Save, Publish, and Apply

After editing code in Essepage, you save your work and then publish or apply it when it is ready for the public site.

Each action has a different purpose.

• Save: Saves your work in the development environment.
• Publish: Publishes a new page for the first time.
• Apply Changes: Applies saved changes to an existing public page.
• Apply All: Applies changes to multiple public pages at once.

The basic workflow is:

Edit code → Save → Preview → Publish or apply → Check the public page

This guide explains the differences between these actions and when to use each one.

Saving and Publishing Are Different

Saving a file and changing the site that visitors see are separate actions.

Saving a file multiple times does not change the public site.

To change the page that visitors see, save your work and then use Publish, Apply Changes, or Apply All.

Saving Your Work

When you edit and save a file, the changes are stored as the working version in the development environment.

Use the following keyboard shortcut to save a file:

• macOS: Cmd + S
• Windows or Linux: Ctrl + S

For example, suppose you have the following heading:

<h1>Welcome to My Website</h1>

Change it to the following and save the file:

<h1>Welcome to My New Website</h1>

You can check the saved changes in Preview. However, the public site that visitors see still displays the previous content.

Saving changes the working version in the development environment, but it does not change the public site.

This allows you to save your work and check the result as often as needed while editing.

Live Preview Still Requires Saving

Live Preview lets you see code changes immediately before saving the file.

However, changes appearing in the Preview pane does not mean that the file has been saved automatically.

Always save the file after you finish editing if you want to keep your changes.

Live Preview quickly shows the result of your code changes, but it does not save your work.

If you close the file or reload the page without saving, you may lose your changes.

To learn more, see Editing and Preview.

Publishing a New Page

When you create a new page file, the page has not been published yet.

For example, suppose you create the following page file:

/public/about/+page.essepage

To publish the saved file:

1. Right-click /public/about/+page.essepage in the file explorer.
2. Select Publish.
3. After publishing, you can open the page in Preview or visit the public page.

Publishing this file creates a page at the /about path.

If the project’s default site URL is:

https://espg.dev/my-website

the public page URL will be:

https://espg.dev/my-website/about

New Pages Must Be Published Before They Can Be Previewed

Preview is available for +page.essepage files that have been published at least once.

When creating a new page, it is often helpful to write and save some basic content before publishing it.

<h1>About</h1>

<p>Welcome to the About page.</p>

After publishing the page, you can continue editing it while checking the result in Preview.

Saving additional changes will not immediately update the public site. When the changes are ready, use Apply Changes.

Use Publish the first time and Apply Changes for later updates.

Working on a Hidden Page

A new page must first be published before it can be opened in Preview.

Publishing the page also makes it accessible through its public URL. Other people are unlikely to know the address of a newly created page, but you may still prefer not to expose an unfinished page to visitors.

In this case, publish the page and then immediately right-click the file and select Hide from Public.

A hidden page is still treated as published in the development environment, so you can continue using Preview while working on it. On the public site, however, the page is treated as if it does not exist, and visitors cannot access it.

The workflow for a hidden page is:

1. Create and save the new page file.
2. Publish the file.
3. Right-click the published file.
4. Select Hide from Public.
5. Edit and save the page while checking it in Preview.
6. When the page is ready, select Apply Changes.
7. Select Show to Public.
8. Check the completed public page.

Create a file → Save → Publish → Hide from Public → Edit and preview → Apply Changes → Show to Public

Hiding a page does not undo its published status. It temporarily prevents visitors from accessing the page on the public site.

Hide from Public does not replace Publish. Publish the page first, then hide it from the public site while you work on it.

Applying Changes to a Published Page

Use Apply Changes after editing a page that has already been published.

The homepage created from a project template is already published. Therefore, after editing the homepage, use Apply Changes rather than Publish.

To apply changes:

1. Save the file.
2. Check the saved result in Preview.
3. Right-click the relevant +page.essepage file in the file explorer.
4. Select Apply Changes.
5. After the changes are applied, select Open Page to check the public page.

For example, if you edited the homepage, apply the changes to:

/public/+page.essepage

Apply Changes affects only the selected page. Other published pages are not updated.

If you changed only one page, using Apply Changes on that page is the simplest option.

