Review, Visibility, and Canonical URLs
Understand whether an article is public, discoverable, under review, externally delivered, or canonical somewhere else.
Several independent states can apply to one article. Reading them separately makes the dashboard much easier to understand.
The four questions to ask
| Question | Controlled by |
|---|---|
| Is the article saved, scheduled, or public? | Article publication state |
| Can people discover it through ZyVOP search and feeds? | ZyVOP review and visibility state |
| Was it sent successfully to another platform? | External distribution state |
| Which URL is the preferred source? | Canonical URL configuration |
One answer does not determine the others. For example, a post can be public by direct URL, pending discovery review, and waiting for an external delivery at the same time.
First-post review
For an account that requires first-post review, the first public post is available at its direct URL while review is pending. It does not appear in ZyVOP search or feeds until it is cleared for discovery.
This gives you a URL you can inspect and share directly without immediately placing unreviewed content throughout the network.
Understand review labels
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Review pending · hidden from discovery | Public by direct URL, awaiting a discovery decision |
| Restricted from ZyVOP discovery | The article remains reachable directly but is excluded from ZyVOP discovery |
| Blocked from public access | Public access has been blocked |
| No review warning | No active review restriction is being shown for the article |
When ZyVOP provides a reason, it appears beside the article status. Address concrete problems in the article before requesting another decision.
Moderation notices
ZyVOP sends a transactional account notice when an administrator restricts or blocks an article, and when a later review removes those restrictions. Restriction and blocking notices include the administrator's reason. Every author receives the notice in the app. Authors with a verified email address also receive it by email, independently of optional marketing and activity-email preferences. Email delivery is still suppressed after a hard bounce or spam complaint.
The notice follows the same visibility rules shown in the dashboard:
- A restricted article remains available by direct link on ZyVOP, but it is removed from ZyVOP discovery and marked
noindexon ZyVOP-hosted network routes. - On a verified custom domain with an active eligible plan, network review states do not override the publisher's SEO setting. The custom-domain article remains indexable unless the publisher explicitly enables
noindex. - A blocked article is unavailable on ZyVOP and on its ZyVOP-hosted custom domain. Copies previously published to DEV, Hashnode, Medium, or another external platform are not deleted automatically.
- When restrictions are removed, the article becomes eligible for normal discovery again. Manual
noindex, archive-only distribution, and other independent settings still apply.
Resolution notices use neutral language because approval confirms the review outcome; it does not guarantee featuring, indexing, ranking, or distribution by another platform.
Appeals
Restricted and blocked posts can show an Appeal decision action. Explain why the decision should be reconsidered and include relevant context. Once submitted, the article shows that the appeal is awaiting review.
An appeal is for a moderation decision. It does not retry a failed DEV, Hashnode, Medium, or other provider delivery; use the distribution manager for those failures.
Imported archive states
An imported article can be kept as a draft, published as verified historical archive content, or submitted for current network distribution.
Archive-only publication is designed for verified historical material. It can preserve original dates without entering feeds or notifying followers. When source ownership has not yet been verified, the dashboard can offer Verify source & distribute.
Choose a canonical source
A canonical URL declares which version you prefer search engines to treat as the main source when copies exist at multiple URLs.
Common choices include:
- the original Hashnode, DEV, Medium, or personal-blog URL for an imported article;
- the ZyVOP article URL when ZyVOP is the primary home; or
- the custom domain attached to your ZyVOP publication.
Imported articles retain available source canonical information so a migration does not silently claim ownership away from an established URL.
Change canonical strategy deliberately
Changing a canonical URL affects the signals sent to supporting external platforms. Decide which site is the long-term primary source before redistributing a migrated library.
Review versus distribution
ZyVOP review determines visibility inside ZyVOP. External distribution sends the content to a provider through its publishing interface. A pending ZyVOP review message should not be interpreted as an external delivery failure, and a successful external delivery should not be interpreted as ZyVOP discovery approval.
To diagnose a problem:
- read the article state;
- read the review badge, if present;
- open distribution details for provider-specific states; and
- inspect the canonical field in Publishing Settings → SEO.
For the deeper SEO model, read Canonical Links & SEO. For provider states and retries, read Connect and distribute.