Why has HUB (Basic) been broken?

Question

I've built a number of distinct Hub sites over the last 6-8 years, and all have worked well. In the last year we've re-launched our Open Data site, along with a site designed specifically for Planning and Local Development Planning information. Presently we have 5 active hub sites with two coming on-stream later this year.

Over the last two days I've gone in to edit some fundamental changes and include new content into our pages. (We don't just present data, we create a website like experience with information etc. over a number of structured pages).

In our Open Data site, when looking at what was the Page Icon (the little blue icon that would show number of associated pages and a list) it's now showing nothing, it's a poorly placed icon!! When clicking on it, I get a return of zero pages associated with the site. I do have an option to Migrate, but even at that, it's fundamentally changed. Do I have to migrate all my pages, where everything was working perfectly?

Content Groups, this is a howler too!! Our setup uses a number of different managed groups; for example a group to hold Education or Burial Records content. These "content" groups where then associated with the Hub to present content to those browsing. The Hub Content group contained all associated pages and documents, and really was only for the core structure of the site. Browsing around the group structure today I see multiple error messages showing "group has been deleted or access restricted" with the only visible option to include content being the Hub Content Group. Everything that I have setup has been changed and this means it's directly impacting on our user and admin experience. We're not a big Open Data site, however we get on average 300-400 users per week.

Don't get me started on editing pages for Hub to then tell me, after editing the page or wishing to manage it, that the page is deleted or not found. Compound this with the gawd awful site editing that's now introduced where logical steps have been replaced by a confused mess.

Why has all this been implemented leaving what's fundamentally a broken series of sites that will need a lot of intensive work to even figure out and re steup.

IkechukwuChristian-Ezeofor · Answer

Hello @JonathanMcD ,

You are correct that groups play a key role in controlling and cataloging content.
Your use of groups to manage visibility and structure aligns with how many advanced Hub users have built sustainable management experiences.

To clarify how site-page association and context work:

When a page is associated with a site either newly created and associated by groups or added through legacy methods, it should render using the site's theming (banner, header, background color, fonts, and other theming elements) when accessed in the site-context. This has been the expected behavior and continues to be supported.

The current recommendation is to migrate pages, so they are discoverable within the new catalog management experience. However, migration is not required for theming to apply.

In addition, there are no mass updates relating to existing groups settings, if you are seeing unexpected behavior with your group settings or where a page does not render with the correct branding, please reach out to Esri Support Services so that they can work directly with you to identify any potential issues or request enhancements on your behalf.

JonathanMcD · Answer

@IkechukwuChristian-Ezeofor

Hi, sorry for the tardy response, I didn't pick up an @ .

My frustrations continue, hence why I'm returning here.

I'll try not to go over what I've said in my original post, however, here's where I'm at just now.

Our site is structured with multiple pages and groups. The groups allow the control and cataloguing of content, and the pages allow the exploration of themes and content links etc.

For the site itself and its pages these sit in a single group that's not (or was not) added as part of the viewable, open, content. I didn't want visitors to the site to see pages as listed content esp when sorting by recently updated etc.. Up until recently this all worked very well - and easily.

As it stands now, inorder to manage pages under the hub site and therefore ensure a cascade of settings, font usage etc, the pages group must be added to the content catalogue so those pages can be migrated into the site. Remove the group, remove the pages, remove the cascade. If I try to add a page, rather than use the migrate option, I'm shown three of my own pages and basically the whole world's content. Additionally, if I remove from visibility the Documents "collection" I can still see the site pages. I've even up-flagged the "visible in open data" group setting, of course that doesn't work. Finally on pages, I can't have test or staging pages in the Site Content group as it's automatically exposed.

2. The groups were not deleted or changed as we had a fully functioning Open Data site with around 300+ items of content. What it would seem is that Groups flagged for use in an Open Data site have had that setting switched off. Easy fix, if annoying, I've decided to create brand new groups and move away from a more structured approach to our site design.

3. Aside from the page icon, I think the latest Hub updates have moved towards a really disjointed experience. Perhaps easy for small organisations with a very simple and default hub, but try to expand on that and it's just messy, very messy.

Sorry for the "rant". I do appreciate that the hub interface needed a wee bit of a refresh, however, it wasn't entirely broken. I'd much rather see a focus on new and improved components, page layout management, better integration with AGOL maps, apps, and content.

IkechukwuChristian-Ezeofor · Answer

Hello Jonathan,

Thank you for raising these concerns and sharing detailed context. We truly understand how this could be frustrating, especially given your long history building and maintaining Hub sites.

You have outlined a few key issues, and we would like to offer some guidance on next steps:

1. Missing Pages
Depending on how the pages were previously connected to the Site prior to Workspaces, you are correct that they need to be migrated.

These pages appear in the "Migration" tab because they were most likely connected using the legacy method.

Migrating would help ensure they:

* Are properly added to your site's catalog groups
* Appear in the "Pages" tab
* Benefit from the updated page management experience including performance improvements.

Recommended next steps: Click "Migrate" for any page listed in the Migration tab. If issues persist after migration, please reach out directed to Esri Support Services (ESS) for direct assistance.

2. "Groups has been deleted or access restricted"
This usually indicates a permission issue or a group that has been removed or access/sharing modified since its original connection to the Hub site.

Recommended next steps: ESS can help review your site and group configurations and assist with restoring access where needed.

3. Page icon placement & Site/Page editing experience
Thanks for pointing out the Page icon placement and Site/Page editing experience that could be improved.

We would love to better understand what feels out of place with the editing / navigation experience.
If you are open to it, please consider:

* Sharing a screen recording or examples with ESS.
* Submitting an enhancement request through ArcGIS Hub Ideas.
* Joining the Hub User Lab to test upcoming feature and share feedback directly with our team.

We know how much time and care you have invested into your Hub Sites and Pages, so we look forward to seeing these issues resolved to your satisfaction.

Thanks again for flagging these.