Applying Changes to Multiple Pages

Layouts and components can be shared across multiple pages.

For example, a layout may contain:

• Site navigation
• A header
• A footer
• A shared page structure

Changing a menu in a layout can affect every page that uses that layout.

Use Apply All when you need to apply shared changes to multiple published pages.

Before using Apply All:

1. Save the files you changed.
2. Check the affected pages in Preview.
3. When everything is ready, select Apply All.
4. Open important public pages and check the result.

Apply All reapplies every published page. If you changed only one page, it is better to use Apply Changes on that page.

You can also use Apply All after editing several pages when you want to apply their changes at once.

Use Apply All after changing shared code, such as a layout or component used by multiple pages.

Which Action Should You Use?

Choose an action based on what you are working on.

You Created a New Page

Save → Publish → Preview

A new page must first be published before it can be opened in Preview.

After its first publication, save additional changes, check them in Preview, and then use Apply Changes.

You Want to Work on a New Page Without Showing It on the Public Site

Save → Publish → Hide from Public → Preview → Apply Changes → Show to Public

The page must first be published before Preview becomes available.

If you do not want visitors to see the page before it is complete, select Hide from Public immediately after publishing it.

You Edited a Published Page

Save → Preview → Apply Changes

Use this workflow when editing the homepage created from a template or any other published page.

Saving and previewing the page does not change the public site, so you can wait until your work is complete before applying the changes.

You Edited a Layout or Component

Save → Preview affected pages → Apply All

Use this workflow to update multiple public pages affected by shared code.

Checking the Public Page

After publishing or applying changes, check the result on the public page.

In the file explorer, published page files appear in green. Right-click a published page file and select Open Page to open it in a new tab.

You can also:

• Open the Site URL from the project dashboard.
• Enter the public page URL directly in the browser.
• Refresh the page if it is already open.

After applying changes, the cache may take up to one minute to update.

If the public page still shows the previous content, wait a moment and refresh it.

Basic Workflows

The basic workflow for editing an existing public page is:

Edit → Save → Preview → Apply Changes → Check the public page

The basic workflow for creating a new page is:

Write basic content → Save → Publish → Preview → Edit and save → Apply Changes

To work on a new page without showing it to visitors, hide it immediately after publishing.

Create a file → Save → Publish → Hide from Public → Edit and preview → Apply Changes → Show to Public

If you edit a file that affects multiple pages, such as a layout or component, check the result in Preview and then use Apply All.

Understanding the difference between saving and publishing allows you to update your website safely without exposing work in progress to visitors.

Common Situations

I Saved the File, but the Public Site Did Not Change

This is expected behavior.

Saving changes only updates the development environment. To change the public site, use Publish, Apply Changes, or Apply All.

Preview Is Not Available for a New Page

Preview is available for +page.essepage files that have been published at least once.

Save the new page and then Publish it.

If you are concerned about exposing an unfinished page, select Hide from Public immediately after publishing it. You can continue using Preview while the page is hidden.

Apply Changes Appears Instead of Publish

This means the page has already been published.

Use Apply Changes when updating an existing public page.

Publish Appears Instead of Apply Changes

This means the page has never been published.

Use Publish when making a new page public for the first time.

Preview Is Still Available After Hiding a Page

This is expected behavior.

Hiding a page only prevents visitors from accessing it on the public site. The page is still treated as published in the development environment, so you can continue using Preview and Apply Changes.

Some Public Pages Did Not Update After Editing a Layout

If you changed a file shared by multiple pages, such as a layout or component, use Apply All.

After Apply All finishes, check the important public pages again.

The Public Page Still Shows the Previous Content

The cache may not have updated yet.

Wait up to one minute and refresh the public page.

I Lost Changes That Appeared in Live Preview

Live Preview does not save files automatically.

After editing, use Cmd + S or Ctrl + S to save the file.

Next Steps

After learning the differences between saving, publishing, and applying changes, continue with the following guides:

• Manage the files and folders in your project: Managing Files and Folders
• Check errors and runtime messages: Console and Debugging
• Learn how files and folders determine page URLs: Pages and URLs
• Reuse shared code across multiple pages: Layouts and Components