# Publish your site

Put your site on the web at its own uova.io address. You choose the address once; after that, Update sends your latest edits live.

Publishing copies your current draft to a live address. You keep editing the draft, and nothing you change reaches visitors until you click **Update**. Every plan can publish, including Free.

*Figure: The first publish takes four steps. After that the button reads Update.*

## Before you start

- **Sign in.** A signed-out editor shows **Sign in to publish** instead of **Publish**.
- **Replace the template's sample name.** On a site started from a template, publishing stops while any page still names the template's sample business.
- **Placeholders are safe to leave.** An **Add your …** placeholder shows only in the editor, never on the live site.
- **Legal pages stay hidden until you edit them.** A draft privacy policy or terms page goes live only after your first change to it.

## Publish for the first time

1. **Click Publish** **Publish** sits at the right end of the editor's top bar. UOVA saves your latest edits before it starts.
2. **Choose your address** Type the part before `.uova.io`. UOVA checks that it is free as you type and suggests your site's name. **Add custom domain** here starts connecting a domain you own.
3. **Confirm who can access it** **Public** is the only option: anyone with the address can open the site.
4. **Add a title and description** The title takes up to 60 characters and the description up to 160. Search results and link previews show them.
5. **Review and publish** Check the summary and click **Publish now**. The window then confirms the site is live, gives you links to share it, and shows **Secured with SSL**.

> **Your address is permanent:** You can change the `uova.io` address only before the first publish. After that it is locked, to protect connected domains and links people already have. The only way to a new address is to take the site offline and publish again, which also frees the old one.

## Address rules

| Rule | Detail |
| --- | --- |
| Length | 3 to 63 characters |
| Characters | Lowercase letters, digits and hyphens |
| Hyphens | Not at the start or the end, and never two in a row |
| Reserved names | Words such as `www`, `app`, `api`, `admin`, `mail`, `blog`, `dashboard`, `studio`, `help`, `support`, `test` and `demo` are refused |
| Suggestion | Your site's name, cut to 40 characters |
| Live address | `https://your-site.uova.io` |

## Update a live site

Once the site is live the button reads **Update**. Clicking it opens a window that names your live address and offers three actions.

- **Update:** Sends your current draft live, replacing what visitors see now.
- **Change settings:** Opens the publish settings again.
- **Take offline:** Unpublishes the site after you confirm. The project stays in your account as a draft.

Your edits save to the draft automatically. Visitors keep seeing the last version you published until you click **Update**.

> **Tip:** Publishing does not save a version. Before a big change, open **Version history** in the editor and click **Save a version**, so you can restore today's state later.

## What visitors see

- Your site at `https://your-site.uova.io`. Older links in the form `www.uova.com/p/your-site` forward there.
- A **Made in UOVA** badge on sites owned by a Free account. Paid plans hide it on every site; there is no switch per site.
- A small **Report** link on every published site, so anyone can report abuse.
- Pages that search engines may index. Each site has its own `robots.txt` and `sitemap.xml`. To keep one page out, turn on **Hide from search engines** in that page's **SEO** tab.

A brand-new address can take up to about a minute to start answering.

## Use your own domain

Custom domains are on paid plans. When a domain is connected and set as primary, `your-site.uova.io` forwards to it. See [Connect a domain you own](https://www.uova.com/help/build/domains/connect-your-own-domain) or [Buy a domain](https://www.uova.com/help/build/domains/buy-a-domain).

## If publishing stops

| What you see | Why | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A page still mentions the template's sample business | The site was started from a template and its sample name is still in your copy | Replace the name on the page it names, then publish again |
| The address is taken | Another site already uses it | Choose a different address |
| The address cannot change | The site has been published before | Keep it, or take the site offline and publish again |
| The site was changed in another tab or device | A newer copy of the site exists | Reload the editor to get the latest copy, then publish |
| The content was blocked | Something on the site breaks the content rules | Edit or remove that content and try again |
| Too many attempts | More than 10 publish requests in a minute | Wait a minute and try again |

## Common questions

**Does publishing cost credits?**

No. Publishing and updating a site do not use credits, and every plan can publish, including Free.

**Will I get an email when my site is live?**

No. UOVA does not send a confirmation email. The publish window shows your live address when it finishes.

**Does UOVA tell Google about my site?**

Not automatically: publishing does not notify search engines. Your site can be indexed by default, and its sitemap is at `/sitemap.xml` on your address if you want to submit it yourself.

**Can I change my address later?**

Only by taking the site offline and publishing it again, which frees the old address. Anyone using the old link will no longer reach the site.

**How do I take my site offline?**

In the editor, click **Update**, choose **Take offline** and confirm. Or, in your dashboard, open the site's **Site settings**, then **Danger zone**, then **Unpublish**. The project stays in your account as a draft.

**What do visitors see while I edit?**

The last version you published. Edits stay in your draft until you click **Update**.

Source: https://www.uova.com/help/build/publish/publish-your-site