# Find an earlier version

Use version history to find, preview and restore what the site looked like before.

For: Everyone publishing a website

## Finding the version

Version history lists every published version with its date and publisher. Reading the list is usually enough to find the right moment; Preview then opens that version exactly as it went out, in a new tab.

The list is also the answer to "when did it change?", which is worth checking before changing anything in a hurry.

Walkthrough: Finding the version to keep (Version history)

1. **The list tells the story**: Dates and publishers, newest first. Reading it usually finds the right moment without previewing anything.
2. **One row per publish**: The version each publish replaced, kept as long as the website exists.

1. Open Version history from the website menu.
2. Preview the versions around the change.
3. Identify the one to keep, or the one to restore.

## Putting a version back

Each version in the history has two ways back. Make live puts that version in front of visitors straight away and keeps the version it replaced, so it can be undone the same way. Anything changed in the editor since stays in the draft for later, and the products visitors see stay as they are: an older version brings back its pages, design and settings, not its products.

Restore is the gentler one: it copies that version into the editor, products included, replacing the draft, and nothing changes for visitors until you publish. Use it when the old version is a starting point rather than the answer.

Walkthrough: Putting back what you find (Version history)

1. **Look before you leap**: Preview opens the version exactly as it went out.
2. **Make live**: Visitors see that version straight away, and the version it replaced is kept. The products stay as they are.
3. **Or Restore into the editor**: Copies that version into the draft instead. Nothing changes for visitors until you publish.
4. **And confirm**: After Make live, the Live badge moves to that version.

Warning: Make live returns every page as it was in that version, including pages removed since. If work published after that version matters, note it down first, because visitors will see the older website.

## After the dust settles

Once the site is right again, the cause is worth one minute: a change published by mistake is a habit problem, not a version history problem. The common fixes are checking the status badge before a big edit and using preview links for anything still being thought about.

- [ ] The restored version checked at the live address
- [ ] The newer work saved somewhere if still wanted
- [ ] The habit at fault identified
- [ ] Support told if the cause is ours

## Does Make live bring back old products and prices?

No. Products stay as they are live now, and prices, stock and offers are always the current ones. Publish products separately if the products should change too.

## Related guides

- [Version history and staging](/help/publishing-and-domains/version-history-and-staging)
- [The website did not publish](/help/troubleshooting/the-website-did-not-publish)
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