It is important that URLs are not given out before a page has been successfully published on GOV.UK.

Why giving out a URL before publication can cause problems

If the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) gives out a URL before the page has been published, users will see an error message, instead of the page they were looking for.

For this reason we do not give out URLs in advance of publication as this would create issues.

How to ensure a page has been updated

Always make sure the page has been published before releasing the URL to others.

You can check a page has been updated by:

  • accessing the page using your smartphone
  • temporarily adding '?THISISRANDOMTEXT' at the end of the URL

This will ensure:

  • the page displays correctly on other devices, not just your laptop
  • you are not seeing a locally-saved (cached) version of the page



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