Managing app updates in Kademi: account vs website level

When a feature isn’t working as expected—an API endpoint is inaccessible, a role appears to be missing, or functionality behaves differently than documented—it is often assumed to be a permissions issue or a platform defect.

In many cases, the cause is much simpler: the apps in your environment may not be up to date.

Kademi is continuously updated with new features, improvements, and security enhancements. 

However, these updates do not automatically apply across your account and websites. Understanding how updates work and when to apply them helps you avoid unnecessary issues and ensures your environment stays aligned with the latest platform capabilities.

Let’s break it down.

How app updates work in Kademi 

Kademi uses a structured approach to updates, and once you understand it, everything else starts to make sense.

At a high level, updates happen across two layers:

• Account-level apps

• Website-level apps

These layers are intentionally separate. This isn’t accidental complexity; it’s a design decision that gives you both flexibility and control.

Account-level updates focus on your core environment: backend functionality, APIs, roles, and system-wide capabilities.

Website-level updates, on the other hand, affect your live or staged websites, which your users actually see and interact with.

Understanding the difference between these two is the key to managing updates effectively.

Account-level updates: regular maintenance for your environment

Think of account-level updates as routine maintenance for your Kademi environment.

These updates apply to your admin account and impact things like:

• APIs and integrations

• Roles and permissions

• Backend features and capabilities

These updates are safe to apply regularly because they affect your account environment only and do not impact your live website experience.

In fact, the recommended approach is to update account-level apps every one to two months. Doing so ensures that your environment stays aligned with the latest improvements and avoids falling behind.

Why does this matter?

Because outdated apps can quietly cause issues such as:

• Features not appearing as expected

• Roles seemingly missing or incomplete

• APIs not behaving as documented

And here’s the tricky part: these issues don’t always look like update problems. They often look like something else entirely.

Website-level updates: controlled updates for your live site

Website-level updates are a different story.

These updates apply to individual websites and can directly affect:

• Layouts and design

• User experience

• Frontend functionality

Unlike account-level updates, these should not be applied routinely without thought.

Why? Because they can change how your live site behaves.

That’s why it requires a more controlled approach:

• Updates should be applied only when needed, which may include introducing or using new features from recent releases, resolving frontend or user experience issues, or preparing for changes that affect your website functionality

• Changes should be tested in a new site version

• Updates should only be published after proper review

This approach ensures that any changes are validated before reaching your live environment. Without testing, updates could unintentionally affect layout, functionality, or user experience. Using site versions allows you to review and confirm changes before making them visible to users.

Why updates are often mistaken for bugs or permission issues

When something doesn’t work as expected, most people assume:

• A role hasn’t been configured correctly

• Permissions are blocking access

• A recent update introduced a bug

All reasonable assumptions.

But in many cases, the real issue is simply that the apps haven’t been updated.

Outdated apps can lead to:

• Missing features that appear in the documentation

• APIs that don’t behave as expected

• Roles that don’t exist in older versions

So instead of a broken system, you’re actually looking at a system that hasn’t caught up yet. 

This leads to an important troubleshooting rule: Before checking permissions, roles, or APIs, always confirm that your apps are up to date.

In many cases, updating apps resolves issues immediately without further configuration. 

It sounds simple, but it can save hours.

Why release notes don’t always match your environment

You might come across a new feature in release notes or documentation and think, “Great, we can use this.”

But then you go into your environment… and it’s not there.

What’s going on?

The key thing to understand is this:

Just because a feature has been released doesn’t mean it’s active in your account.

Kademi regularly ships updates, but your environment only receives them when you update your apps. Until then, you’re effectively running an earlier version.

So the next time you see a feature announced, it’s worth asking: Have we applied the latest updates?

A simple update routine 

So how do you stay on top of this without overcomplicating things?

A simple, consistent routine goes a long way.

A practical approach looks like this:

• Update account-level apps every one to two months

• Review website-level updates when needed, especially before making changes

• Always test website updates in a new site version before publishing

This balance allows you to:

• Stay current with platform improvements

• Avoid unnecessary disruptions

• Maintain control over your live environment

Think of it less as a task and more as a habit. Once it’s part of your workflow, everything runs more smoothly.

How to update apps in Kademi (quick overview)

Updating apps in Kademi is straightforward once you know where to look.

For account-level updates:

• Go to Website Manager

• Navigate to Apps

• Select “Update all” and confirm

For website-level updates:

• Go to Website Manager

• Select Websites

• Open your website settings

• Navigate to the Apps tab

• Apply updates within a site version

• Test thoroughly before publishing

Always take a moment to review what’s being updated, especially on the website level, and confirm everything works as expected before going live.

But what exactly happens when you update the apps? 

Understanding what changes after an update helps you confirm everything is working as expected.

For account-level updates:

• Changes apply immediately to your admin environment

• New features, roles, and API capabilities become available right away

• No impact is made to your live website

For website-level updates:

• Changes only take effect after the updated site version is published

• Your live website remains unchanged until publishing

• This allows you to test updates safely before going live 

After applying updates, it is good practice to verify that everything is working as expected.

Check that:

• Expected features are now visible and accessible

• APIs behave as documented

• Roles and permissions appear correctly

• Website functionality works as intended (for website updates)

This quick check helps confirm that your environment is fully aligned with the latest updates.

Why keeping apps updated matters

It’s easy to think of updates as maintenance. Something you “have to do.”

But they’re more than that.

Every update brings new capabilities, performance improvements, and enhanced features.

And because Kademi separates account-level and website-level updates, you get the best of both worlds: frequent, safe improvements in your core environment, and controlled, deliberate changes to your live experience.

That balance is what allows you to move forward without unnecessary risk.

Best practice for managing app updates

Many issues can be traced back to the state of your environment rather than configuration or platform behavior.

As a standard practice:

• Keep your account-level apps regularly updated

• Apply website-level updates carefully and test before publishing

If you encounter an issue, your first step should always be to confirm that your apps are up to date. 

Following this approach helps prevent avoidable issues and ensures your Kademi environment continues to operate as expected. 

As always, our team is ready to assist you if you have any questions or need support with managing updates in your Kademi environment