Backing Up Unpublished Changes to Your Website Theme

The Previously Published page lets you restore previously published versions of your website and create backups of unpublished website changes before making major updates, such as changing themes.

Backing up unpublished changes creates a recovery point for your current working copy before the system applies a major website change. This helps preserve customizations and reduces the risk of losing work while updating your website design.

Website snapshots are also created automatically when publishing your website. These retained snapshots allow you to restore earlier website versions if required.

Snapshot retention is automatically managed to help maintain system performance. Older snapshots may be removed over time, while pinned snapshots are retained until manually unpinned.

In This Article

• Why use website snapshots?
• Prerequisites
• View previously published versions
• Back up unpublished changes
• Restore a previous website version
• Pin a website snapshot
• Best practices
• Troubleshooting
• FAQs
• Additional resources

Why use website snapshots?

Website snapshots provide a safety net when updating your website. The system remembers previously published versions and backup points so you can restore an earlier state if needed.

• Back up unpublished changes before changing themes
• Recover from unwanted design or layout changes
• Restore a working version after testing updates
• Safely experiment with themes and content changes
• Retain important milestone versions by pinning snapshots
• Reduce the risk of permanently losing website configurations

Restoring a snapshot replaces your current working copy with the selected version. After restoring, you can continue editing or publish the restored version live.

Prerequisites

View previously published versions

Use the Previously Published page to review retained website snapshots, including when they were created and what triggered the snapshot.

To view previously published website versions

1. Log in to your DecoNetwork Admin.
2. Go to Admin → Websites.
3. Click Manage for the website you want to manage.

4. Click Edit Website → Previously Published in the left menu.

   

   A list of all the previously backed up versions of your website is displayed.

   

   The Previously Published page displays retained website snapshots, including publish dates, snapshot details, the user who triggered the change, and available restore or pin options.

   

   The Previously Published page displays retained website snapshots, including publish dates, snapshot details, the user who triggered the change, and available restore or pin options.

The snapshot list displays:

• Version: the retained snapshot version number
• Date: when the snapshot was created
• Details: the action that triggered the snapshot
• User: the user who performed the action
• Pin: lets you retain the snapshot indefinitely
• Restore: restores the selected version

Back up unpublished changes

DecoNetwork can create a backup of your unpublished website changes before major updates, such as changing website themes. This preserves your current working copy so it can be restored later if required.

When unpublished changes are backed up

• Before changing website themes
• Before applying certain major website updates
• When publishing website changes

Restore a previous website version

Restoring a website snapshot replaces your current working copy with the selected retained version. This allows you to revert unwanted changes while preserving your website editing workflow.

To restore a previously published website version

1. Go to Admin → Websites → Edit Website → Previously Published.
2. Locate the snapshot version you want to restore.
3. Click the Restore button beside the version.
4. Confirm the restore action when prompted.

Once restored, the selected snapshot becomes your active working copy. Review the website carefully before publishing the restored version live.

Pin a website snapshot

You can pin important website snapshots to prevent them from being removed by automatic snapshot retention cleanup.

Pinned snapshots are useful for retaining:

• Major website redesign milestones
• Seasonal website versions
• Stable fallback versions
• Important customer-approved layouts

To pin a website snapshot

1. Go to Admin → Websites → Edit Website → Previously Published.
2. Locate the snapshot you want to retain.
3. Click the Pin button.

Pinned snapshots remain available until manually unpinned, even when older snapshots are automatically cleaned up.

Best practices

• Pin important milestone versions before major redesigns
• Review your website after restoring a snapshot before publishing live
• Keep unnecessary snapshots unpinned so automatic cleanup can manage retention efficiently
• Use meaningful publishing workflows to reduce accidental overwrites
• Perform large website edits during low-traffic periods where possible

Troubleshooting

Older snapshots are missing

Older unpinned snapshots may have been automatically removed as part of the snapshot retention process.

The restored version is not live

Restoring a snapshot updates the working copy only. You must publish the website again to make the restored version live.

I accidentally restored the wrong version

Return to the Previously Published page and restore another retained snapshot if available.

FAQs

How many website snapshots are retained?

DecoNetwork retains up to the 20 most recent website snapshots. Older unpinned snapshots may be removed automatically over time as part of snapshot retention management.

Can I permanently keep a website snapshot?

Yes. Use the Pin option to retain a snapshot indefinitely until it is manually unpinned.

Are snapshots created automatically?

Yes. Snapshots are automatically created when publishing your website and before certain major website changes.

Does restoring a snapshot immediately update my live website?

No. Restoring updates the working copy only. You must publish the website for the restored version to go live.

Additional Resources

• How to Restore a Previously Published Version of the Website
• Restore Previously Published Website Version