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How Do I Edit My Squarespace Site Without Going Live?

Last updated on April 9, 2023 @ 10:42 am

There are two ways to edit your Squarespace site without going live. The first way is to use the Private function and the second way is to use the Duplicate function.

1. Set your website to Private.

This allows you to make changes to your site without those changes being visible to the public.

To enable the Private function, open your Squarespace website and go to Settings.

From there, open the Site Availability settings of your website.

NOTE: Here, you can see if your site is currently set to Public, Private, or Password Protected.

In the Site Availability settings window, select the “Private” option. With the Private option selected, only contributors will be able to see the site and the changes made to it.

2. Duplicate your website.

This creates a duplicate of your site that you can work on without affecting your live site.

To duplicate your website, simply go to your Squarespace account’s dashboard and select the website that you would like to duplicate. Click on the three dots icon and select the “Duplicate Website” option from here.

Wait for the duplication process of the website to be done. This may take a while, depending on how much content data your website has. Once done, you will see a copy of your website in the dashboard. You can edit this copy to your preference without the changes going live on the original site.

PRO TIP: If you are not careful, editing your Squarespace site can result in your site going live before you are ready. This can be disastrous if you are unprepared, so save your work frequently and preview your changes before publishing them.

Once you’re done making changes, set the Site Availability to “Public” and your changes will go live. If the Public option is unavailable, your Squarespace website might still be in the free trial version. To publish your website, simply click on the “Upgrade to Publish” button. This will make the Public option available, and you will be able to make your website go live.

Conclusion:

You can edit your Squarespace site without going live by using either the Private function or the Duplicate function. Simply make your changes and set your site availability to “Public” when you’re done.

Kathy McFarland

Kathy McFarland

Devops woman in trade, tech explorer and problem navigator.