How do I redo my Wix website without losing it?

Before you change anything

1. 01

   Duplicate the site

   In your dashboard, open Site Actions and choose Duplicate Site. Wix says changes to the copy don’t affect your live site, though store orders, contacts and members, email campaigns and third-party app settings don’t copy over.

2. 02

   Name a restore point

   Open Site History from the Site menu in the editor and rename the latest version, for example “Before redo”. Site History records every save and publish, with the date and the email of whoever made it.

3. 03

   Know what Site History can’t undo

   Restoring a version erases everything saved after it, and some parts don’t roll back: content in Wix apps such as Stores, Blog and Bookings, your contacts, CMS collection content, galleries and the site-wide SEO settings.

Rebuild one page at a time

Work on a copy of the page instead of the live one. In Pages & Menu, duplicate the page, hide the copy from your menu, and rebuild it with pre-designed sections and your own photos.

Save as often as you like. Wix’s saving guide says changes reach the internet only when you publish, and autosave starts after your first manual save.

Finish each page at the footer: a current copyright year, your address and a link to your privacy policy.

That figure comes from Katsa’s review of 171 builder and remodeler websites. Privacy policy basics covers what the page should say.

Fix the mobile layout

Wix builds the mobile version from your desktop site. In the mobile editor, desktop changes carry over to mobile, but changes you make on mobile stay on mobile.

Wix also hides elements on mobile when they sit outside the gridlines or there isn’t room for them. Open the Hidden on Mobile panel and check that your phone number, headline and photos aren’t in it.

Then check your phone number. Wix turns a number typed into a text box into a clickable one and suggests including the country and area code, but nobody can tap a number inside an image. After you publish, open the site on your phone and tap it; tap-to-call steps covers the fixes.

Preview, then publish

1. Click Preview and check every page you changed, on desktop and on mobile.
2. When the copy of a page is ready, set it as your homepage in Pages & Menu, then publish.
3. If you changed any page address, open the URL Redirect Manager after publishing. Wix adds a 301 redirect for regular pages when their address changes, but not for blog posts.
4. For a cautious launch, deploy a test site and choose in the Release Manager what share of visitors sees it. This only works after you’ve published the site at least once.

If something breaks after publishing, open Site History, restore the version you named, and publish again. Wix lets you restore and republish an older version at any time.

When a redo isn’t the right job

If you want a different template rather than a new look, Wix makes you start a new site, and changing your Wix template covers that route. If you’re unsure whether the site needs a redo at all, redesign or fix helps you decide.

Katsa rebuilds the home page inside your current Wix site, in your own account, and you see it on your site before it goes live. The Wix page explains how.