Build Your Site
Preview, publish, unpublish, and discard changes
Control a page from private draft through preview and publication, take it offline safely, and discard all unpublished changes only when intended.
Page lifecycle controls answer one question: which version can visitors see? Preview, Publish, Unpublish, Discard, and Restore each have a different boundary.
Know the lifecycle map
| Action | Draft result | Visitor result |
|---|---|---|
| Preview Draft | No status change | Temporary controlled preview |
| Publish | Creates a version snapshot | Current draft becomes public |
| Unpublish | Page remains Draft | Ordinary route becomes unavailable |
| Discard Draft Changes | Resets to the published version | Public version stays unchanged |
| Restore | Replaces the current draft | Public version stays unchanged until Publish |
Preview an unpublished draft
- Open Content > Pages.
- Find the Draft row and open its menu.
- Select Preview Draft.
- Review the separate share result and the message that it expires after 24 hours.
A share link is controlled access, not a secret, and does not make the ordinary route live.
Publish the approved draft
- Open Edit and wait for Saved · just now or All changes saved.
- Confirm headings, links, media, devices, and approval.
- Select Publish.
- Confirm Page published and a Live row with View live.
The verified editor publishes immediately without another confirmation.
Verify the ordinary public route
Open the ordinary path while signed out. Check one intended H1, current content, media, links, and horizontal fit at 1440×900 and 390×844.
Unpublish without deleting
- Open the live page's row menu.
- Select Unpublish.
- Confirm the row returns to Draft and the ordinary route is unavailable.
The page and draft remain. Use Unpublish rather than Delete when the need is to take content offline.
Republish unchanged content
After Unpublish, the editor's Publish control can stay disabled when nothing changed. Use the page row menu's Publish action to restore the unchanged page to Live.
Discard every unpublished change
- On a published page with Unpublished Changes, open Edit.
- Select Page Settings > History.
- Select Discard Draft Changes.
- Read the confirmation: the draft resets to the currently published version and all unpublished changes are permanently lost.
- Select Discard Changes only when that full loss is intended.
Restore an older published version
History lists published snapshots. Preview the intended older version, then select Restore. Restoration replaces the current draft; it does not change the live site until you review and Publish again.
Verify discard and recovery
- The draft-only marker is gone after Discard Changes.
- The anonymous public page never showed the discarded marker.
- Draft Version and Published Version agree again.
- Desktop and narrow public results still contain the approved content without overflow.
Avoid destructive shortcuts
- Do not Delete to reverse publication.
- Do not republish repeatedly before diagnosing a URL or site-status problem.
- Do not forward a share link as if it were a public launch.
- Stop at the discard confirmation if any unpublished work must be kept.
Next steps
- Use A page is not visible when the public result is missing or stale.
- Review page settings before changing a live path.
- Check Menus after any public path or publication change.
Related guides
Drafts, previews, and published content
Understand drafts, temporary previews, live pages, and unpublished changes so you always know what visitors can see and how to recover safely.
Create your first page
Create a BlockNinja page, add a heading and text, preview the draft safely, publish it, and verify the public result at desktop and narrow widths.
Edit page content in the live editor
Use the visual editor canvas, block properties, autosave, device widths, and controlled preview without confusing a draft with public content.