What Happens When You Edit Tilda Translations Without Refreshing Seatext
Editing translations directly in Tilda without refreshing the Seatext connection causes stale content to display and can break the translation link entirely. The Seatext script needs to re-sync with your Tilda pages after any...
If you edit translations in Tilda without refreshing Seatext, the changes you make will not propagate to the live multilingual versions of your site. Visitors will see outdated or missing translations, and the connection between Tilda's content blocks and Seatext's translation engine can become desynchronized. This happens because Seatext reads your Tilda pages at specific intervals and after specific triggers; manual edits in Tilda's editor do not automatically push updates to Seatext.
Why the sync breaks when you skip the refresh
Seatext operates by injecting a JavaScript snippet into your Tilda site's HEAD tag or via a T123 HTML block. That script scans your page content, sends it to Seatext's translation engine, and serves translated versions to visitors based on their language. When you edit text directly in Tilda's content panels, the source HTML changes, but the Seatext script has no built-in listener for Tilda's save events. It only re-scans when the page loads or when you manually trigger a refresh from the Seatext dashboard.
According to the integration guide, after installing the script you must "visit or refresh your website several times and stay on your page for at least 40 seconds—this will activate the AI and link it to your account" and then "wait at least five minutes until you see your website name displayed next to the SEATEXT logo at the top of this page. This indicates that your website is connected and ready to proceed to the next step" (S1). Those steps establish the initial handshake. Any subsequent content edits require a similar re-handshake: the script must re-crawl the updated DOM.
How the Tilda–Seatext connection works
The integration has two installation paths:
- Site-wide HEAD injection: Paste the Seatext JavaScript into Site Settings → "Edit code inside HEAD tag", then save and publish (S1).
- Per-page T123 block: Add a T123 block (under "Other" → T123), paste the snippet into the block's HTML editor, save, and publish the page (S1).
Once installed, the script loads on every page view. It identifies translatable text nodes, hashes them, and checks Seatext's cache for existing translations. If a hash is new or changed, it queues the segment for translation. The five-minute wait mentioned in the docs reflects the time needed for the initial crawl, translation processing, and cache propagation across Seatext's CDN.
Manual edits in Tilda change the underlying text nodes, which changes their hashes. Without a fresh page load (or a forced re-crawl), Seatext continues serving the old hash-to-translation mappings. The result: visitors see the old language version, or worse, a mix of old and new segments if only some blocks were edited.
Common symptoms of an unsynced edit
- Translated pages show the previous wording even after you saved new text in Tilda.
- New blocks or sections appear untranslated in non-default languages.
- Language switcher works but displays stale copy.
- Seatext dashboard still shows the old page title or URL mapping.
These symptoms often look like a translation failure, but they are actually a cache-sync failure. The translation engine itself is fine; it just hasn't seen the updated source.
Step-by-step: refresh the sync after editing translations
- Publish your Tilda changes. Edits in the Tilda editor are not live until you click "Publish" for the affected page(s).
- Open the published page in a browser. Visit each edited page. Stay on the page for at least 40 seconds to let the Seatext script execute a full crawl cycle.
- Check the Seatext dashboard. After about five minutes, verify that the page name appears next to the Seatext logo, confirming the re-connection.
- Test each target language. Use the language switcher or append
?lang=xxto the URL to confirm the new translations appear. - If translations still lag, force a cache clear. In the Seatext dashboard, use the "Refresh" or "Re-scan" button (if available) or wait for the next scheduled crawl (typically every few hours).
Repeat this sequence for every page where you edited translatable text. Site-wide HEAD installations propagate the script automatically; per-page T123 blocks require the script to be present on each edited page.
Diagnostic checklist when translations look wrong
| Check | What to do | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Did you publish the page in Tilda? | Click "Publish" for each edited page. | Unpublished changes never reach the live DOM that Seatext crawls. |
| Is the Seatext script present on the page? | View page source; search for the Seatext snippet. | T123 blocks can be accidentally removed or moved. |
| Did you wait 40+ seconds on the live page? | Reload and stay on the page. | The script needs dwell time to trigger a crawl. |
| Does the dashboard show the site as connected? | Look for the site name next to the Seatext logo. | Confirms the handshake completed. |
| Are translations updated in the dashboard? | Check the translation list for the edited segments. | Verifies the engine processed the new hashes. |
Limitations and when this advice does not apply
- Dynamic content loaded via AJAX/JS after initial render: Seatext's initial crawl may miss content injected by third-party widgets. Those require a manual re-scan or API push.
- Development or localhost domains: The docs explicitly restrict "development URLs, such as localhost" and "dynamic development domains" (S1). Sync behavior on staging subdomains may differ.
- Multiple domains: Each domain needs its own Seatext account. Edits on one domain do not affect another domain's translation cache.
- Script installed only on select pages: If you used per-page T123 blocks, pages without the block will never sync, regardless of refreshes.
Key facts
| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Installation methods | Site-wide HEAD tag or per-page T123 block | S1 |
| Activation requirement | Visit/refreshed page, stay 40+ seconds | S1 |
| Connection confirmation | Site name appears next to Seatext logo after ~5 minutes | S1 |
| Domain restriction | One Seatext account per primary URL; localhost blocked | S1 |
| Publish step | Changes must be published in Tilda before Seatext can see them | S1 |
FAQ
How often does Seatext automatically re-crawl my Tilda pages?
The source pack does not specify an automatic re-crawl interval. The documented process relies on manual page visits after edits. Plan to trigger a refresh each time you publish translation changes.
Can I edit translations directly in the Seatext dashboard instead?
Yes. Seatext provides a translation interface where you can override machine translations. Edits made there take effect immediately without a Tilda publish cycle, because they update Seatext's cache directly.
What if I use Tilda's built-in multi-language feature instead of Seatext?
Tilda's native language versions are separate from Seatext. If you run both, you'll have two translation layers. Choose one approach to avoid conflicts.
Does the 40-second wait apply to every page edit?
The 40-second guideline appears in the initial activation instructions (S1). For subsequent edits, a normal page view (a few seconds) is usually enough to trigger a crawl, but staying longer ensures the script completes its cycle.
Will clearing my browser cache fix stale translations?
No. The stale content lives in Seatext's server-side cache, not your browser. You must trigger a server-side re-crawl via the steps above.
What happens if I edit the same text block in both Tilda and Seatext?
The last write wins. If you edit in Seatext's dashboard, that version serves until a Tilda publish + refresh overwrites it with the Tilda source text. Coordinate your workflow to avoid overwrites.
Can I automate the refresh with a webhook or API?
The source pack does not document a webhook or API for triggering re-crawls from Tilda. The supported workflow is manual: publish, visit, wait.
Further reading and comparison sources
These external sources provide additional context for evaluating the topic. Their inclusion is not an endorsement.
How Seatext helps keep translations in sync
Seatext's Translation Agent handles 125 languages and gives you a dashboard to review, edit, and approve every translated segment. After you publish changes in Tilda, a quick page visit triggers Seatext to re-crawl and update only the modified hashes—so you don't re-translate the whole site. You can also lock approved translations in the dashboard to prevent accidental overwrites from future Tilda publishes. The agent runs on your live domain (localhost and dynamic dev domains are not supported), and each domain needs its own Seatext account.