How to Unpublish a Website on OzSpeed Using hPanel

Unpublishing your website means temporarily taking it offline while preserving all your content and data. This can be useful if you need to perform maintenance, redesign your website, or resolve technical issues without making changes visible to visitors. With OzSpeed’s hPanel, you can easily unpublish your website and reactivate it when you’re ready. Here’s how to do it.

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Step 1: Backup Your Website #

Before unpublishing your website, it’s essential to create a backup to ensure you can restore your content if needed.

How to Create a Backup: #

1. Log in to your hPanel Dashboard at ozspeed.com.au.
2. Go to Files > Backups.
3. Click “Create New Backup” and wait for the process to complete.
4. Download the backup file for safekeeping.

Tip: #

• Store the backup file on your local computer or in cloud storage for extra security.

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Step 2: Activate Maintenance Mode #

The easiest way to unpublish your website without losing data is to enable Maintenance Mode. This will display a temporary “Under Maintenance” page to visitors.

How to Enable Maintenance Mode: #

1. In hPanel, go to Settings > Maintenance Mode.
2. Toggle the Enable Maintenance Mode switch.
3. Customize the maintenance message (e.g., “We’ll be back soon! Our website is currently undergoing maintenance.”).
4. Click Save to apply the changes.

Tip: #

• Use a clear and friendly message to inform visitors about the expected downtime.

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Step 3: Disable Website Hosting (Optional) #

If you need to take your website completely offline without showing a maintenance page, you can disable the hosting temporarily.

How to Disable Hosting: #

1. Go to Hosting > Manage Hosting in hPanel.
2. Click “Disable Hosting” for the website you want to unpublish.
3. Confirm the action when prompted.

Important Note: #

• Disabling hosting will make your website inaccessible, and visitors will see a “Server Not Found” error. Your files and data will remain intact.

Tip: #

• Use this option only if you need to take the website completely offline for an extended period.

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Step 4: Unpublish Using the Website Builder #

If you’re using OzSpeed’s Website Builder, you can unpublish the site directly within the editor.

How to Unpublish in Website Builder: #

1. Open Website Builder in hPanel.
2. Click on Settings > General.
3. Click “Unpublish Site” and confirm the action.
4. Wait for the process to complete. Your site will no longer be accessible to visitors.

Tip: #

• You can republish the site later by clicking “Publish” again in the Website Builder.

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Step 5: Pause DNS Settings (Optional) #

If you want to take the website offline without affecting the hosting account, you can pause the DNS settings.

How to Pause DNS: #

1. Go to Domains > DNS Settings in hPanel.
2. Temporarily disable the A Record or update it to point to a “Coming Soon” page.
3. Save the changes.

Important Note: #

• This will make your domain point to a temporary page or show a DNS error until you reactivate the settings.

Tip: #

• Use this method if you want to take the entire domain offline without deleting any files or configurations.

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Step 6: Test the Unpublished Status #

After unpublishing, make sure your website is offline and displaying the correct message or error.

How to Test: #

1. Open a new incognito window or clear your browser cache.
2. Enter your website’s URL (e.g., yourdomain.com).
3. Check that the “Under Maintenance” page or error message is displayed.

Tip: #

• Use a tool like Down For Everyone Or Just Me to verify that the site is offline for all users.

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Step 7: Notify Your Audience (Optional) #

If you have an active user base or clients, consider sending a notification about the website downtime.

How to Notify: #

1. Email Notification: Send an email to your subscribers informing them of the planned maintenance and expected downtime.
2. Social Media Update: Post a message on your social media channels to keep your audience informed.

Tip: #

• Include an estimated time for when the website will be back online to manage user expectations.

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Step 8: Republish Your Website When Ready #

When you’re ready to bring your website back online, simply disable Maintenance Mode or reactivate your hosting.

How to Republish: #

1. Go to Settings > Maintenance Mode and toggle it off.
2. Click Save to apply the changes.
3. If you disabled hosting, go to Hosting > Manage Hosting and click “Enable Hosting”.

Tip: #

• Test your website after republishing to ensure all features are working correctly.

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Troubleshooting Tips #

1. Website Still Accessible After Unpublishing:
   • Clear your browser cache and DNS cache (ipconfig /flushdns on Windows or sudo dscacheutil -flushcache on Mac).
   • Check that Maintenance Mode or hosting disablement was applied correctly.
2. Cannot Enable Maintenance Mode:
   • Ensure you have the necessary permissions in hPanel.
   • If the issue persists, contact OzSpeed Support for assistance.
3. Broken Links or Missing Pages After Republishing:
   • Clear the website cache in hPanel and any caching plugins if you’re using WordPress.
   • Check your internal links to ensure they point to the correct URLs.

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Additional Tips: #

• Schedule Downtime During Low Traffic Hours: Plan maintenance during periods of low traffic to minimize disruption.
• Use a Staging Environment: Test changes on a staging subdomain (e.g., staging.yourdomain.com) before making them live.
• Monitor Traffic and Errors: Use Google Analytics and server logs to monitor traffic and check for any issues during and after the unpublishing process.