You changed the text. You hit save. You refreshed the live site. Nothing happened. Before you panic, here's the part nobody puts on the brochure: your website exists in at least three places at once, and they do not automatically agree with each other.

The three versions

Local files live on a developer's computer. This is where edits happen first. Saving a file here changes nothing anyone else can see.

The remote source of truth (often GitHub) is the saved, shared history of the project. Until local changes are committed and pushed here, they only exist on one machine.

The live host is the version deployed to visitors. It builds from whatever the hosting provider is configured to use—usually a specific branch of the remote repository.

Why "I saved it" doesn't mean "it's live"

  • •Saving locally updates your computer, not GitHub.
  • •Pushing to GitHub updates the shared history, but does not guarantee the host has deployed it.
  • •A successful deployment can still be the wrong branch or an older commit.
  • •The host may be building fine—from a branch you didn't mean to change.

This is a common modern workflow, but not every website uses GitHub or a particular host. The principle is the same regardless of the tools: there's the version you edit, the version you save, and the version visitors see.

A safe troubleshooting order

When the live site doesn't match expectations, work outward from the source of the change:

  1. •Local — Open the file. Is the change actually there? Is it saved?
  2. •Remote — Check the repository. Did the commit land? Is it on the correct branch?
  3. •Hosting provider — Look at the build log. Which commit and branch did it build? Did it succeed?
  4. •Public URL — Hard-refresh, bypassing cache. Is the change visible now?

Skipping straight to the public URL and refreshing aggressively is the most common way to waste twenty minutes.

"Where should I look?" decision guide

  • •Change missing everywhere → it's a local problem (unsaved, wrong file, wrong project).
  • •Change is on GitHub but not live → it's a deploy problem (wrong branch, build failed, not triggered).
  • •Change is live but wrong → check which commit the host built and whether it's the one you think.

Takeaway

Treat the three versions as three separate things you verify in order. Most "the website is broken" moments are really "I'm looking at a different version than I think I am" moments.