diff --git a/docs/editing.md b/docs/editing.md
index 82ee4c5..f2df883 100644
--- a/docs/editing.md
+++ b/docs/editing.md
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ In-place page re-rendering shared by the banner/site/structure tabs lives in `sw
 
 The page and structure tabs share one language selector: `LangSelect.vue` (small flag + dropdown) v-modeled on the shell-wide selection in `editorLang.js` (`''` = primary). While the panel is open that selection overrides the page's normal language preferences: EditorShell calls `swapdoc.setLangOverride`, which pins every `loadPlain` fetch (`?lang=`, the primary by its own code) and pagerite.js's own fetches/prefetches (`pagerite:session-lang`), until the panel closes and the override clears.
 
-All WebSockets (page/banner editors, analytics view, the pagerite.js activity channel) pace their connections through `reconnect.js`: new sockets are created a staggered slot apart (a page load opens Vite's HMR socket plus several of ours at the same moment, and such bursts — like rapid retries — trip the browser's WebSocket throttling, leaving every socket to the host "pending" for minutes), a watchdog closes sockets stuck CONNECTING so they reschedule instead of hanging forever, and retries follow an exponential backoff with jitter that only a healthy connection resets.
+All WebSockets (page/banner editors, analytics view, the pagerite.js activity channel) pace their connections through `reconnect.js`: new sockets are created a staggered slot apart (a page load opens Vite's HMR socket plus several of ours at the same moment, and such bursts — like rapid retries — trip the browser's WebSocket throttling, leaving every socket to the host "pending" for minutes), a watchdog closes sockets stuck CONNECTING so they reschedule instead of hanging forever, and retries follow an exponential backoff with jitter that only a healthy connection resets. While a socket is connecting or waiting to reconnect the panel says so (`ConnNote.vue`), and the CodeMirror editors stay locked until their document arrives (typing before the doc accept would be clobbered by it).
 
 ## Saving behavior
 
diff --git a/frontend/src/AnalyticsView.vue b/frontend/src/AnalyticsView.vue
index ca82644..6cb69e3 100644
--- a/frontend/src/AnalyticsView.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/AnalyticsView.vue
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import TransitionGraph from './TransitionGraph.vue'
 import VisitorCharts from './VisitorCharts.vue'
 import { VIEW_W } from './analytics/chart.js'
 import { reconnectPolicy, socketSlot, watchConnecting } from './reconnect'
+import ConnNote from './ConnNote.vue'
 
 // Same centering margin as the charts, so the totals row's left edge
 // aligns with the chart svg above the natural width.
@@ -45,6 +46,16 @@ let connectWatchdog = null
 const reconnects = reconnectPolicy()
 let timeInterval = null
 
+// The panel is live data over its socket: while it is connecting or waiting
+// to reconnect, say so (ConnNote) instead of showing a silent stale view.
+const conn = ref('connecting') // connecting | open | waiting
+const retryIn = ref(0)
+const connNote = computed(() =>
+  conn.value === 'connecting' ? 'connecting to the server…'
+    : conn.value === 'waiting' ? `connection lost — reconnecting in ~${retryIn.value} s…`
+    : '',
+)
+
 // The initial range comes from the URL hash (shareable links); without one,
 // it is derived from the first analytics snapshot: day when the recorded
 // history is shorter than 24 h, week otherwise.
@@ -54,11 +65,13 @@ let rangePinned = Boolean(RANGES[hashRange])
 
 function connectAnalytics() {
   if (ws) return
+  conn.value = 'connecting'
   const proto = location.protocol === 'https:' ? 'wss:' : 'ws:'
   ws = new WebSocket(`${proto}//${location.host}/_api/ws/analytics`)
   clearTimeout(connectWatchdog)
   connectWatchdog = watchConnecting(ws, 'analytics')
   ws.onopen = () => {
+    conn.value = 'open'
     reconnects.opened()
     error.value = ''
   }
@@ -86,7 +99,10 @@ function connectAnalytics() {
     // The policy paces the retry: doubling backoff with jitter, reset only
     // by a healthy connection — a fixed rapid loop trips the browser's
     // WebSocket throttling (all sockets then sit "pending" for minutes).
-    reconnectTimeout = setTimeout(connectAnalytics, reconnects.closed())
+    const wait = reconnects.closed()
+    retryIn.value = Math.max(1, Math.round(wait / 1000))
+    conn.value = 'waiting'
+    reconnectTimeout = setTimeout(connectAnalytics, wait)
   }
 }
 
