Blog: troubleshooting
Why readers cannot see a post, why a post did not email anybody, why the editor stopped saving, and other common blog snags.
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Common questions
A reader says they cannot open my post.
Check the post's label in Blog.
Draft or Scheduled: it is not live yet. Publish it, or wait for its time.
Published, blog off: the blog is switched off. Turn it on in Settings. See Turn your blog off.
Unpublished changes: the post is live and readers can open it, but they see the version before your edits. Press Update.
The post is for members only, and the reader is not signed in or is not a member. They see the free part and a panel that says why. See Posts only members can read.
The post is live and the blog is on, but the link is wrong. A post you re-link keeps its old link working, so check the address in the post's settings.
If you moved your blog onto your own domain, make sure the domain shows Verified. See Custom domain stuck on Pending.
Publish says to give the post a title first.
A post cannot go live without a title. Type one above the body and press Publish again.
I cannot turn the blog on.
Only the owner and admins can turn the blog on or off, and an editor's Settings tab is greyed with that reason. Ask the owner or an admin. See Writing with your team.
I published a post and nobody was emailed.
Sending is only for a post's first time going live, and only when emailing new posts is on for it. Nobody is emailed when:
the post was published before, or it was imported, or you published many posts at once from the Posts list;
you answered No to Email it to your subscribers, or turned off Email new posts to subscribers in Settings;
the blog has no subscribe band, or the band's form does not put people on a list, or nobody is on the list yet.
The editor says Email not sent.
The post went live, but its email was held as a draft in Emails. The usual reasons are that the blog is off, that the email would not fit your plan's emails, or that sending is paused. Fix that, then open Send its email… in the post's menu and send the draft from Emails. See Your send allowance.
The editor says Not saving.
The post was changed in another tab or window, so saving here stopped. Copy what you need, then reload to see the latest version. See Edit a published post.
My edits to a live post are not showing.
They wait as Unpublished changes until you press Update. The post's link, categories, authors and Feature this post are the exceptions: they apply at once.
A post did not go live at its scheduled time.
Posts go live within about a minute of their time. If it did not, check that it still has a title, and that it was not unscheduled. A post that lost its title is not published and shows as a draft again. See Schedule posts and use the calendar.
A picture will not upload.
Use a JPEG, PNG, WebP or GIF. Other formats, such as HEIC and AVIF, are refused. If the message says your storage is full, free some space first. See Covers, pictures and storage.
The subscribe band is not on my blog.
The band shows only when a published form is picked in Settings, under Subscribe band, and the blog is on. A form that is still a draft cannot be picked, and a form that has been deleted hides the band. See Let readers subscribe by email.
Make one for me did not work.
It makes a new form, so it is refused when your plan has no room for another. The message says so. Pick a form you already have instead, or see What each plan includes.
Drry will not accept the word I chose for my blog's address.
The field says why. Use 2 to 48 lowercase letters, numbers and single hyphens. The word cannot be blog or store, cannot start with api, and cannot be your bio link's word or a word another page on your site uses. See Your blog's address and homepage.
I cannot delete a post.
A live post cannot be deleted. Unpublish it first, then delete it. See Edit a published post.
My imported posts are not on my blog.
Posts arrive as drafts unless you chose As they were, and importing does not turn the blog on. Press Publish N with original dates on the report, and turn the blog on in Settings. A post that was for paying readers on Ghost or Substack stays a draft until you choose who reads it and publish it. See Bring your old blog over.
Old links to my previous blog show an error.
They forward here only once your old address, on your own domain, points at Drry. An address like yourname.substack.com stays Substack's, and addresses ending in .html do not forward. See Bring your old blog over.
There is no Analytics tab, or it is locked.
Only the owner and admins see numbers, so an editor has no tab. Analytics is available on the Creator plan, so on Free the tab is locked, and your history is waiting for you when you upgrade. See Your blog's numbers.
A member cannot read my members-only post.
Check three things: they are signed in, their membership is active, and, if the post is limited to a tier, their membership includes that tier. The panel under the free part tells them which. If it says it could not check, they should load the page again. Your owner, admins and editors can always read.
My members-only post shows nothing for free.
With no Members-only line, none of the post itself is free. Press / in the post, add the line where the free part should end, and press Update on a live post. See Posts only members can read.
I cannot limit a post to a tier.
Only the owner and admins can limit a post to a tier, and it needs the Growth plan. A tier you cannot pick still shows in the list, with the reason. A tier cannot be archived while a post asks for it.
A reader gets page not found on a post that exists.
If the post is limited to a tier and hidden below it, anyone below that tier, or not signed in, gets page not found on purpose. Members on the tier find it on your blog's home under For your membership, or by opening its link while signed in. To show it to everyone with a lock instead, switch off Hide it below the tier in the post's settings. See Posts only members can read.