> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.rafflex.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.rafflex.io/customise-your-site/set-up-your-homepage/why-a-competition-is-not-on-my-homepage.md).

# Why a Competition Is Not on My Homepage

If a competition you created is missing from your homepage grids, sliders or countdown, here are the reasons why and how to fix each one.

If you have created a competition but it is not showing in your homepage **Product grid**, **Product horizontal grid**, **Sliders**, or the countdown in the **Stats one** block, the most likely reason is that the competition is not yet **Active**. Open the competition, switch the **Active** toggle on, save, and it should appear.

This is almost always a settings issue, not a bug. There are only a handful of things to check, and one of them will explain it.

{% hint style="info" %}
**A competition existing is not the same as it being shown publicly.** Creating a competition in your admin panel does not automatically place it on your homepage. The blocks that fill themselves with competitions only ever show competitions that are live and available to the public right now.
{% endhint %}

***

### The quickest way to check

Your Competitions list can tell you in seconds whether a competition is eligible to appear.

1. In the **admin panel**, go to **Competitions**.
2. Open the filters above the list and tick **Show Only Live Competitions**. This shows competitions that are Active, have started, have not ended and have not sold out.
3. Set the **Visibility** filter to **Public only** to remove hidden competitions.

If your competition is in the list with both filters applied, it is eligible, so skip ahead to [Other reasons it might be missing](#other-reasons-it-might-be-missing). If it is not in the list, work through the five checks below.

{% hint style="info" %}
The list columns help too. **Active** shows a tick or cross, **Hidden** shows an eye icon (crossed out when the competition is hidden), and the **Starts** column shows a scheduled start time in amber with a clock icon.
{% endhint %}

***

### The five reasons a competition drops off your homepage

The **Product grid**, **Product horizontal grid**, **Sliders** and the **Stats one** countdown all follow the same rule. A competition only appears if **all five** of these are true:

1. It is marked **Active**.
2. Its **start date** has arrived.
3. Its **end date** has not passed.
4. It has **not sold out**.
5. It is **not** marked **Hidden / VIP Competition**.

If any single one of these is not true, the competition disappears from all of those blocks at the same time. That is why a competition can vanish from the grid, the slider and the countdown all at once.

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

#### Is it marked Active?

This is the most common cause by far. A competition only goes live once its **Active** toggle is switched on (its helper text reads "Will show product on homepage."). If you left **Active** off, it stays a draft and will not appear anywhere on your public site.

Open the competition in your **admin panel**, switch **Active** on, and **save**.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Has its start date arrived?

A competition with a **Start Date (Scheduler)** in the future is scheduled. While it is Active, it stays off your homepage (and everywhere else on your site) until that date and time, then appears automatically. Anyone with the direct link sees a coming soon countdown in the meantime.

Check the competition's **Start Date (Scheduler)**. In your **Competitions** list, scheduled competitions show their start time in amber in the **Starts** column, and the **Show Only Scheduled Competitions** filter lists them all. If you want it live now, set the start date to the current time and save. See [Schedule a Competition](/create-your-first-raffle/create-a-competition/schedule-a-competition.md) for more.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Has the end date passed?

Once a competition reaches its end date and time, it is treated as ended and drops out of your homepage grids and sliders within a minute or two. It does not need to be drawn first. (The **Stats one** countdown can take a little longer to move on, see below.)

Check the competition's **End** date and time. If it has passed and you did not intend that, update it to a future date and save.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Has it sold out?

When every ticket has been bought, the competition is no longer available to enter, so it is removed from your homepage blocks. It only reappears if tickets become available again.

If the competition has sold out, that is working as intended.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Is it marked Hidden / VIP Competition?

The **Hidden / VIP Competition** toggle deliberately keeps a competition off every public listing on your site, while keeping it fully playable through its direct link. If a competition is missing from your homepage but you can still reach it by its link, this toggle is the likely reason.

Open the competition and check whether **Hidden / VIP Competition** is switched on. You will find it in the **Visibility & Eligibility** panel of **Optional Extras**.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

{% hint style="success" %}
There is no separate "publish to homepage" step. Once a competition is **Active**, has reached its start date, has not passed its end date, has tickets available and is not hidden, it appears in your grids and countdown automatically.
{% endhint %}

***

### Other reasons it might be missing

If the competition passes all five checks but you still cannot see it, the cause is usually how a particular block is set up.

#### It is not under the tab or section you expected (Product grid)

* With **Segmenting Competitions** set to **All + Filter**, every eligible competition is in the **All** tab. The category tabs only show competitions assigned to that category, and a category tab only appears when it has at least one live competition in it. The **Today** tab only appears when something ends today.
* With **Calendar + Categories**, there is no "All" section. Competitions are shown in a **Today** section (if they end today) and under each category they belong to. **A competition with no category only shows on the day it ends.** Assign it to a category to fix this. See [Product Categories](/create-your-first-raffle/product-categories.md).

#### The block is filtered to certain categories (Product horizontal grid)

If the **Filter Categories** option on a **Product horizontal grid** has categories selected, only competitions in those categories appear in that row. Add the competition to one of those categories, or clear the filter to show everything.

#### Add To Slider is off (Sliders)

The **Sliders** block has one extra requirement: the competition's **Add To Slider** toggle must be on. So if a competition appears in your **Product grid** but not your slider, check that toggle. Without a dedicated **Slider Image** the competition still appears, using its main image instead, but it may look stretched. For the full picture, see [How the Sliders Block Chooses Competitions](/customise-your-site/set-up-your-homepage/how-the-slider-chooses-competitions.md).

{% hint style="warning" %}
Please make sure your slider image meets the recommended dimensions so it displays correctly. [See our image size guide](/helpful-info/image-size-guide.md).
{% endhint %}

#### Another competition closes sooner (Stats one countdown)

The countdown only ever targets one competition: the live, listed one that closes soonest. If yours closes later, the countdown will not point at it. It can also take up to about an hour to switch to a newly launched competition. See [Stats Block Countdown Explained](/customise-your-site/set-up-your-homepage/stats-block-countdown-explained.md).

#### You have not waited long enough

Your homepage refreshes its list of competitions every minute or so. If you have just made a change, wait a minute or two and refresh the page.

***

### Where ended competitions go

An ended or drawn competition leaving your homepage grids is completely normal. Those blocks are for live competitions only. Past competitions and their winners are shown on your Results page, so customers can still see what has run before. See [Results and Winners Pages](/customise-your-site/manage-your-pages/results-and-winners-pages.md).

***

### Related pages

{% content-ref url="/pages/mvT0f8GSXursI231vcJU" %}
[Managing Your Competitions](/create-your-first-raffle/managing-competitions.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/XFQ8jNMN4WJzfZuMnx19" %}
[Schedule a Competition](/create-your-first-raffle/create-a-competition/schedule-a-competition.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/ikquN3GTGeJqpqnJdhcv" %}
[Hidden VIP Competitions](/create-your-first-raffle/hidden-vip-competitions.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/l7yCN7btCYagKsAVPDLQ" %}
[Set Up Your Homepage](/customise-your-site/set-up-your-homepage.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}