Preview vs published site

Q: I changed something but my live site still shows the old version.

That's expected: click Republish . If you already did, reload the page in your browser (it may have kept an old copy in its cache).

Q: Can I send the preview to a client for feedback?

Share the project with them from Share (as Viewer to only look), or publish the site and send the public address.

A FromScratch project exists in two places: the preview, where the agent works and you test, and — once you publish — the published site that your visitors use. They look the same, but they are separate. Understanding the difference avoids most surprises.

The preview: your private workshop

The preview on the right of the project page is your app running live inside the project's workspace.

It changes as the agent works. Each edit shows up within seconds, sometimes while a step is still in progress.
It is private. Only you and the people you shared the project with see it, inside FromScratch. It is not an address to send to customers.
It sleeps. After a while without activity the workspace goes to sleep to save resources. Opening the project or sending a message wakes it up: you may see « Connecting to your workspace… » or « Waking up your workspace » for a few moments. Your files are always kept.
It can be slower. The preview runs in development mode. For shops, each page is prepared the first time you open it, so a first visit can take a little while; later visits are fast.

The published site: the public copy

When you click Publish, FromScratch builds a production version of your project — optimised and fast — and puts it online at its own HTTPS address.

It is public. Anyone with the address (or your own domain) can open it.
It is a copy. The live site is built from the state of your project at the moment you published. It does not follow the preview.
It does not change on its own. New edits in the preview stay in the preview until you click Republish.

	Preview	Published site
Who sees it	You and your collaborators	Everyone with the address
Updates	Live, as the agent works	Only when you Republish
Speed	Development mode, may be slower	Production build, fast
Address	Inside FromScratch	Its own HTTPS address, optionally your domain
Plan	Every plan	Starter and Pro

A safe way to work

Build and test in the preview, on Desktop and Mobile.
Publish when a coherent set of changes is ready.
Keep working in the preview — visitors still see the published version.
Republish when the next batch is ready.

If an experiment goes wrong in the preview, nothing changes online: open Versions and go back. See Versions: undo anything.

Tip
before your first publication, remove test content you don't want public (test sign-ups, fake reviews, placeholder texts). Ask the agent to list and clear it.

Example prompt

Before I publish: list any demo or test content still on the site (fake reviews, sample sign-ups, placeholder texts) and replace or remove it.

What is shared between the two

Variables apply to both: saving them updates the preview's settings and the live site. See Environment variables.
The site address and your domain belong to the published site only.

FAQ

I changed something but my live site still shows the old version.

That's expected: click Republish. If you already did, reload the page in your browser (it may have kept an old copy in its cache).

Can I send the preview to a client for feedback?

Share the project with them from Share (as Viewer to only look), or publish the site and send the public address.

Does the published site go to sleep like the preview?

The sleep described above applies to the project's workspace — the preview where the agent works. Your visitors use the published copy.