Workshop - Make Changes Safely: Version Control & Updates for Founders

What will I walk away with?

You’ll leave with a simple, reliable system for making updates to your app—without fear of breaking things.

• Preview changes before publishing them
• Share updates with collaborators (or investors)
• Track what changed and when, with version control
• Revert changes easily if needed
• Publish updates with one click

This is what developers call a CI/CD pipeline—but we won’t use that jargon again.

Why GitHub + Vercel?

To make changes safely, you need a way to:

• See what changed and when
• Test updates before going live
• Let others contribute without editing your live site

That’s exactly what GitHub + Vercel enable:

Lovable integrates with both. You’ll never need to write Git commands or edit code manually.

Set Up GitHub + Vercel

Step 1: Sign Up

• Create a GitHub account
• Create a Vercel account (use the same email)

🔒 Note: Vercel will ask for a phone number to prevent abuse.

Step 2: Connect Lovable → GitHub

In your Lovable project:

1. Click "Connect to GitHub"
2. Log into your GitHub account
3. Create a new repository when prompted

Now Lovable can send your app’s code to GitHub—just like saving a new version of a document.

Step 3: Connect GitHub → Vercel

In your Vercel dashboard:

1. Click "Import Git Repository"
2. Choose the GitHub repo you just created
3. Click "Deploy"

Vercel will automatically set up your app and publish a live version.

How to Make Safe Changes

With your app connected to GitHub and Vercel, here’s your new flow for updates:

1. Make changes in Lovable

Use prompts or the Lovable UI to tweak your app.

2. Open the GitHub panel in Lovable

Click "Update branch" to save your changes.

3. Create a Change Request (Pull Request)

Lovable will prompt you. This lets you preview your changes in Vercel before going live.

4. Review the preview

Vercel automatically creates a private preview link.

5. Merge when ready

Once you're happy, click "Merge". Vercel will update your live app automatically.

Tips & Best Practices

• Always preview: Don’t skip the Pull Request! It protects your live site.
• One feature at a time: Update one part of your app per change request.
• Name your branches clearly: Use labels like add-payments or fix-homepage-layout
• Revert with confidence: If something breaks, go to GitHub and roll back to a previous version.

Need help?

This workflow is covered in depth in the live session, with time for questions and debugging together.