Updating your theme
Keep your site's built-in pages and foundations current with one click. What an update changes, what it leaves alone, and how to undo it.
Your website is built on a set of ready-made TribeNest building blocks, plus the built-in pages every site needs: checkout, the account area, memberships, courses, the blog, and so on. We improve those over time with new features, fixes, and things like installable-app support. Updating your theme brings your site up to the latest version in one step, without touching the pages you have made your own.
Only for AI-built websites
This applies to AI-built websites. If your site came from the older drag-and-drop editor, you do not need it. See The older visual editor.
What an update does
When you update your theme, TribeNest:
- Updates the foundations your site is built on to the latest version.
- Refreshes the built-in pages (checkout, the account area, memberships, courses, the blog, and the rest) to their newest versions.
- Adds any brand-new pieces the latest version ships that your site does not have yet.
Just as importantly, here is what it leaves alone:
- Your own pages. Your home page, your marketing pages, and anything you or the AI builder created stays exactly as it is.
- Your content. Text, images, products, and settings are untouched.
A restore point is taken first
Every theme update saves a restore point before it changes anything, so you can go back from the builder's History menu whenever you want. Your live site is not affected until you preview and publish.
When to update
You will know an update is available in two ways:
- A notification appears in your dashboard (the bell in the top bar, and the "What's New" list) whenever your live site is behind the latest theme.
- In the builder, the menu button (three dots) in the toolbar carries a small dot.
There is no rush. Your site keeps working. Update when you want the newest built-in pages and improvements.
Updating from your dashboard
This is the easiest way.
- Go to My Website then Home and click Edit website version to open the builder.
- Click the menu button (three dots) in the toolbar and choose Update Theme. When you are already on the latest, the item is greyed out and the menu says so.
- Confirm. TribeNest runs the update for you in the background, which can take a moment on a large site.
- When it finishes, click Preview to rebuild your site, check it looks right, then Publish.
One at a time
If an update is already running for your site, TribeNest asks you to wait until it finishes before starting another, so an update can never collide with itself. The toolbar tells you what is holding the site while it runs.
Updating from the command line
If you work on your site locally with the tribenest CLI, run:
tribenest update themeThis does the same thing as the dashboard, then pulls the changes down to your local copy. When it is done:
tribenest dev # check it locally
tribenest publish # go liveSave your work first
The CLI will not run a theme update over local changes you have not pushed. It asks you to run tribenest push (or discard them) first, so nothing you have edited is lost.
Rolling back
If you want to undo a theme update, open the builder's menu button (three dots), then History, and restore the point taken just before it. It is labelled "Before theme update". Then preview and publish to put your site back.
Managing domains
Put your site on your own web address. Connect a domain you already own, or search for and register a new one from your dashboard and let TribeNest wire it up for you.
AI assistant
Add a chat helper to your website that answers visitors' questions from your own pages, products, posts and the quick answers you write yourself.