How do I publish my website?
When you're done editing your site, you can publish it by going to your site editor and clicking the Publish button. This will make your site live, which means:
1. It can be viewed by anyone who knows your site URL.
2. Search engines will start indexing (listing) your site in their search results.
How does the publish button work?
- Before you click the publish button for the first time, no one can find/stumble upon your site because it is hidden from all search engines! If you go to your strikingly URL, it will have the message "This site is not yet published."
- After you click "Publish" for the first time, your site will be indexable (findable) by search engines. You can disable this in Settings > Show Advanced > Privacy & Legal:
What is the difference between the saved version and the live version?
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Any changes you make in the editor are automatically saved. You also have the option to save manually by clicking on the "Save now" link located at the top of the left panel.
- These changes are viewed through the "Preview site" button on the left panel:
- The Live version is only updated when you click "Publish."
- If you have a custom domain, there might be a delay (between 5-15 minutes) before your live site is updated, but you can still view your site from the "Preview" button. This is because we are pushing your changes to our CDN which allows your site to be online and load fast anywhere in the world.
How do I hide my site after publishing?
1. Pro users: Add a password to your site.
This will allow only people with the password to see the content. This will also block the content from Google until you remove the password. Go to Settings > Show Advanced > Privacy & Legal to set this up.
2. All users: Click the "Unpublish" button.
Go to your Dashboard > look for the site you want to unpublish > click the gear icon under the site name > select "Unpublish". Check out the visual tutorial here!
3. All users: Clone your site.
Note: This is a little complex. By following the steps above, you can unpublish your site and it will make your old link invalid. You can then start again with a new, unpublished site. When people find the old link, they will not be able to view any content. However, this method means that Google will still see the description you wrote in the site's Settings for a couple more days.
Now, to clone your site, go back to your main Dashboard at strikingly.com > click the gear icon under the site name > select "Clone". The new site created is automatically brand new and has never been published. Then, go back and delete the old site or rename it to invalidate the URL.
Note: Changes made to your website are saved automatically.
In case you need assistance, shoot us a line at support@strikingly.com or chat with us.