Delete, duplicate, versions

Deleting an entry is a single gesture: one confirmation, and the entry leaves your workspace and your live site. Nothing you publish overwrites what was there before, though: every publish is kept as a dated version. This page walks through deletion, duplication and the history.

Delete an entry

The ⋯ menu offers Delete: at the end of each row in the entry list, or at the top of the entry when it is open. A confirmation shows up first: “The entry will be deleted and removed from the live site.”

That is exactly what happens: the entry leaves your workspace, and if it was published, your site rebuilds right away without it. There is nothing else to do, no publish step to think about.

Caution

Deletion is final: there is no trash for entries. When in doubt, duplicate the entry before cutting into it, or simply discard your current changes instead of deleting.

Two special cases:

• Unique content cannot be deleted (your home page, your contact details): your site is built to expect it, so the menu offers neither Delete nor Duplicate on those entries.
• The media library does keep a trash: a deleted file stays recoverable there for 30 days. It is described in Your images and documents.

Duplicate an entry

The same ⋯ menu offers Duplicate. The copy opens immediately:

• its title takes the original’s, followed by “(copy)”;
• its address is adjusted so it does not clash with the original;
• it is a draft: it will not appear on your site unless you publish it.

It is the right starting point to create a page close to an existing one (a new service, one more dish on the menu), or to try a rework without touching the original: you work on the copy, and only publish if you like the result.

The version history

On every publish, your workspace keeps a dated version of the entry: what was online, when, and who published it. Versions add up, none overwrites the previous one. That is also what makes working together safe: if two people edit the same entry, every saved state is kept.

Concretely, to go back:

• You no longer like your current changes? Discard changes, in the entry’s ⋯ menu, clears the draft and returns to the last published version. Details in Editing your content.
• Looking for a text published months ago? That version still exists. Your workspace does not list versions yet, but whoever manages your site can retrieve any of them and put it back in front of you.