Use this guide to turn an existing Cedros site into a website you can share: add your business details, create a useful page, publish it, and check the result as a visitor.
The example below is an About us page. Use your own business details and a real contact address. You can follow the same process for a services or information page.
Before you begin
If you do not have a site yet, follow Creating your first Cedros site, then return here.
Sign in to your own site’s admin. You need permission to change Site settings and create or publish pages. If you joined someone else’s team and a control is unavailable, ask the site administrator for access.
Have a short business description, a public contact email, and any images you want to use ready. You can complete the page-writing steps without connecting an AI provider, calendar, or payment service.
Working on an existing website? Site settings save automatically. In the visual page builder, Save publishes changes to an already-published page. For a new page, Save draft keeps your work private until you choose Publish. Review changes before saving a live page.
Add your business details
In the admin sidebar, open Settings → Site and stay on the Site tab.
- Under Site title and description, enter your Site title and Site description. Use the name customers recognize and a sentence explaining what you offer.
- Under How customers reach you, add the Email and Phone you want customers to use. Include the country and area code in the phone number. Expand Hours or Business address if those details apply to your business.
- Open Advanced. Check Site type, Business locale, and Primary site goal. The locale controls date, time, and number formatting; public website languages are configured separately on the Languages tab.
- Allow the automatic save to finish and resolve any displayed error. Reopen the section to confirm the values were saved.
For example, a bike repair shop might use “Harbor Cycle Repair” as its title and “Bicycle servicing and repairs in Portland, with weekday appointments” as its description. Avoid claims or opening hours you have not confirmed.
Your site description is used for the homepage when it does not have a custom SEO description. Contact details appear on the public contact page. Your primary goal helps the Dashboard prioritize insights and recommendations.
For hours, addresses, and other business details, see Setting up your business information. Check the public contact page to confirm customers see the correct information.
Build your first page
Open Site → Pages in the sidebar.
- Choose New page, then Use Page Builder to open a new visual page.
- Enter About us as the Page title. Its route fills in automatically as
/about-us. A route is the part of the web address after your domain. - Check that the route is available. If Cedros reports a conflict, choose a different route or return to Pages and edit the existing About page.
- Choose Start with an empty section, then select the empty cell and choose a block from Add to page. Select the block on the canvas to edit it. Use + Add section when you need another section.
- Write the page using the example structure below, replacing every example with your own information.
Opening: say what you do, who you help, and where you work. For example: “We repair commuter and family bicycles in Portland.”
Useful detail: explain what a customer needs to know before contacting you. For the repair shop, this could include the types of repairs offered, whether an appointment is needed, and what to bring.
Next step: give the reader one clear action. If you do not have a booking page or form ready, include a working public contact email. Do not add a “Book now” or “Buy” link until its destination works.
Use an image only if it helps explain the business or service. Add a useful text description for readers who cannot see it. Check names, prices, availability, and contact details before saving.
Generate with AI is optional and uses the site's configured AI provider. Check the provider setup and usage costs before generating, then review the text and links before publishing.
Editing a page you already have? Return to Pages, find its row, and choose the pencil-shaped Edit action. Built-in pages can have locked identity fields; edit their content without trying to change those fields.
Save, review, and publish
For the new page you just created:
- Choose Save draft to keep your new page as a draft.
- Open Preview. Review the Desktop and Mobile Web views, including the whole page, images, and links.
- If you need a saved preview to open separately or share with a reviewer, select Generate share link. After saving further draft changes, use Update share link to include them. Treat this link as private: anyone with it can view that preview.
- Correct any problems and review the page again. If publishing is unavailable, read the displayed explanation and resolve the listed issues.
- Choose Publish when the page is ready for visitors.
- Return to Pages, confirm the published status, and use the eye-shaped View action to open the public page.
For an already-published page, Save publishes the changes. Preview your edits before using it. Article editors for blogs and docs have separate draft and publishing controls; see Understanding drafts, previews, and publishing for those workflows.
Check the result: the public page should show the exact text you reviewed, at the route you chose. Keep that address for the visitor check below.
Publishing makes the page available at its address. Use Site → Menus to add it to your website navigation, then confirm visitors can reach it from the homepage. See Editing desktop and mobile navigation for the menu steps.
Choose your site’s appearance
You can keep the current theme while preparing your content. To change it, open Settings → Appearance, find the Theme card, and choose Browse themes.
- Select a theme card to open its review.
- Use Preview theme to compare the proposed theme with your current one when that control appears.
- Use Preview appearance to check Light and Dark. Choose Expand on a preview to inspect the page at a larger size.
- Choose Apply theme, read the confirmation, and choose Apply theme again to confirm.
A preview labeled sample uses example content. Check your own published page after applying the theme as well.
Applying a theme changes the site’s colors, typography, and layout defaults. Your pages and content stay in place. See Choosing and applying a theme for more detail.
Check the result: open your published page again. Make sure headings are readable, images fit, and the main action is easy to find. You can return to the theme library and apply the previous theme if needed.
Check what visitors can access
Open Settings → Site → Access and review Site mode before announcing your website.
Choose the mode that matches your intentions. A site in Maintenance, Internal, or a holding-page mode may not show visitors the same experience you see while signed in. Switching modes asks you to confirm the change.
Search visibility is a separate setting. Allowing a site to appear in search results does not make it appear in Google immediately.
For details on site modes and visitor restrictions, see Controlling when your site is public.
If you need a custom domain, follow Connecting a domain you already own. Keep existing website and email records until you have confirmed which records need to change. Connecting a website domain does not migrate an existing mailbox.
Check the result: open the public page address in a private browser window. Confirm that a visitor can reach the intended page without your admin session.
Test the next step
Start at your public homepage and follow the route a customer would take to your new page. Repeat on your phone.
- Contact by email: check the address on the page, send it a message from another account, and reply. Confirm that the reply arrives.
- Inquiry form: submit it, check the confirmation, and find the submission in Cedros before relying on it.
- Booking: check that the linked booking page offers the intended appointment and available times, then verify a test booking reaches the expected calendar.
- Purchase: use your payment provider’s supported test process and verify both the payment result and any promised access or confirmation.
Only test the path you actually offer. An About page with accurate information and a working contact address is a useful first release; you can add bookings or commerce afterward.
Fix common setup problems
Your changes disappeared after leaving Settings. Reopen the section and check the saved values. If an error or unsaved status remains, resolve it before leaving again.
The page still shows old text. Confirm you are opening the correct public route. In the visual page builder, review your edits and use Save for an already-published page, or Publish for a new draft. If saving fails, resolve the displayed error before checking the public page again.
The preview is outdated or will not open. For a new draft, save the latest changes and choose Update share link. For a live page, review unsaved edits in the builder’s Preview before saving, because Save publishes them. If previewing still fails, ask your site administrator for help before publishing.
The public page shows a holding page or asks you to sign in. Check Site mode under Settings → Site → Access and any access requirements on the page. Test again in a private window after an intentional change.
A setting or publishing control is unavailable. Read the displayed explanation and ask your administrator for the access or setup it requires. See Why can’t I see or edit a feature?.
Once the public page is reachable and its contact or customer action works, use Choosing which features to set up first to decide what to add. Before announcing the site, follow Your website launch checklist.