Chapter 6: Publish and Custom Domains

How to publish your site, connect your own domain, configure SSL, and understand URLs.

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6.1 Publish Your Site

Difference between Save and Publish

How to publish

1. In the builder, click "Publish" (or Ctrl/Cmd + P)
2. Select which pages to publish (default: all)
3. Click "Confirm"
4. Wait for HTML generation
5. We show you the URL: ``` https://slug.mypagegenius.com https://slug.mypagegenius.com/about https://slug.mypagegenius.com/services https://slug.mypagegenius.com/contact ```

What publishing includes

• ✅ Optimized static HTML (no React, no heavy server)
• ✅ Inline CSS (loads instantly, no waiting for external files)
• ✅ Minimal JavaScript: mobile menu, forms, analytics, scroll-reveal
• ✅ Automatic Schema.org JSON-LD (for Google)
• ✅ Automatic sitemap.xml and robots.txt
• ✅ WebP images with srcset (adapts to screen size)
• ✅ Favicon and meta tags (OG image for social media)
• ✅ Automatic Header and Footer on all pages

Republish

Every time you edit and publish, a new version is generated. The URL doesn't change.

Example of a published site:

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6.2 Your Site URLs

Free subdomain (default)

https://slug.mypagegenius.com              → Home
https://slug.mypagegenius.com/about        → About
https://slug.mypagegenius.com/services     → Services
https://slug.mypagegenius.com/contact      → Contact

The slug is chosen when you create the project. It can be changed later in Settings.

Change the slug

1. In the builder, click ⚙️ Config
2. Go to General
3. Edit the Slug field
4. Save and publish

Warning: The previous URL stops working immediately. If you shared the old link, people will see a 404.

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6.3 Custom Domains

Connect your own domain (e.g., myshop.com) instead of using the PageGenius subdomain.

Requirements

• Pro plan or higher (Free doesn't include domains)
• A domain purchased from any registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, Google Domains, Hostinger, etc.)
• Access to your registrar's DNS panel

Step by step

Step 1: Add the domain in PageGenius

1. Go to your project → Domains
2. Enter your domain: myshop.com (without www, without https://)
3. Click "Add Domain"

Step 2: Configure DNS at your registrar

Create ONE SINGLE A record:

Screenshot of the domains page:

Guides by registrar:

• GoDaddy: My Products → Domain → DNS Settings → Add A Record
• Namecheap: Domain List → Manage → Advanced DNS → Add A Record
• Cloudflare: DNS → Add Record → Type A

Step 3: Wait for propagation

• Minimum: 5 minutes
• Average: 15-30 minutes
• Maximum: 24 hours

Step 4: Automatic verification

PageGenius checks your domain every few minutes. When it detects that DNS points to us, the status changes to "Active".

Domain statuses

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6.4 SSL (Green Lock)

PageGenius uses automatic SSL through Cloudflare.

What is SSL

The green lock 🔒 in the browser bar. It means the connection between the visitor and your site is encrypted.

How it activates

1. Your domain must be in "Active" status
2. Cloudflare issues the SSL certificate automatically
3. The lock appears within 5-30 minutes after activation

Problem: "My domain is active but I don't see the lock"

• Cause: Cloudflare hasn't issued the certificate yet, or you have mixed content (some images loading over HTTP).
• Solution: Wait 30 minutes. If it persists, force HTTPS in Cloudflare: SSL/TLS → Full (strict).

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6.5 Subdomains

If you want a specific section of your site on a subdomain:

landing.myshop.com    → Landing page
app.myshop.com        → (doesn't apply, PageGenius doesn't do apps)
blog.myshop.com       → (use the /blog page of your project)

How to do it:

1. In your registrar, create an A record with Host=landing (not @)
2. The value is still 195.26.248.6
3. In PageGenius, add landing.myshop.com as a domain

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6.6 Sitemap.xml and Robots.txt

PageGenius generates these files automatically for each published site:

Sitemap.xml

https://slug.mypagegenius.com/sitemap.xml

Lists all pages of your site for Google to index.

Robots.txt

https://slug.mypagegenius.com/robots.txt

Tells Google bots which pages they can crawl.

You don't need to do anything. They're auto-generated with each publish.

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6.7 Publishing Problems and Solutions

"Publish failed"

• Cause: Rendering error in some widget, or server timeout.
• Solution:
• Check that no widgets have empty required fields
• Try publishing again
• If it persists, contact support

"My published site looks different from the builder"

• Cause: The builder uses a preview environment. Some styles may render slightly differently live.
• Solution: Use "Preview" before publishing. If there are big differences (colors, fonts, broken layouts), contact support.

"My site returns 404"

• Cause: The project was deleted, or the slug changed.
• Solution: Check that the project exists and is published. If you changed the slug, the previous URL no longer works.

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Domain Problems and Solutions

"Pending DNS for more than 2 hours"

Check your DNS:

1. Go to whatsmydns.net
2. Enter your domain
3. Select type A
4. Click Search
5. If you DON'T see 195.26.248.6 on most servers → the problem is at your registrar

Common causes:

• ❌ Used CNAME instead of A
• ❌ IP has spaces or is misspelled
• ❌ There's an old A record with a different IP
• ❌ On Cloudflare, you have the orange proxy turned on (set it to "DNS only")

"SSL doesn't appear (no lock)"

1. Wait 30 minutes after the domain is "Active"
2. If you use Cloudflare: SSL/TLS → Full (strict)
3. Force HTTPS: add a redirect rule in Cloudflare

"Domain is already in use"

• That domain is connected to another PageGenius project
• Solution: Go to the other project → Domains → Delete the domain → Go back to your project and add it

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Chapter 6 Summary

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Next chapter: Chapter 7: Analytics and Leads