# How Ownsite works

> Your site, your app, and the three ideas behind every page - who can see it, its look, and its blocks.

You only need five ideas to understand all of Ownsite.

## 1. Your site and your app

Every Ownsite has two addresses. In these docs, **D** stands for your site's address.

| Address | What it is | Who uses it |
|---|---|---|
| `D` | Your site: home page at `D`, blog at `D/blog`, other pages at `D/<page>` | Everyone |
| `app.D` | Your app, where you manage everything | Only you (you sign in) |

Before you connect a domain, D is `yourname.ownsite.me`. After you connect one, D is your domain, for example `you.com`, and your app is `app.you.com`. A backup app address, `app.yourname.ownsite.me`, always works too.

The two addresses mirror each other. The post at `D/blog/autumn` is managed at `app.D/blog/autumn`.

## 2. Everything is a page

Your home page, your blog, your journal and a page like `D/drum` all work the same way. Each one is either:

- a **Public Page**: on your site, for everyone; or
- a **Private Page**: only you can see it, inside your app.

Any page can switch between the two in its **Settings**. See [Pages](https://docs.ownsite.me/pages).

## 3. Every page has a look

A page's **look** is what visitors see: its layout, colors, fonts, and any fixed text or photos, like your name or an about paragraph.

A look has **versions**. Every change makes a new version, which starts as a draft. You preview it, then press **Publish**, and only then do visitors see it. Every old version is kept, so you can always go back. See [Looks and versions](https://docs.ownsite.me/looks).

## 4. Some pages have blocks

Some things keep growing without the look changing: blog posts, journal entries, guestbook messages, items in a portfolio. These live in **blocks**. A block stores the items, and the look decides how they are shown.

Because they are separate, you can change the look as often as you like without losing a single post. See [Blocks](https://docs.ownsite.me/blocks).

> **Good to know:** The blog and the journal are not special. A blog is a page with an articles block. A journal is a private page with a journal block. That is why they have the same tabs and the same controls as every other page.

## 5. You decide what AI can do

Ownsite AI (built in) and any AI you connect follow one set of rules that you control in **AI permissions**. An AI can make drafts, but anything that changes what visitors see waits for your confirmation, unless you allow it. See [Who can change what](https://docs.ownsite.me/rules).

## Every page has the same three tabs

| Tab | What it holds |
|---|---|
| **Look** | The page as visitors see it, its drafts, templates and version history |
| **Content** | The page's blocks: posts, entries, messages, items |
| **Settings** | Who can see it, its language, and other options |