Mirror Website: How It Works and How to Create One

What Is a Mirror Website?

A mirror website is a replica of a website that is hosted on another server. The site may have the same URL as the main site, a subdomain, or a completely different URL.

However, even though it is hosted on a different server, the content and structure remain identical to the main site, effectively making it a "copy" of the primary website.

Mirror websites are created to provide users with an accessible copy of the main site.

But is it legal to mirror a website? That depends on the purpose and the party performing the mirroring. It's important to note that a website and everything within it is protected by copyright under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

Therefore, if the mirroring is done by the owner of the main site or a third party who has permission, it is considered legal. Conversely, if permission is not granted, the mirroring action would be deemed illegal.

How Does a Mirror Website Work?

Mirror websites are usually updated regularly to maintain the same structure and content as the original site. In some cases, the original site sets up the mirror site in a larger location with faster connections, closer to a large audience.

So, if the main site receives too much traffic, the mirror site can ensure the availability of the site and its files.

For websites that offer widely used software copies or updates, mirror websites allow these sites to handle greater demand and speed up the file download process.

In general, mirror sites are created to provide faster access when a website is geographically difficult to reach.

Mirror web servers are often located on different continents or areas than the main site, allowing users near the mirror site to gain faster and more reliable access.

Characteristics of Mirror Websites

Mirror websites have specific characteristics that distinguish them from backup sites, such as:

• Improved Accessibility: Mirror sites can enhance accessibility and provide better load distribution.
• Content and Structure Similarity to the Main Site: Mirror sites have the exact same architecture and content as the original site.
• Different URLs and Servers: These sites have different hosting servers and URLs from the main site.

So, what differentiates a mirror site from a backup site? Mirror sites are created to serve users who are geographically far from the main site and to improve accessibility.

On the other hand, backup sites are meant to protect and restore data. Backup sites are usually designed to be inaccessible to the general public and can only be accessed internally.

Why Are Mirror Websites Important?

Mirror websites offer various benefits for you, especially in supporting the performance of the main site. Here are the advantages of mirror websites that you can experience:

1. Resource Availability

Mirror websites can serve as additional resources. By providing replicas of the site on multiple servers, users can access them easily and quickly.

2. Accessibility During Main Site Downtime

When the main site experiences downtime, users can still access content and information from the mirror site because it is designed to be identical to the main site. Thus, there are no barriers for users to access content even when there are issues with the main site.

3. Traffic Load Distribution

As mentioned earlier, mirror sites can evenly distribute traffic load across servers. Having various mirror websites in different locations allows you to direct traffic to nearby servers, preventing overload.

4. Data Security

If you experience an attack threatening data security or server failure on the main site, the mirror site can serve as a backup to ensure data safety. You can quickly redirect user traffic to the mirror website to mitigate the impact of disruptions.

5. Disaster Recovery

Mirror sites can also be used for disaster recovery because they have exact copies and assets of the main site. So, when the main site system fails or becomes corrupted, the mirror site can be used for recovery.

6. Site Testing and Development

During website development process, copies of the website at various stages can be stored in secure locations for review, testing, and modifications as needed, while the main version remains protected.

How to Create a Mirror Website

To create a mirror website, you need to download a copy of all the files that make up the website, including HTML, CSS, images, and JavaScript files. This process may take time and bandwidth, especially if your site is large.

There are several tools you can use to create a mirror site, such as cURL, HTTrack, and GNU Wget. Each of these tools has a different approach to building mirror sites.

If you are using GNU Wget, here’s how to create a mirror website:

1. Download the Wget package for Windows and install it on your device.
2. Copy the file wget.exe to an appropriate folder location (C:\Windows\System32).
3. Open Command Prompt and type “wget -h” to check if the tool is installed correctly.

Next, you need to configure it to create the mirror site by specifying the website URL and the directory where the mirrored files will be stored.

Then, you can enter the command “wget -r https://www.yourdomain.com/” using your main site’s URL. Wget will then save the files in a new folder.

After that, you can test the mirror website by opening the HTML file in a browser to ensure that the site works correctly.

If you are in a situation where you are using a subdomain or a completely different domain for the mirror site, it’s important to add a canonical tag. Otherwise, the content will be duplicated and may negatively impact the search ranking of the main site.