> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.surnex.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create a report

> Build a client-ready SEO report from your project data, blank or from a template.

Reports turn project data into something you can hand to a client or a stakeholder. Open **Reports** and click to create one.

## The create panel

Choose a starting point:

**Blank Report** — "Start from scratch with an empty canvas". You add every widget yourself.

**Templates** — pre-built layouts listed beneath. A template creates a report with widgets already placed, which you then adjust. Faster than starting blank and easier to standardize across clients.

Then fill in:

| Field           | Notes                                                                                             |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Report Name** | For example, `Monthly SEO Report - March 2026`. Shown in the list and to anyone you share it with |
| **Description** | Optional — "What this report covers…"                                                             |

Because the name is visible to recipients, put the period in it. `Monthly SEO Report` alone becomes ambiguous the moment you have three of them.

## What happens next

The report is created and opens in the [editor](/reports/editor), where you add and arrange widgets.

A **default report** is also created automatically when a [project is created](/projects/add), so a new project already has one to work from.

## Reports are built on live project data

A report doesn't contain a copy of your data — its widgets read from the project when the report is viewed, for the date range set on the report.

Two consequences:

* **A report stays current.** Open one from three months ago and its widgets show today's data for the configured range, not what they showed then.
* **Deleting the project destroys the report.** There's no independent snapshot to fall back on.

To freeze a moment, [export a PDF](/reports/share).

## Duplicating

The report list has a **Duplicate** action. This is the practical way to run monthly reporting: build one report properly, then duplicate it each period and change the name and date range rather than rebuilding the layout.

Duplicating is also how you reuse a layout across projects within your own workflow — build it once, duplicate, adjust.

## Deleting

Delete from the list or from [Report settings](/reports/settings). Confirmation warns: *"This will permanently remove all pages, widgets, and share links. This action cannot be undone."*

Any [share links](/reports/share) you've distributed stop working immediately.

## Empty state

**No reports yet** — "Create a report to visualize your SEO data with custom widgets".

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Report editor" icon="pen-ruler" href="/reports/editor">
    Add widgets and arrange the layout.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Share a report" icon="share-nodes" href="/reports/share">
    Publish a link or export PDF and CSV.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Automate delivery" icon="clock" href="/reports/automation">
    Email it on a schedule.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Report settings" icon="gear" href="/reports/settings">
    Rename, describe, or delete.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>