Site Manager
⏱ ~2 min read · reference — what Site Manager is and what each site-card control does.
In short. Site Manager is the account-tier surface in SG-Dashboard where every site appears as a card. From each card you can open the staging or live environment, point a domain, invite team members, and reach per-site settings — without descending into the site's admin first. It is your starting point for navigating a multi-site account.
On this page: The site-card model · Environment access · Domain setup · Settings routing · User access · Related docs
Site Manager presents one card per site. Each card identifies the site, surfaces its current state, and exposes the controls you need without requiring a deeper descent.
The site-card model
Each card carries:
- Site identity — domain name, display label (if set), and current environment state (live-ready, staging-only, domain-pending).
- Environment state indicator — tells you at a glance whether the live environment is ready, DNS is still resolving, or a billing condition is affecting availability. You read the state; you do not configure it from here.
- Controls — grouped into the four areas below.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| View Staging Site / Login to Stage | Opens the staging environment in a new tab — as a visitor or with SG-Admin already active |
| Visit Live Site / Login to Live | Opens the live environment in a new tab — as a visitor or with SG-Admin already active |
| Point your domain | Starts the DNS setup flow so the live environment becomes publicly reachable |
| Manage Site Settings | Opens the per-site settings surface inside SG-Dashboard |
| Add users | Opens the invite modal to grant a team member access by email |
Environment access controls
The staging and live controls route you into the correct environment without requiring you to remember separate admin URLs.
Staging. View Staging Site opens the staging build as a visitor would see it. Login to Stage opens the same environment with the admin session already active. Use staging for content work, configuration review, and changes that need verification before they go live.
Live. Visit Live Site opens the public site. Login to Live opens it with SG-Admin active. Both controls appear when the live environment is ready. If the domain has not propagated or the certificate has not provisioned, the live controls are present but the live tab may not yet behave as a finished production site.
Domain setup
Point your domain starts the flow that connects the site's production domain to the SGEN-hosted environment. The DNS step happens in your domain registrar — SGEN surfaces the target record value and confirms when propagation is detected. Once the domain is pointed and the certificate provisions, the live controls become fully usable.
Full step-by-step: How to point your domain in SGEN.
Settings routing
Manage Site Settings opens the per-site settings surface inside SG-Dashboard. From there, Google Integrations, Reporting Settings, and Locations are configurable for that site. These settings are scoped to the SG-Dashboard layer and are distinct from the settings inside the site's own admin.
User access
Add users opens an invite modal. Enter the team member's email address and send the invite — they receive access to the relevant site. To create users directly inside the admin (rather than via the invite flow), use the admin Users area for that site.
Full step-by-step: How to add users to a site in SGEN.
Constraints
Site Manager is the account-tier entry point to individual sites. It is not a substitute for the full admin feature set or for account-level billing.
| Use Site Manager for | Go elsewhere for |
|---|---|
| Navigating to the correct site | Per-site admin features — descend via Login to Stage / Login to Live |
| Opening staging or live environments | Billing and subscriptions — open Billing in SG-Dashboard |
| Pointing a domain or managing users | Account-tier analytics rollup — open Analytics |
Examples
Entering staging after a new build. Open SG-Dashboard, find the site card in Site Manager, click Login to Stage, and land directly in the staging admin. No separate URL to remember.
Domain not yet propagated. A new site is provisioned; the card shows "Domain pending." Use View Staging Site to inspect the build while DNS settles. Click Point your domain when the registrar is ready.
Inviting a team member before launch. Click Add users on the correct card, enter the email address, and send the invite. The team member receives access immediately — no need to open the site's admin.
Vocabulary
- Site card — the per-site panel in Site Manager carrying identity, state, and controls.
- Staging environment — the non-production build of the site, available immediately after provisioning.
- Live environment — the public production site, reachable after the domain is pointed and the certificate provisions.
- Domain pending — the state where the A record has not yet propagated or the certificate has not yet issued.
- Manage Site Settings — the SG-Dashboard-tier per-site settings surface, distinct from the admin settings inside the site.
Related docs
- SG-Dashboard Overview — the parent surface; Site Manager lives inside it.
- Understanding staging and live in SGEN — the environment model the site-card access links connect to.
- Analytics — account-tier analytics rollup reachable from each site card.
- Advanced Settings — account-tier preferences that apply across every site.
- Client Manager — multi-account routing surface for agency operators.