## **🔍 Overview**

If your Website Studio staged preview is displaying a generic baseline template instead of your approved blueprint, the most common cause is a **Brand Vault disconnection** or an **HTTP 403 WebSocket sync error**. This article walks you through what causes the issue and the steps to resolve it without needing to rebuild your project from scratch.

## **⚠️ What Causes This Issue**

When Website Studio generates or previews a blueprint, it establishes a real-time WebSocket connection to Brand Vault to pull in your approved assets — fonts, colours, logos, and page structure. If that connection is interrupted or returns an HTTP 403 (Forbidden) error, the platform cannot authenticate the sync and falls back to a default baseline template as a safety measure.

Common triggers include:

- Your Brand Vault session token expired mid-build
- A permissions change on the Brand Vault project while the build was in progress
- A temporary platform connectivity issue that broke the WebSocket handshake
- Navigating away from the editor before the blueprint finished saving

## **✅ How to Force a Blueprint Rebuild**

Follow these steps in order. Most customers resolve the issue at Step 3 or 4.

1. **Confirm your blueprint is saved.** Open Website Studio and navigate to your project. Go to **Blueprints** and verify your approved 6-page (or multi-page) blueprint appears in the list with a **Saved** status badge. If the status shows **Draft**, save it manually before continuing.
2. **Reconnect Brand Vault.** Open the **Brand Vault** panel via the header apps-grid icon → **More Features** → **Brand Vault**. If you see a **Disconnected** or **Sync Error** warning, click **Reconnect**. Wait for the green **Connected** indicator before proceeding.
3. **Clear the staging preview cache.** In the top toolbar, click the **Preview** dropdown and select **Clear Preview Cache**. Confirm when prompted. This forces the staging environment to discard the cached baseline template.
4. **Trigger a manual rebuild.** Click **Preview** again and select **Rebuild from Blueprint**. Website Studio will re-fetch your approved blueprint and all associated Brand Vault assets. This process typically takes 30–90 seconds depending on the number of pages.
5. **Verify the staged preview.** Once the rebuild completes, open the staged preview link. You should see your approved blueprint with all branding, layout, and page structure applied correctly.

## **🔄 If the 403 WebSocket Error Persists**

A persistent HTTP 403 error usually points to a permissions or session issue rather than a connectivity problem. Try the following:

- **Log out and log back in** to refresh your authentication token, then repeat the rebuild steps above.
- **Check Brand Vault permissions.** If you are part of a team, confirm with your account admin that your user role has **Admin** access to the Brand Vault project linked to this Website Studio build.
- **Try a different browser or incognito window.** Browser extensions or cached credentials can occasionally interfere with the WebSocket handshake.
- **Wait 5 minutes and retry.** If the platform experienced a brief service disruption, the WebSocket connection should automatically re-establish once connectivity is restored.

## **💡 Tips to Prevent This Issue in the Future**

- Always save your blueprint explicitly before starting a preview build — do not rely on auto-save alone.
- Keep the Website Studio editor tab active during a build. Switching tabs or minimising the browser can interrupt the WebSocket connection.
- Reconnect Brand Vault before triggering any preview or publish action, especially after periods of inactivity.
- If you have multiple Brand Vault projects, double-check that the correct Brand Vault is selected for this Website Studio project before rebuilding.

## **📞 Still Need Help?**

If you have followed all the steps above and your blueprint is still rendering as a baseline template, our team can inspect the sync logs and WebSocket error details on your account directly. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type **human teammate** to be connected with a member of our team.