By You can fix this yourself. Usually a cache, a branch or a function redeploy.
- How serious
- Low
- Fix it yourself?
- Yes, you can fix this yourself
- Typical cost
- $49–$800 one-off check if it keeps happening (prices)
- Top rated for Base44
- Afterbuild Labs · 10.0/10
What you see. You clicked Publish in Base44, saw the success message, but visitors still get the old version of the app.
Why it happens
Base44 keeps a draft and a live app. The editor preview is the draft, visible only to you and collaborators, and Base44 says the live app only changes when you publish. Three things make a publish look like it did nothing. First, browser caching: your device or a visitor's device is still showing the old files, so the change appears on a different device but not yours.
Second, backend functions. Editing a function in Dashboard → Code updates your preview, but the live app keeps running the version from your last publish until you click Save & Redeploy on main and then publish again. Third, branches. You cannot publish from a branch. On a branch the Publish button is replaced by Merge to main, and only main goes live. Custom domains add a fourth case, when the domain still shows Pending verification and serves nothing new.
Fix it yourself
- Open the live app in a private window or on your phone. If the change shows there, clear your browser cache and cookies for the app and reload.
- In the editor, open More actions → Compare with live code. If your change is listed as unpublished, click Publish again and wait for the success message.
- Check which branch you are on. If the top right says Merge to main instead of Publish, merge first, then publish from main.
- For a changed backend function, go to Dashboard → Code, click Save & Redeploy on main, then publish.
- If the domain badge says Pending verification for more than 30 minutes, click Unlink domain and connect it again. Cloudflare records must be DNS only.
- Still stale? Use the Version history icon above the chat to confirm which version carries the published marker, and check the error logs in the Dashboard.
When to get an engineer
This rarely needs an engineer. Hire if the live app shows a mix of old and new screens after all the steps, if a custom domain has been pending for days, or if the stale version is costing sales right now. Send Base44 Customer Care or your engineer the app link, what you expected, when it started and a screenshot of your DNS records. A one-off check sits at the low end of $49–$800. Our Base44 app not loading page covers the harder case.
Top-rated companies for Base44 apps
Ranked by our score: published prices, scope of work, AI tools named, timing and a low-risk first step. How we score.
- 1Afterbuild Labs10.0/10Best for: A check before launchFree first step · from $49
- 2Redlab10.0/10Best for: A full rescue by one team that keeps buildingFree first step · from $490
- 3Vibe Code Rescue (Lev Arakelyan)9.0/10Best for: A one-off check and a cleanupFrom $299
Check these
Errors reach you before users do
Add error monitoring and uptime alerts. If you learn about outages from customers, this is missing.
Testing and real users use separate databases
Experiments and AI agents should never run against production data.
The code lives in a Git repository you own
Connect GitHub or export the project. If the builder account is lost, the product should not be.
Questions
Does publishing from a branch work?
No. Base44 says branches cannot be published. Merge to main first, then publish from main, and all of main's changes go live together.
Why does my function change not show up live?
Redeploying a function updates the preview only. Base44 says the live app keeps running the last published version of the function until you publish again.
Sources: Base44: Troubleshooting issues; Base44: Getting to know the app editor; Base44: Working with branches; Base44: Building an app.