Publishing overview
How publishing works, from a first click to a live URL.
To publish a PageFork site: subscribe to hosting for that site, then click Publish in the editor. The current version is deployed to your free *.pagefork.ai subdomain and any custom domains you’ve connected. Go live usually takes under 30 seconds.
Publishing takes the current version of your site and serves it at a public
URL — your free *.pagefork.ai subdomain by default, and any custom
domains you’ve connected.
The three steps
- Subscribe to hosting for the site. One subscription per site, monthly or yearly. See Hosting subscriptions.
- Click Publish in the editor toolbar. PageFork builds a static snapshot of the current version and pushes it to the CDN.
- Visit your live URL. Your site is live at
yoursubdomain.pagefork.aiwithin a few seconds. Any connected custom domains serve the same content.
First publish vs republish
- Publish (first time) appears when the site has never been published.
- Republish appears after the first publish. It snapshots the current version again and updates the live site.
Republishing is instant — visitors see the new version within seconds of the CDN cache clearing. Editing the site does not automatically update the live version; you must republish.
Where to find the Publish button
The Publish / Republish button lives in the editor toolbar, top-right. If the site has no active hosting subscription, you’ll see a Subscribe option instead, with monthly and yearly plans.
What “live” includes
- All pages in the current version.
- All assets (images, fonts, scripts).
- All forms (submissions flow into your Submissions inbox).
- Your subdomain and every verified custom domain.
What doesn’t happen automatically
- SEO. You’re responsible for the copy, structure, and metadata of your pages. Prompt PageFork for titles, descriptions, and OG images.
- Analytics. PageFork doesn’t bundle an analytics provider. Add one by prompting (“add Plausible with site ID …”).