Launch a multi-location business on SGEN

How to add multiple locations, attach photos, and go live

Running more than one shop, office, or pickup point? This workflow takes you from a blank Locations module to a fully live multi-location directory — three New York cafes for your business as the worked example — in nine phases. Follow the phases in order; each one unlocks the next.

What is this for?

The Locations module lets you tell SGEN exactly where your business operates. Each location record holds a name, a full address, hours of operation, a storefront photo and gallery, and Google Business Profile (GBP) metadata. Those records power the public /locations directory page, individual location detail pages, and any map or "find a store" component your theme exposes.

This workflow document is the full launch sequence for a multi-location business — from data planning through public-URL verification. It covers the Add Location form (name + address + hours + storefront photo + GMB attributes), the list view (status tabs, bulk actions, GBP Sync button), the Locations Themes preset for directory chrome, and the public-site check at the end.

Use it any time you open a new cluster of shops, onboard a franchise, or bring an existing Google Business Profile listing set into SGEN for the first time.

Good use cases

Example 1: Three-cafe chain adds all locations and goes live in an afternoon. your business opens three New York branches — Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens — on the same day. This workflow is the exact sequence they follow: plan data, add three records, attach photos, tick GMB attributes, apply the Locations chrome preset, verify public URLs. All in one session, no code required.

Example 2: Franchise brings in existing GBP listings automatically. your business already has all three cafes claimed in Google Business Profile. Once GBP credentials are connected on the platform side, one click of Sync Locations pulls all three into SGEN, pre-populating name, address, and external IDs. The team then layers on photos and GMB attribute checkboxes.

Example 3: Seasonal outpost — hide for winter, restore in spring. your business Brooklyn closes for January. The team flips Status from Publish to Draft: the cafe disappears from the public directory but keeps its photo, hours, and attribute data intact. In spring they restore it to Draft, confirm the data, and re-publish — no re-entry required. Note: restoring a trashed location always resets status to Draft — you must publish it again manually.

What NOT to use this for

How this connects to other features

Before you start

Collect the following for every location before opening SGEN:

Admin access to /sg-admin/ is required. The Locations module is on by default — if the sidebar item is missing, contact support.

• Full street address (street, city, state, ZIP, country)
• Phone number and public email
• Hours of operation for each day of the week
• One storefront photo per location — already uploaded to the media library, or ready to upload mid-flow
• Google Business Profile details if you have them: Place ID, GBP public URL

Where to go

Open /sg-admin/locations from the admin sidebar under Locations. The list view is the home base for everything in this workflow.

From the list view you can:

• See every location grouped by status: All, Published, Draft, Trash.
• Click + Add New to open a blank Create Location form.
• Click Sync Locations to pull from a connected Google Business Profile.
• Search by name, bulk-change status, edit or trash individual rows.

Steps

The nine phases below run in order. Complete each phase for all locations before moving to the next.

Location launch checklist — your business
[ ] Location Name readable on public listing card
[ ] Full address visible on detail page (street, city, state, ZIP, country)
[ ] Phone number displays correctly
[ ] Hours of operation display for all open days
[ ] Storefront photo (Shop Main Image) renders on listing card and detail page
[ ] GMB attributes display as feature badges on detail page
[ ] Status = Publish (row on Published tab in admin)
[ ] Public /locations directory lists this location
[ ] Detail page URL resolves without error
[ ] If GBP-synced: External badge present in admin list view

What success looks like

Known limitations to plan around

The following behaviors are present in the current version of SGEN. They are not blockers for launch, but knowing them saves troubleshooting time.

Hours grid does not pre-tick weekdays. The Create Location form renders all seven days unticked. Tick every open day manually before saving.

Restoring a trashed location resets status to Draft. SGEN does not store the pre-trash status. After restoring a trashed location, you must re-publish the row manually — it will not return to its previous Published state automatically.

Save-success message may appear before all fields have persisted. The green confirmation flash fires promptly after submit. If you re-open a record immediately and a field looks unpopulated, save again. On slow connections or with large gallery selects, re-verifying after a moment is good practice.

Edits to a deleted-then-restored location may not save reliably — re-create rather than restore when in doubt. If a location was trashed, restored, and then edited in quick succession, some field updates may not persist correctly. If you see stale data after editing a recently-restored record, trash it and re-create from scratch — the Create flow is more reliable for this scenario than the Restore-then-Edit path.

What to do if it does not work

"Sync Locations" shows no feedback or a generic error. GBP sync requires platform-level credentials. Contact support to confirm the GBP integration is configured. In the meantime, add locations manually — the full workflow remains available without a GBP connection.

A location I just published is not on the public directory. In the admin list view, confirm the row is on the Published tab (not Draft or Trash). Hard-reload the public page. If still missing, open the edit form, confirm Status reads Publish, click Update Location, and reload.

The hours grid shows all days unticked even though I saved them. This is a known behavior on a blank Create Location form — the form renders all days unticked. Always tick open days manually and verify after saving. Open the edit form to confirm the checkboxes reflect what you saved.

A storefront photo is not showing on the public listing card. Open the edit form and confirm the Shop Main Image field shows a thumbnail (not an empty placeholder). If empty, click Choose Image, reselect the photo from the media library, and click Update Location.

A restored location is stuck on Draft even though it was Published before. Restoring a trashed location always resets status to Draft. Open the edit form, change Status to Publish, and save.

An attribute I added at Locations Settings is not appearing on the location form. Confirm the attribute list saved at /sg-admin/locations/settings is well-formed — each group needs an id, a name, and a list of items. The settings page may accept some invalid shapes without showing an error, but a malformed attribute list breaks the attribute card on the location form. Re-open /sg-admin/locations/settings, check the format, and save again.

Reference — location form fields

Reference — status values

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