Publish your website on your domain

Until it is connected to a domain, your website only exists as a private preview: protected by a password and hidden from search engines. Publishing makes it available to everyone at your address (for example my-business.com), with the SSL certificate that shows the padlock in the browser. This guide covers both publishing modes, domains bought from Upkyo or elsewhere, and the checks to run before going live.

Before you start

• Read through your pages: sample text replaced, correct contact details, working links.
• Fill in the legal information in the Business panel: it feeds your website's Legal notice and Privacy pages. The required fields are the company name or the owner's name, the legal form, the company registration number and the publication director.
• If you don't have a domain name yet, you can buy one directly from the publishing window (see also Register a domain name).

Publish on your domain step by step

1. In the editor, click Publish at the top right. The Put your website online window opens.
2. Choose On your domain name.
3. Select your domain in the matching tab:

   • My domains: a domain already registered in your Upkyo account;
   • Buy a domain: type the name you want, click Check, then Buy next to an available name and pay the invoice in the window that opens;
   • Domain bought elsewhere: type your domain, for example my-business.com.
4. Review the checklist shown: SSL certificate, titles and descriptions for Google, business contact details, legal notice and privacy.
5. If a legal detail is missing, click Complete in Business, fill in the fields, then open Publish again.
6. Click Publish now.
7. For a domain bought elsewhere, create the two A records shown at your registrar (see below).
8. Click View website to check the result.

Upkyo domain or external domain: what is the difference?

Domain registered with Upkyo. In My domains, a domain marked Automatic setup is connected to your website with nothing to do: Studio sets the DNS for you when you publish. If you have just bought the domain, the window updates by itself once payment is received, usually in under a minute.

Domain bought elsewhere. After publishing, Studio shows Last step: connect your domain with an IP address. At your domain provider, create two A records:

• one for the bare domain (often written @), pointing to the IP address shown;
• one for www, pointing to the same IP address.

Delete any old A or CNAME records pointing elsewhere for these two names, otherwise the website may only show up some of the time. How DNS records work is explained in Edit your DNS records.

How long until the website appears?

With an Upkyo domain, there is nothing to set up: Studio connects the domain for you. With an external domain, the website appears as soon as the DNS change is picked up: from a few minutes to a few hours, depending on the cache duration (TTL) of the old records. If nothing changes after a few hours, read Why is my DNS change not visible yet?.

The SSL certificate is free and automatic. It is created on the first visit, once the domain points to Upkyo: the website then switches to HTTPS with the padlock (see Activate the free SSL certificate).

Show the website before launch: the private preview

In the publishing window, choose Private preview, no domain. Pick a password of at least 6 characters, then click Create the private preview. Studio gives you a link to share along with the password: ideal for getting the website approved by a partner or a client. The preview never appears on Google.

Update or take down a published website

• After each change, click Publish, then Update the website. A version is kept in the backup history every time you publish.
• The Take the website offline button at the top of the publishing window takes the website down. Your work stays in the editor.
• If you rename the address of a page that is already live, Studio creates a redirect from the old address to the new one by itself.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the Publish now button greyed out?

You need a valid domain name and complete legal information. For a public website, the law requires the publisher to be identified: Studio lists what is missing and offers the Complete in Business button.

Can I publish my website without a domain name?

The public website is always served on a domain name. Without one, you can create a password-protected private preview, hidden from search engines, while you choose a domain.

My website says "not secure", what should I do?

Check that both A records point to the IP address shown by Studio, then open the website once: the certificate is created on that visit. If the warning is still there after a few hours, contact support by ticket.

Can I connect a domain I already use for email?

Yes. The website's A records and the email MX records are independent. Only change the A records for your domain and www, and leave the MX records alone.