How to Publish a Website on Framer

To publish a website on Framer, open your project, click the Publish button in the top right, and choose Publish to put your site live. Framer first gives you a free staging URL. You then connect a custom domain, run final SEO and responsive checks, and republish to push every update live.

Key Takeaways

• Framer publishes your site with one click to a free staging URL ending in framer.website or framer.app.
• You can connect a custom domain in minutes through DNS records or Framer’s domain tools.
• Every change stays in draft until you click Publish again, so you control exactly when updates go live.
• Running SEO, responsive, and performance checks before publishing prevents common launch-day problems.
• Framer handles hosting, SSL, and a global CDN automatically, so there is no separate server to manage.

Understanding How Publishing Works in Framer

Framer separates your working draft from the live site. As you design, every change is saved automatically to your draft, but visitors do not see it. The live version updates only when you click Publish. This gives you a safe space to experiment and a clear, deliberate moment to ship.

When you publish, Framer builds an optimized static version of your site and distributes it across a global content delivery network. It also issues an SSL certificate so your site loads over secure HTTPS. You do not buy hosting, configure a server, or manage security patches. That bundled infrastructure is one of the main reasons businesses choose Framer over a self-hosted stack.

Staging versus production

Your first publish creates a staging URL on a Framer subdomain. This is a real, shareable live site, perfect for client review and testing. When you connect a custom domain, that becomes your production address. Both can stay active, which is useful for showing work in progress while the main site stays stable.

Step One: Prepare Your Project Before Publishing

A clean launch starts before you click Publish. Walk through your project page by page and confirm the content is final. Replace any placeholder text, swap in real images, and check that every link points to the correct destination.

A pre-publish content checklist

• All headings, body copy, and button labels are final and proofread.
• Images are real, properly sized, and have descriptive alt text.
• Internal links and external links open the correct pages.
• Forms are connected and tested, so submissions reach you.
• The 404 page is designed rather than left as a default.

Spending twenty minutes here saves the awkward experience of a visitor finding a broken link an hour after launch. If your site has a blog or other dynamic content, confirm your collections are populated. Our Framer CMS guide covers structuring that content properly before launch.

Step Two: Run SEO and Responsive Checks

Publishing a site that search engines cannot read properly wastes your launch momentum. Before going live, open the page settings for each page and confirm the basics.

Essential SEO settings

Every page needs a unique title tag and meta description. The title should be specific and include the main thing the page is about. The meta description should read like a clear, inviting summary. Add a social sharing image so links look professional when shared. Confirm your homepage and key pages are set to be indexed by search engines.

Framer also generates a sitemap automatically and lets you edit the robots file. For a full walkthrough, our Framer SEO guide explains every setting that affects ranking.

Responsive and performance checks

Preview the site at desktop, tablet, and phone widths. Confirm nothing overflows, text stays readable, and buttons are easy to tap. Heavy images are the most common cause of slow load times, so compress large files. A fast, responsive site improves both user experience and search performance.

Step Three: Publish to Your Staging URL

With your content and settings ready, publishing is genuinely a one-click action. Click the Publish button in the top right corner of the editor. Framer processes the build and gives you a live staging URL, typically ending in framer.website.

What to do with the staging link

Open the staging URL in a fresh browser tab and review it as a visitor would. Click through every page, submit the forms, and test on your phone. Share the link with colleagues or clients for feedback. Because this URL is fully live, it is the ideal way to get sign-off before connecting a custom domain.

Step Four: Connect a Custom Domain

A custom domain turns your staging site into a professional, branded address. In Framer, open the site settings and find the Domains section. Enter the domain you own, and Framer shows you the DNS records to add.

The connection process

1. Buy a domain from a registrar if you do not already own one.
2. In Framer site settings, add your custom domain.
3. Copy the DNS records Framer provides, usually an A record and a CNAME record.
4. Log in to your domain registrar and add those records in the DNS settings.
5. Wait for the records to propagate, which can take anywhere from a few minutes to a day.

Once Framer verifies the records, your site is live on the custom domain with SSL applied automatically. The setup is straightforward, and our dedicated Framer custom domain guide walks through every registrar detail if you get stuck.

Step Five: Go Live and Verify the Launch

With the domain connected, your site is officially published. Now confirm everything works on the real address. Visit your custom domain directly and check that it loads over HTTPS with the padlock icon. Click through the navigation and confirm every page resolves correctly.

Post-launch verification

• The custom domain loads securely with a valid SSL certificate.
• All pages, including the blog and 404 page, work on the live domain.
• Forms submit successfully and notifications arrive.
• The site looks correct on desktop, tablet, and phone.
• Analytics tracking, if used, is firing on every page.

Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console so your pages get discovered and indexed faster. This is also the moment to set up performance monitoring so you can watch how the site behaves with real traffic.

Updating Your Site After It Is Published

Publishing is not a one-time event. After launch, you will continue to edit content, add pages, and refine the design. Every change you make stays in your draft until you click Publish again. This means you can work freely without affecting the live site, then ship a batch of updates in one deliberate action.

Smart update habits

For small text fixes, edit and republish immediately. For larger changes, such as a new section or a redesigned page, review the staging preview first. Keep a simple changelog of what you ship so you can trace any issue back to a specific update. Because Framer publishes are fast, there is no friction in keeping your site current, which is a real advantage over slower traditional platforms.

If you are weighing Framer against other tools before committing, our comparison of Webflow versus Framer covers how the publishing experience differs between the two.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is publishing a website on Framer free?

You can publish to a free Framer staging URL on any plan, but connecting a custom domain and unlocking full features requires a paid site plan. The staging URL is fully live and useful for testing and client review before you upgrade.

How long does it take to publish a site on Framer?

The publish action itself takes only seconds. Framer builds and deploys your site almost instantly. Connecting a custom domain takes longer because DNS records can take from a few minutes to roughly a day to propagate fully.

Do I need separate hosting for a Framer website?

No. Framer includes hosting, SSL certificates, and a global content delivery network in your site plan. You do not buy or configure a separate server, which removes most of the technical maintenance involved with traditional websites.

How do I update my Framer site after publishing?

Edit your project as normal. All changes stay in your draft until you click Publish again, which pushes the updates live. This lets you work safely and ship batches of changes whenever you are ready.