The short answer
To rebuild a client site without starting from a blank page, audit the old site, then have Claude clone the pages you keep and push them into WordPress through the UiChemy MCP. Wix sites go in from the live URL, Framer sites from their code export. Pages and sections convert. Logins, databases, payments and server functions don't, so plan to rebuild those.
What you need
- Written confirmation that the client owns the site, its copy and its images. You are copying their property into a new home, so get that on record before you clone anything.
- A full list of the old site's URLs, plus whatever traffic data the client has, so you know which pages earn visits.
- A WordPress install on hosting the client controls, with admin access and Elementor or Gutenberg active. Bricks is listed as coming soon for this route.
- The UiChemy plugin from the WordPress plugin library, installed and activated, with the Connection Link pasted once.
- Claude connected to the UiChemy MCP, or a WordPress MCP you already run: Novamira, WPVibe or Elementor Angie.
- A staging copy of the new site, so the old one stays live until the client signs off.
Step by step
Audit the old site before you copy a single page
Crawl or list every URL and sort each one into keep, merge or drop. Then note everything that runs on a server rather than on the page: member logins, booking widgets, store checkout, form handlers, search. Those are the parts a clone cannot carry, and finding them now stops a surprise in the week before launch. Old sites tend to have thin or duplicate pages that shouldn't survive the rebuild anyway.
Choose the route that matches the platform
UiChemy documents a separate path for each source. For Wix, publish the site, copy the live URL and give it to Claude, since Wix has no file export to download. For Framer, export the code with the Framer to Code plugin and attach that export. For anything else, have Claude clone the live site, check the result matches, and download the ZIP. A folder of hand-written HTML can simply be zipped.
Prepare the new WordPress site
Install and activate the UiChemy plugin on the staging site. In AI Agent (MCP), generate a connection, pick your AI tool and run the setup prompt in Claude Code, then verify it. You connect once and every conversion after remembers it.
Clone the pages on your keep list
Work from the audit, not from the old menu. Ask Claude to clone only the pages you decided to keep, and to report anything it could not reproduce. Check each cloned page against the live one before you convert.
Clone these pages from the client's live site into HTML, CSS and JS: [paste the URLs from your keep list]. Keep the copy word for word and keep image file names. Give each page its own folder, then list every form, login, embed or script you could not reproduce.Convert the clone into WordPress
Attach the ZIP and ask Claude to convert it with the UiChemy MCP, with each section as a UiChemy Composer section. The pages land as native, editable content in Elementor or Gutenberg on the client's own domain, rather than as a frozen copy of the markup.
Convert the attached ZIP to WordPress with the UiChemy MCP. Create one draft page per folder, build each section as a UiChemy Composer section, keep all text exactly as written, and list any section you could not convert.Rebuild what a clone leaves behind
Go back to the server-side list from step one. Contact forms can be rebuilt with Composer's forms, which keep submissions in your dashboard. A store moves to WooCommerce, and a blog moves into WordPress posts. Memberships and bookings come from the WordPress plugin ecosystem. None of this arrives through the clone, so budget for it in the quote.
Map every old URL before launch
Search engines and old links still point at the old paths. Match each URL on the keep or merge list to its new WordPress URL and set a permanent (301) redirect with your redirect plugin of choice. Send dropped pages to the closest relevant page rather than the home page. Then set titles, meta descriptions and the sitemap with RankMath or Yoast, which the clone does not bring with it.
Restyle in Composer instead of redesigning from zero
A rebuild is usually also a refresh. Open the converted sections in UiChemy Composer and change them visually or by prompt: global colors and variables change the whole site at once, and Design Mode lets the client's own team edit copy after handover. Changing the brand palette is one prompt, not a week of rework.
Update the site's global colors to this palette: primary #1F4E79, accent #F2A541, background #FFFFFF, text #1A1A1A. Apply it through the global variables, keep every layout and every piece of copy as it is, and tell me which sections used hard-coded colors.
What carries over and what does not
What you get
- The pages worth keeping, rebuilt as native, editable WordPress on hosting the client controls, without anyone redrawing the layouts.
- A written list of the backend pieces that need rebuilding, made before the quote rather than after launch.
- Old URLs redirected to their new homes, with titles, meta and a sitemap in place.
- A refreshed look done in Composer through global colors and variables, not a second build.
- A client who can edit their own copy and images, with the role manager controlling who can change what.
What does not carry over
- Logins, databases, payments and server functions are not documented as converted. Plan to rebuild them in WordPress.
- UiChemy's clone page does not state a policy on whose sites you may clone. Only clone sites your client owns or has rights to.
- Bricks is listed as coming soon for the clone and migration route. Elementor and Gutenberg are live.
- UiChemy publishes no fidelity figure for clones, so check every page against the original before you convert it.
- Redirects, meta and sitemaps are your job. The clone carries pages and sections, not the old site's SEO settings.
- UiChemy's migration pages say Free works for getting started and that Pro unlocks the full Composer, Theme Builder and MCP push for complete site conversions.
Troubleshooting
Claude's clone looks different from the live site
Clone one page at a time and compare side by side before converting. Fixing a heading or image in the clone costs a message. Fixing it after conversion costs a trip into the editor.
A form on the old site does nothing in WordPress
Forms post to the old platform's server, which a clone cannot copy. Rebuild the form in Composer or your forms plugin and point it at the client's inbox.
Search traffic dropped after launch
Check that every old URL returns a 301 to a live page, that the sitemap was resubmitted, and that page titles were carried across.
The Wix route has nothing to download
That is expected. Wix doesn't offer a code export, so UiChemy's Wix route starts from the published URL instead of a ZIP.
Claude does not show the UiChemy tools
Re-run the MCP connection from AI Agent (MCP) in the plugin and verify it. If you use Novamira, WPVibe or Elementor Angie instead, confirm that server is connected to Claude.
Frequently asked questions
Can I clone a whole site, not one page?
Yes. UiChemy says to have Claude clone as many pages as you need and push them all to WordPress, each arriving as an editable page. Cloning only your keep list is still the better habit.
Is it legal to clone a site?
UiChemy's pages don't state a rule on this. When the site belongs to your client and they've asked for the rebuild, you're moving their own content. Don't clone sites you have no rights to.
Does this work for Wix and Framer?
Yes. UiChemy has a documented route for each: the live URL for Wix, and the Framer to Code export for Framer.
What doesn't come across?
Anything that runs on a server: logins, databases, payments and server functions. Pages and sections convert.
Will the rebuilt site rank?
It can. WordPress gives you RankMath or Yoast, schema, meta and sitemaps. Rankings survive a move when old URLs redirect cleanly, so do the redirect map before launch.
Who owns the new site?
The client. It lives on their WordPress install and their hosting as native content. If it uses Composer, it runs on one of your Composer site licences.
What if the client's current site was built in Lovable or Bolt?
Then it's an AI build, not a clone job. Download the project and follow moving a Lovable app to a client website or Lovable to Elementor. Freelancers taking on this kind of work should also read AI to WordPress for freelance designers.
Can the client's marketing team keep shipping pages afterwards?
Yes. If they design in Figma, Figma to WordPress for in-house teams covers that workflow. If they'll mostly tweak existing pages, Composer for non-coders is the better read.