Troubleshooting common HugoFox website issues
Launching a new site is exciting, but even experienced web admins occasionally hit a snag. This guide rounds up the questions our support team answers most often and shows you how to fix them fast.
1 Your website doesn’t appear in Google after going live
Pressing Go live publishes your site instantly, but search engines need time to discover it. Google, Bing and others “crawl” new domains on their own schedule, so your pages may not surface in results for a few days.
Tip: Keep calm—it’s normal for indexing to take up to two weeks. HugoFox automatically submits your sitemap and adds the technical SEO tags that help you get noticed sooner.
If you want to speed things up, share your new URL on social media and add links to it from any existing websites you manage. Every external link acts as a signpost for search-engine bots.
2 Browser says “Not secure” for your site
A padlock icon (HTTPS) shows visitors that their connection is encrypted with an SSL certificate. Every HugoFox site includes a free certificate, but two scenarios can delay it:
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New .gov.uk domains – Allow up to 24 hours after going live for the SSL to propagate.
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Custom domains – If the padlock is still missing, email team@hugofox.com so we can activate your certificate at no cost.
Important: Until the certificate is active, some browsers may display a warning banner. This is temporary and disappears once HTTPS is enabled.
3 Unable to log in or reset your password
Forgotten your login details? Head to the forgotten password page and enter the email address registered on your account. You’ll receive a secure reset link within minutes.
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Note: If the message isn’t in your inbox, check the spam or junk folder.
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Make sure your mailbox isn’t full and that your email provider isn’t blocking automated messages.
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Still stuck? Contact our 24/7 support team and we’ll verify your identity before issuing a manual reset.
4 Edits not showing on the live site
After saving changes in the site editor you should see them immediately, but local caching can sometimes display an older version.
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Open the site in a private/incognito window.
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Press Ctrl + F5 (Cmd + Shift + R on Mac) to force a hard refresh.
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Clear your browser cache if the issue persists.
If other people can see the update but you can’t, the problem is definitely browser caching on your device.
5 Contact form emails not arriving
Your site’s contact form forwards enquiries straight to the address you set in My Account → Profile. If messages stop appearing:
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Confirm the destination email is typed correctly.
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Look in spam or “Promotions” folders—mail filters can be over-zealous.
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Add team@hugofox.com to your safe-sender list.
Tip: For critical enquiries, set up a spare mailbox (e.g. Gmail) as a backup recipient until the main address is delivering again.
6 Domain or DNS changes still propagating
Pointing a new or existing domain to HugoFox involves updating nameservers or DNS records. Although changes often take effect within a couple of hours, the global DNS cache can take up to 48 hours to refresh.
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Check your settings using a free DNS lookup tool—if you see the HugoFox IP address, propagation is simply in progress.
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Avoid making further edits during this window; each change restarts the countdown.
Note: Visitors in different regions may start seeing the new site at different times while the change ripples worldwide.
Conclusion
Knowing how to solve the most common issues means you can keep your HugoFox site running smoothly and focus on engaging your community rather than troubleshooting.
Need a hand? Our support team is here 24/7:
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Email us at team@hugofox.com
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Use the contact page
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Silver or Gold customer? Call us on 01635 888 442