vertical ellipsis on the snapshot you want to delete. Select Delete from the options.
Step 2: A confirmation window will appear. Click Delete.
For a shared snapshot that people have launched sites from, the window also tells you how many of those sites are still active.
Once you confirm, you'll see a message that the snapshot deletion is in progress.
What happens to sites created from a snapshot?
- Sites you created from a private snapshot are regular sites in your main Sites list. Deleting the snapshot does not delete them.
- Sites launched from a shared snapshot link are listed under the snapshot (click the Active count in the Sites column), not in your main Sites list. When you delete the snapshot, the temporary ones still running are deleted along with it, as the confirmation window says. Sites that a customer has claimed or bought through a plan are kept, and they move to your main Sites list.
- Shared-link sites you moved to your Sites list still count as shared-link sites. If they are temporary, they are deleted with the snapshot too. Make a site permanent before you delete the snapshot if you want to keep it.
To delete a site that is kept, use the Sites page: click the More Actions menu on the site and select Delete.
Why can't I delete this snapshot?
Snapshots follow the same delete rules as templates. If the snapshot is listed on the Store, used by a WaaS, still has permanent sites created from it, or is monetized with completed sales, the delete is stopped with a message. See Why can't I delete this template? for each message and how to clear it.
Sync Snapshot from Parent Site
InstaWP allows you to sync changes from the parent site to the content of your Snapshot, which can be useful for product firms to keep their demos up to date. To do that follow the steps from the demonstration below:
| Changes are updates made to a user's WordPress site using the WP Admin panel, such as adding a new page or a new plugin.
Go to the Snapshots page and click on the vertical ellipsis button from the site you want to sync from parent site. Select Sync from Site from the options.
A dialog window will appear with the following options:
Parent Site
The site your snapshot syncs from is preselected. To sync from a different site instead, pick it from the Parent Site dropdown and click Change Parent & Sync. Once the sync finishes, that site becomes the snapshot's parent.
Only sites created from this snapshot can be chosen, and expired or deleted sites are not listed. If your original parent site has been deleted, this is how you reconnect the snapshot without creating a new one. See What to do when a template's parent site is deleted.
If the dialog shows No site can be used as a parent instead of a dropdown, none of your sites qualify yet. Use the button in the dialog to create a site from this snapshot, then reopen the dialog.
Automatic Sync Changes
It allows you to sync changes automatically from the parent site to Snapshot. For example, when you set frequency 4 hour, then changes made in parent site will be automatically synced to Snapshot in every 4 hour.
| The "Automatically Sync Changes" feature is only accessible on paid plans.
Sync Parent Site Configuration
This option lets you sync the PHP configuration from the parent site, meaning the child site will use the same PHP settings as the parent instead of applying separate PHP configurations.
| 💡 Did you know - You can connect Git deployment to your private template only, allowing you to create a new site whenever a change occurs in your Git branch. Learn how to connect a template.
Related Articles
- Types of Snapshots - Private vs shared snapshots
- Create a Private Snapshot - Capture a private snapshot
- Create a Shared Snapshot - Share a snapshot as a demo
- Using Snapshots (Create Site) - Launch a site from a snapshot