How to update your website safely and roll back a bad version
A website is never quite finished: prices change, new work appears, a sentence reads better another way. Updates are also where things break. On aiput.site every publication is kept as a version, so a bad update is a minute's trouble, not a disaster.
How versions work
- Every publication creates a new version at the same address.
- Up to the 10 most recent versions of each site are kept; older ones are removed automatically.
- Rolling back makes an earlier version live again. Its files are already on the server, so it takes seconds and uploads nothing.
- A rollback does not delete the newer version: you can switch back to it.
A safe routine for updates
- Describe the change precisely. "In the prices section, change Group lesson to 25 euros. Do not change anything else."
- Look before you publish. Open
index.htmlin your browser, or ask the agent to show you what exactly it changed. - Publish: "update the website".
- Check the live site on your phone: the part you changed, and the main button.
Rolling back
Show me the versions of this site with dates.
The agent lists them. Then:
Roll back to the version from yesterday evening.
A few seconds later that version is live. Now you can fix the problem calmly and publish again.
Keep your working folder
The versions on aiput.site are there for rolling back. They are not a backup of your files: there is no way to download them. Your working copy is the folder on your computer, so keep it, ideally in a synced folder such as iCloud Drive, Google Drive or Dropbox. On another computer, you will need that folder.
If you have several sites
Give them clear names: "Rename the site to Bakery — main". The agent then updates the right one. Renaming keeps the address and the versions.
Mistakes to avoid
- Many changes at once. If something breaks, it is hard to tell which change did it.
- Publishing from an old copy of the folder. The site goes back in time, along with everything you changed since.
- Deleting the site to start fresh. Deleting removes the site with all its versions, and a new site gets a new address. Update it instead.
Something already broke after an update? Seven common mistakes may have the answer.