Going Live: Publishing Your Site
The one switch that actually matters
Your site can be fully built and still invisible to the public. Here is the single setting that controls whether anyone but you can see it.
Private Preview, explained
Every new site starts in Private Preview on purpose -- so you can build without worrying about visitors seeing an unfinished site. While it is on, only someone logged in as an admin can see anything; everyone else gets a simple check-back-soon page, no matter how many pages you have actually published.
Step by step: flipping the switch
- Go to Configuration -> SEO & Sitemap.
- Find the Site Visibility section.
- Click Make this site public.
That is the whole process. Your site becomes visible to everyone immediately. You can switch back to Private Preview the same way later, for example if you are making major changes and want to work without visitors seeing it mid-edit.
Before you flip it
- Fill in a title and description for your main pages -- the same SEO & Sitemap screen has a Fill In Missing SEO Info button that writes a reasonable one automatically for anything you have not gotten to yet.
- Double-check Site Information has your real business name, since that shows up in the browser tab and search results.
- Preview the site as a visitor first using the Preview Site link at the top right of any admin page.