How do I update my site after it's online?

To update a site that's already online, make the change in your project (or ask your AI to), build again if it has a package.json, and drop the new folder on your site under Update website in your dashboard. Your current site stays live until the new one is on, and your link and your own domain stay exactly the same. You don't need GitHub, FTP or a new upload from scratch.

Your AI can publish. It can never spend your money.

Built it with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Cursor, Replit, v0, Windsurf or by hand? Same steps.

Last updated: 3 October 2026.

Update your site in 4 steps

Make the change in your project. Edit the files, or tell your AI what should be different. Work in the same project folder you used the first time, so you change the version that's online and not an old copy.
Build again if your project needs it. Does it have a package.json? Then run npm run build, or ask your AI to. The fresh dist folder is what goes online. A plain HTML site skips this step.
Open your dashboard and press Update website. You'll see Update your site on with your address, and the note that your current site stays live until the new one is on.
Press Drop your new files and drop the folder. The whole folder, or a .zip of it. When it's on, refresh your site and you'll see the new version.

Updating from the dashboard works once your site is claimed. Still on the claim screen? Press Claim this site first, so the site is yours to change.

Change the right copy

Most update problems start before the upload. A few things to check:

Change the project, not only the built folder. If you edit a file inside dist by hand, the next npm run build writes over it. Make the change in the project and build again.
From Lovable or Bolt? Make the change there, then get the code out again (GitHub or Download codebase in Lovable, Export and Download in Bolt) and build it once more.
From ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini? Ask for the whole updated file, not just the changed lines, and save it over the old one in the same folder.

Two ways to put the new version on

After you press Update website, you pick one of two buttons.

Drop your new files. You drag the folder in yourself. Good when you've just built it, or when your AI gave you a file to save.
Let your AI do it. Once your site has its own domain, you get a code made for this one site (it works for 15 minutes). Give it to your AI in Claude Code, Cursor, Codex or Windsurf and it uploads the new version for you.

Once your AI is connected to your account (look for Connect your AI in your dashboard), you can skip the button and just say update my site on DropTheHassle with this folder. How to connect it per tool is in the MCP guide.

What changes and what stays the same

An update swaps the files of your site in one go. Visitors see the old version or the new one, never a half finished mix.

Stays the same	Changes
Your link on dropthehassle.app and your own domain	The pages, pictures and code in the folder you drop
HTTPS, your claim, and email on your domain	Anything you removed from the folder is gone from the site
Data in Supabase or another outside service	Nothing. That data stays at that service.

The new folder replaces the old one as a whole. So drop the complete site every time, not only the page you changed, or the other pages will be missing.

Changed your mind? Put the old version back

Each update keeps the version before it. If the new one isn't right, ask your connected AI to roll back your site. It asks you for a yes first, then puts the previous version back online. Rolling back again brings the newer version back, so nothing is lost by trying.

Only the one version before your last update is kept. If you want to be able to go further back, keep a copy of each folder you upload, or keep your project on GitHub.

Updating an app with a server part

The pages update here. If your app also has a part that keeps running, like an API you start with node server.js, that part updates where it runs. Got a server part too? Keep it on AWS, Google Cloud, DigitalOcean or your own server, and your AI links it to your site in one step.

On a host that builds from GitHub

If your site is on a host connected to a GitHub repo, like Vercel, Netlify or Cloudflare Pages, an update usually means pushing the change to that repo, after which the host builds and publishes it. That's handy if you already work with Git. If you don't, the steps on this page get you the same result without GitHub.

Common mistakes

Dropping only the changed page. The new folder replaces the old one. Drop the whole site.
Forgetting to build. Edit, then npm run build, then drop dist. Dropping last week's dist puts last week's site back.
Editing inside dist. Your next build writes over it. Change the project instead.
Uploading as a new site. Pressing Upload (free) on the homepage gives you a second site on a new link. Use Update website on the site you already have.
Thinking it didn't work. Often it did, and your browser shows the old files. Do a hard refresh first.

Does the new version work on your computer but not online? The five usual causes are in My site works on my computer but not online.

Questions

How do I update my website?

Change the files in your project, build again if it has a package.json, and drop the new folder in your dashboard under Update website. Your current site stays live until the new one is on. The link and your own domain stay the same.

Can I update the ChatGPT-generated page later?

Yes. Ask ChatGPT for the change, save the new index.html in the same folder as before, and drop that folder under Update website. Ask for the whole file, not just the changed part, so nothing goes missing.

Will my site go offline while I update?

No. Your current site stays live until the new one is on, and then it swaps over in one go. Visitors see the old version or the new one, never a half finished mix.

Can I go back to the old version?

Yes, to the version right before your last update. Ask your connected AI to roll back your site. It asks you first, and rolling back again brings the newer version back.

Do I have to claim my site again or buy a new domain?

No. An update replaces the files, nothing else. Your claim, your link, your own domain and any email on it stay as they are, and a .com bought here stays €19 / $19 a year, including VAT in the EU, the same every year.

Can my AI update the site for me?

Yes. Once your site has its own domain, press Update website, then Let your AI do it, and you get a code made for that one site to give to your AI. If your AI is already connected to your account, you can also just ask it to update the site.

Why do I still see the old version?

Usually your browser is holding on to the old files. Do a hard refresh with Ctrl+Shift+R, or Cmd+Shift+R on a Mac. If it's still old, check that you dropped the newly built folder and not last week's copy.

Where to go next

Got your new version ready? Then it's one drop, and your visitors see it on the same address as before.

Open your dashboard