Title: Building a WordPress Cloning Application with React and the Kinsta API
Introduction:
Managing WordPress sites efficiently is crucial, especially when dealing with a vast number of them. Cloning an existing WordPress configuration can save you time and effort in launching new sites. Kinsta’s Managed WordPress Hosting service offers an easy way to accomplish this within their user-friendly MyKinsta dashboard. Moreover, you can scale up WordPress site cloning using your preferred application development technologies and the Kinsta API.
In this tutorial, we’ll demonstrate how to leverage the Kinsta API and React, a popular JavaScript library, to create a WordPress cloning application.
**What You’re Building:**
Imagine you run a WordPress development agency with starter templates. The React application we’re building serves as a tool for cloning WordPress sites. It includes the following key features:
**Prerequisites:**
Before you proceed, make sure you have a basic understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, along with some familiarity with React. Additionally, you’ll need Node.js and npm (Node Package Manager) or yarn installed on your computer.
The primary focus of this project is on building a WordPress cloning application using React and the Kinsta API, rather than UI design and styling.
**Setting Up the Development Environment:**
You can start by creating a React application from scratch and designing your own interface. Alternatively, you can use the Git starter template mentioned earlier by following these steps:
1. Visit the project’s GitHub repository.
2. Select “Use this template” to create a new repository in your GitHub account (remember to include all branches).
3. Clone the repository to your local computer and switch to the “starter-files” branch using the command: `git checkout starter-files`
4. Install the required dependencies by running the command: `npm install`
5. After installation, launch the project on your local computer with: `npm run start`. This opens the project at http://localhost:3000/.
**Understanding the Project Files:**
The ‘src’ folder is the core of the React application, containing the JavaScript code required by webpack. Within this folder, ‘App.js’ configures the two routes for the project. Subfolders ‘components’ and ‘pages’ house reusable components and pages, respectively. While styling and routing details can be found in the GitHub starter files, your focus here should be on implementing the logic in ‘Home.jsx’ and ‘Operations.jsx.’
In ‘Home.jsx,’ you’ll find a form with two fields: one for the site name you want to create and another for selecting a WordPress site from your MyKinsta account (fetched via the Kinsta API). When you click the “Clone site” button, an object containing an ‘operation_id’ property is returned. This ID and display name are passed as route parameters to ‘Operations.jsx,’ where the cloning operation’s status is reported. The interface also includes links to access the WordPress admin login and the site’s home page.
**Using the Kinsta API to Clone a WordPress Site:**
In ‘Home.jsx,’ three API requests are made to the Kinsta API. The first request retrieves a list of sites associated with your Kinsta account, which is stored in a state and then populated into the select field. This request occurs immediately after the page renders, utilizing the useEffect hook. The second and third requests are triggered when the “Clone site” button is clicked. The second request retrieves the environment ID of the site you want to clone, while the third request uses that environment ID and the site’s display name to initiate the cloning process.
**Interacting With the Kinsta API in React:**
This tutorial demonstrates interaction with two Kinsta API endpoints: ‘/sites’ and ‘/operations.’ To access the Kinsta API, you’ll need your company ID (found in MyKinsta under Company > Billing Details > Company ID) and an API key. Instructions for creating a Kinsta API key are provided. Once you have these credentials, it’s essential to store them securely as environment variables in your React application.
To set up environment variables, create a ‘.env’ file in your project’s root folder and add the following lines:
“`
REACT_APP_KINSTA_COMPANY_ID = ‘YOUR_COMPANY_ID’
REACT_APP_KINSTA_API_KEY = ‘YOUR_API_KEY’
“`
To access these environment variables within your project, use the syntax `process.env.THE_VARIABLE`. For example, to access ‘REACT_APP_KINSTA_COMPANY_ID,’ you would use `process.env.REACT_APP_KINSTA_COMPANY_ID`.
It’s crucial to add the ‘.env’ file to your ‘.gitignore’ file to prevent it from being pushed to GitHub, ensuring the security of sensitive information like API keys.
**Fetching the List of Sites:**
To retrieve the list of all sites when ‘Home.jsx’ renders, use the useEffect Hook and store the data in a state variable. First, import the ‘useState’ and ‘useEffect’ Hooks:
“`javascript
import { useState, useEffect } from ‘react’;
const [sites, setSites] = useState([]);
“`
Next, use the useEffect Hook to query the Kinsta API using the Fetch API:
“`javascript
useEffect(() => {
const fetchAllSites = async () => {
const query = new URLSearchParams({
company: process.env.REACT_APP_KINSTA_COMPANY_ID,
}).toString();
const resp = await fetch(
`${KinstaAPIUrl}/sites?${query}`,
{ method: ‘GET’, headers }
);
const data = await resp.json();
setSites(data.company.sites);
};
fetchAllSites();
}, [headers]);
“`
In this code, an asynchronous function ‘fetchAllSites’ is created. It constructs a query parameter with your company ID and sends a GET request to the ‘/sites’ endpoint of the Kinsta API. The response data is stored in the ‘sites’ state variable.
**Populating the Select Field:**
You can display the retrieved sites in the select field by mapping through them:
“`jsx
<select value=”” onChange={(e) => setSelectedSiteId(e.target.value)}>
{sites && (
sites.map((site) => {
return (
<option key={site.id} value={site.id}>{site.display_name}</option>
)
})
)}
</select>
“`
**Handling Form Submission:**
To handle form submission and retrieve values from the form, create state variables for each input field:
“`javascript
const [selectedSiteId, setSelectedSiteId] = useState(”);
const [displayName, setDisplayName] = useState(”);
“`
Bind the form fields to these state variables using the ‘value’ and ‘onChange’ attributes. This is an example of how the form should look:
“`jsx
<form onSubmit={handleSubmit}>
<label>
Site Name:
<input
type=”text”
value={displayName}
onChange={(e) => setDisplayName(e.target.value)}
/>
</label>
<br />
<label>
Select WordPress Site:
<select value={selectedSiteId} onChange={(e) => setSelectedSiteId(e.target.value)}>
{sites && (
sites.map((site) => {
return (
<option key={site.id} value={site.id}>{site.display_name}</option>
)
})
)}
</select>
</label>
<br />
<button type=”submit”>Clone Site</button>
</form>
“`
In this form, the ‘handleSubmit’ function should be called when the form is submitted. This function will handle the cloning process.
**Conclusion:**
You’ve learned how to create a WordPress cloning application using React and the Kinsta API. This powerful tool can streamline your workflow when managing multiple WordPress sites, saving you time and effort in the development process. By interacting with the Kinsta API, you can automate site cloning and provide a more efficient solution for your WordPress development projects.