How can I connect the template I purchased in Webflow to my hosted website project, and how can I work on modifying the template without it being visible to the public?

When you purchase a Webflow template, it creates a separate project. To use it with your own hosted site and work privately on changes, follow these key steps.

1. Duplicate and Rename the Template Project

• After purchase, the template appears as a new Webflow project.
• Go to your Dashboard, locate the template project, and rename it to something relevant (click the three-dot menu → Rename).
• This will help you keep it organized, especially while editing before publishing.

2. Clone the Template Design into Your Hosted Project (If Needed)

• By default, templates are pre-loaded into their own project.
• If your custom domain is already connected to another Webflow project, you must choose between:
• Continuing work directly in the template project, then connecting your domain there, or
• Manually recreating elements/page designs in your current hosted project (Webflow does not support importing templates into existing projects).
• Best practice: Customize and publish the template-based project, then point your custom domain there later.

3. Work Privately With Staging Settings

• While designing, keep the template site unpublished or only publish to the Webflow.io staging domain (e.g., yoursite.webflow.io) instead of your live domain.
• To do this safely:
• Go to Project Settings → Publishing.
• Uncheck your custom domain before every publish if it's connected.
• Ensure you only publish to yoursite.webflow.io.

4. Disable Indexing For Development

• In your template project, go to Page Settings for each page.
• Scroll down to SEO Settings, and enable "Hide this page from search engines".
• This prevents unfinished work from getting indexed by Google or others while you're developing.

5. Connect Your Custom Domain When Ready

• Once you’ve completed customizing the template, go to Project Settings → Hosting.
• Update the Custom Domains section by adding your domain.
• Update your domain registrar DNS settings with the required A Records (a) 75.2.70.75, (b) 99.83.190.102 and CNAME for subdomains if applicable.
• Set the correct domain as default and publish to both Webflow.io and your custom domain.

Summary

To work on a Webflow template without going public, keep it unpublished or only publish to Webflow.io, enable “Hide from search engines,” and only connect your domain when ready. Templates are separate projects, so either continue working directly in that project or rebuild elements manually in your current hosted one.