Rolling back a bad publication: returning to a version or unpublishing on SITEKODO

In short: SITEKODO keeps every publication as a version in a ledger and stores the files of the last 5 publications. After a bad publication, "return to this version" rewrites that day's files. This does not rewind history; it opens a new row in the ledger. Unpublishing deletes the files but keeps the record.

Scenario: the wrong phone number was published

Picture a small repair shop's site. One evening the owner updated the phone number in the contact section and published the site. The next morning a customer said the number was missing a digit. The owner has two options: fix the number and publish again, or return to the previous version. The second is the quickest way if the version before the change is sound.

How does the publication ledger work?

Each publication is a row in the ledger: when, which version, which domain, which folder. The version number is unique within the site. The ledger keeps two kinds of rows: publication and rollback. The file content of the last 5 publications is kept; older rows stay as records but their content is pruned and you cannot return to that version. That is why the screen tells you up front, in the list, which versions can be returned to, not at the moment of error.

The reason for 5: the need to return arises from mistakes noticed within a few publications, not days later. Because each version carries the whole HTML of the site, unlimited storage would turn the database into a file server.

How do I return to a previous version?

1. Open the publish screen for your site.
2. In the version list find the last version that was not faulty; check the publication time.
3. Choose Return to this version.
4. Check the result at the live address. Your browser cache may show the old page; do a hard refresh.

A detail to know here: returning to a version is not regenerating from sections. That day's files are rewritten exactly. Your sections may have changed since that day; if we regenerated, we would publish not the "previous version" but an old shell of today's content.

Does returning to a version erase history?

No. Returning to a version is not a rewind but a new publication. A new row of the "rollback" kind is opened in the ledger, showing which version it returned from. Marking the old row live again would be shorter but would corrupt history; a ledger that shows what is done today rather than what happened then is not a trace.

What is unpublishing?

If you want to take the site off entirely, you choose unpublish. The files are deleted from the hosting account and the ledger row is marked "retracted". The record is not deleted; the fact that "this site was live on this date" remains.

| Action | What happens | What does not happen | |---|---|---| | Return to this version | That version's files are rewritten, a new ledger row opens | Not regenerated from sections | | Unpublish | Files are deleted, the row becomes retracted | The record is not deleted |

What happens to files I uploaded by hand?

A new publication or a return to a version first empties the publish folder. Files you added by hand (through file upload) are deleted at that time. So do not depend on a hand-uploaded file; add the images you need through image sections. The screen shows this warning near the publish button.

Are the domain and certificate affected?

No. Returning to a version or unpublishing affects only the files in the publish folder. Your domain, your DNS records and your secure-connection certificate stay as they are. After unpublishing, the domain keeps resolving but visitors find no files; so that visitors do not see an empty page, consider publishing a short notice page instead of unpublishing the site for long.

What should I do differently from now on?

• Before an important change, preview the site and read the contact details a second time.
• Split big changes into small parts and publish them separately; then finding the mistake is easy.
• After making a change, go to the live address and open it on your phone too.
• Know the version list on the publish screen: see beforehand which versions you can return to.

Limits

You cannot return to a version older than the last 5 publications. Rollback covers only published files; it does not undo draft changes in your sections. What the ledger keeps is the published output, so before deleting an important text it is a good habit to keep a copy in your own file.

Ready? Publish your site on SITEKODO.