← DictionaryLive Site
also called production site
The publicly published version of a site.
The version the public sees.
What It Is
In the BWH map, Live Site lives under Website — Delivery. Stated plainly: the publicly published version of a site.
It is a label with a settled working definition, so the value is in using it the same way every time. Keep it that plain and it will still be true in twelve months.
How It's Used
In practice, Live Site shows up in site builds, page structure and the technical decisions underneath them. It is usually discussed together with Staging Site, Deployment and Uptime. The practical test is whether everyone in the room means the same thing by it.
Why It Matters
Live Site is one of those items that only becomes visible when it is missing. When it is unclear, the site still launches — it just quietly underperforms. It is worth pinning down before anyone builds on top of it.
Think of it as a name on a box. Open the box and this is what is inside: The version the public sees.
Termshift™
How the meaning shifts depending on who is using it, and where.
Practitioners use Live Site as shorthand and expect no explanation — the publicly published version of a site.
Outside the industry, most people would just say: the version the public sees.
The Bottom Line
Keep Live Site plain: the version the public sees. That is the version that holds up in a real project.