Your website has been rebuilt on Gondola's new platform, and this guide walks you through taking it live. It takes about 15 minutes. Every site must be switched over by July 24, 2026, when the old platform shuts down.
📺 Video: a quick tour of your new editor — watch on Loom
📺 Video: how to take your site live (DNS walkthrough) — watch on Loom
Step 1 — Log in and review your new site
Go to app.gondola.travel and log in with the email address your migration email was sent to.
Forgot your password? Use "Reset password" on the login page.
Click Editor in the menu on the left. That opens your new website in the editor — this is where you review it.
We've kept your new site as close to your current site as possible, but there may be some very slight discrepancies, so click through your pages and check your photos, text, prices, and contact info. If anything looks off, fix it right in the editor, or email support@gondola.travel and we'll fix it for you.
While you're in there, try changing your fonts — it's new, it's fast, and it's been highly requested.
Step 2 — Click "Take My Website Live"
In the editor, click the orange Take My Website Live button. Nothing changes immediately: this tells our system to start watching for your DNS update (Step 3). Your current site stays online the whole time.
Step 3 — Update two DNS records
Log in to the company that manages your domain's DNS (GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc. Your migration email names yours) and change exactly two records. You're replacing the old IP address with the new one:
The A record for @ (your root domain): change 161.35.113.156 → 216.150.1.1
The A record for www: change 161.35.113.156 → 216.150.1.1
⚠️ Change nothing else. Don't touch MX records (that's your email), TXT records, or anything else in the list. Two records only.
If you'd rather not do this yourself
Copy and paste the message below to your domain registrar's support team — live chat is fastest, and they do this all day:
-----
Hello! Please update two DNS records for my domain [your domain]. Please change the A record for the root domain (@) from 161.35.113.156 to 216.150.1.1, and change the A record for www from 161.35.113.156 to 216.150.1.1. Please do not change any other records. Leave MX, TXT, and everything else exactly as they are. Thank you!
-----
Still stuck? Reply to your migration email and we'll work it out with you.
What happens next
Once your DNS update is picked up (usually within 30 minutes) your new site automatically deploys to your domain. The security certificate (https) is handled automatically. Your old site keeps serving until the exact moment the new one takes over, so there's no real downtime.
If it's been more than an hour and your new site isn't live, email support@gondola.travel.
Important: please stop submitting Pastel change requests
We took a snapshot of your site for this migration. Changes submitted through Pastel from now on won't carry over to your new site. From now on, make changes yourself in the editor, or email support@gondola.travel and we'll make them for you, same as always.
FAQ
Why does my new site look identical to my old one?
On purpose. We rebuilt all sites to match so you don't have to review a redesign in the middle of your season. Underneath, it's a completely new platform: faster, editable by you, and built for AI visibility (how ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews find and cite your business).
What happens to my SEO keywords and Google rankings?
Your domain and your content stay the same. Some page URLs may have changed on the new platform, but we've mapped every old URL to its new one with a 301 redirect (the standard way of telling Google a page has moved), so your rankings carry over. Beyond that, the new platform is faster and easier for search engines and AI tools to read, every migrated site gets an LLM "Start Here" page that makes your business easier for AI tools to find and cite, and there's more already in the pipeline for AI visibility. It all starts working once your site is live on the new platform.
How does this AI search thing actually work?
More and more travelers ask ChatGPT, Gemini, or Google's AI Overviews things like "best food tour in Charleston" instead of scrolling through ten blue links. Those AI tools read websites directly and answer with a recommendation. Sites that are fast, well-structured, and machine-readable get found and cited; sites that aren't get skipped. The new platform is built specifically to be readable by these tools — that's what "AI visibility" means.
I submitted content changes recently, will they show up on the new site?
Anything that was live on your current website at snapshot time was carried over. If you submitted a change that wasn't published yet, it won't be on the new site. Once you're live, make it in the editor or send it to support and we'll take care of it.
How do I add new photos, hero images, or blog posts going forward? Can I edit old blog posts?
Yes to all of it. Once your site is live on the new platform, click Editor in the left menu. You can add and edit pages, blog posts, and images yourself. Or email your material to support@gondola.travel and we'll add it for you.
If I send you content, will you format it so it matches my site?
Yes, same as always. Send it to support@gondola.travel and we'll make sure it fits your site's look and layout.
Will changing DNS break my email?
No. Your email is controlled by MX records, and those aren't being touched. As long as only the two A records change, your email keeps working exactly as it does today.
Will my site be down during the switch?
Your old site keeps serving until the new one takes over. Any gap is typically minutes, and most visitors won't even notice.
I have more than one website with Gondola.
You'll get one migration email per website, each sent to that account's email address. Repeat the steps for each site, and be careful to match each domain with its own account and DNS records.
What if I miss the July 24 deadline?
Your old site will stop being served when the old platform shuts down. If you're stuck, contact us before the deadline. Please don't wait.