So to the problem and the solution, then.

The Problem: I uploaded a new version of the website I had just deployed. Notably, I had updated the version number in my app.yaml file (which I soon thereafter learned really wasn’t necessary). I used the regular appcfg.py update command from my terminal. However, despite receiving the “Closing update: new version is ready to start serving” message in my terminal following upload, I did not see the changes on the website itself.

The Solution: AppEngine sets the first version you upload as the default version. Therefore, you will need to change the default version.

1. Visit http://appengine.google.com/
2. Select your desired application.
3. In the left-hand sidebar, under Administration, select Versions.
4. Select the version you want the public to see.
5. Select “Make Default.”

This will display the most recent version (or the version you choose) at the app’s url (http://[yourappname].appspot.com).

And as I learned, you don’t really need to change the version until the changes have been tested and are ready for deployment. So if you are updating to fix minor errors, I don’t think you should change your version in the app.yaml file like I did.

Cheers, and thank you for traveling with me on my learning experience.