@@ -164,6 +180,7 @@ const abuseRows = computed(() => formatAbuseRows(rangeData.value?.abuse || [], c
         </nav>
         <a href="/" class="close" title="home">✕</a>
       </header>
+      <ConnNote :text="connNote" />
       <p v-if="error" class="error">⚠️ {{ error }}</p>
       <p v-else-if="!data" class="loading">loading…</p>
       <template v-else>
diff --git a/frontend/src/BannerEditor.vue b/frontend/src/BannerEditor.vue
index 56502dc..543ffa4 100644
--- a/frontend/src/BannerEditor.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/BannerEditor.vue
@@ -3,11 +3,12 @@
 // the real #page-banner region. Close and tab switching live in EditorShell.
 import { computed, onActivated, onMounted, onUnmounted, ref, watch } from 'vue'
 import { EditorView, basicSetup } from 'codemirror'
-import { EditorState } from '@codemirror/state'
+import { Compartment, EditorState } from '@codemirror/state'
 import { keymap } from '@codemirror/view'
 import { indentWithTab } from '@codemirror/commands'
 import { html } from '@codemirror/lang-html'
 import { cmHighlight, cmTheme } from './cmtheme'
+import ConnNote from './ConnNote.vue'
 import { reconnectPolicy, socketSlot, watchConnecting } from './reconnect'
 import { dropPageCache, loadPlain, runScripts } from './swapdoc'
 
@@ -30,6 +31,18 @@ let connectWatchdog = null
 // Reconnection pacing lives in ./reconnect (shared with the other sockets).
 const reconnects = reconnectPolicy()
 let everConnected = false
+// Connection state drives the note at the top (ConnNote), and locks input
+// until the banner's document has arrived (typing before it would be
+// clobbered by the doc accept).
+const conn = ref('connecting') // connecting | open | waiting
+const retryIn = ref(0)
+const docReady = ref(false)
+const editable = new Compartment()
+const connNote = computed(() =>
+  conn.value === 'connecting' ? 'connecting to the server…'
+    : conn.value === 'waiting' ? `connection lost — reconnecting in ~${retryIn.value} s…`
+    : docReady.value ? '' : 'loading the banner…',
+)
 let view = null      // CodeMirror for the banner HTML
 let syncing = false  // set while replacing the document programmatically
 
@@ -92,6 +105,9 @@ function save() {
 
 function openPath(p) {
   path.value = p
+  // Lock input until the doc arrives (typing would be clobbered by it).
+  docReady.value = false
+  view?.dispatch({ effects: editable.reconfigure(EditorView.editable.of(false)) })
   send({ type: 'open', path: p })
 }
 watch(() => props.pagePath, (p) => { openPath(normPath(p)) })
@@ -211,6 +227,8 @@ function onMessage(ev) {
   const msg = JSON.parse(ev.data)
   if (msg.type === 'doc' && msg.path === path.value) {
     setDocument(msg.banner ?? '')
+    docReady.value = true
+    view.dispatch({ effects: editable.reconfigure(EditorView.editable.of(true)) })
     bannerDesign.value = msg.banner_design ?? null
     bannerDesignFrom.value = msg.banner_design_from ?? null
     bannerDesignInherited.value = msg.banner_design_inherited ?? ''
@@ -237,6 +255,7 @@ function onKeydown(ev) {
 
 function connect() {
   clearTimeout(reconnectTimer)
+  conn.value = 'connecting'
   if (ws) {
     // Replacing a stale socket: detach its handlers so its close is silent.
     ws.onopen = ws.onmessage = ws.onclose = ws.onerror = null
@@ -249,6 +268,7 @@ function connect() {
   clearTimeout(connectWatchdog)
   connectWatchdog = watchConnecting(ws, 'banner')
   ws.onopen = () => {
+    conn.value = 'open'
     reconnects.opened()
     if (everConnected) {
       if (pendingSave) send(pendingSave)
@@ -261,7 +281,10 @@ function connect() {
     // The wait is the policy's: doubling backoff with jitter (./reconnect),
     // reset only by a healthy connection — rapid retries trip the browser's
     // WebSocket throttling (sockets stuck "pending" for minutes).
-    reconnectTimer = setTimeout(connect, reconnects.closed())
+    const wait = reconnects.closed()
+    retryIn.value = Math.max(1, Math.round(wait / 1000))
+    conn.value = 'waiting'
+    reconnectTimer = setTimeout(connect, wait)
   }
 }
 
@@ -279,6 +302,8 @@ onMounted(async () => {
         cmTheme,
         cmHighlight,
         EditorView.lineWrapping,
+        // Locked until the banner's document arrives (docReady/ConnNote).
+        editable.of(EditorView.editable.of(false)),
         EditorView.updateListener.of((u) => {
           if (u.docChanged && !syncing) {
             banner.value = view.state.doc.toString()
@@ -311,6 +336,7 @@ onUnmounted(() => {
 <template>
   <div class="banner-editor">
     <div v-if="saveError">{{ saveError }}</div>
+    <ConnNote :text="connNote" />
 
     <section class="block" @paste="onBannerPaste">
       <div class="block-head">
diff --git a/frontend/src/ConnNote.vue b/frontend/src/ConnNote.vue
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3d2c399
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/ConnNote.vue
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+<script setup>
+// Connection-state note for the WebSocket-backed panels (page/banner
+// editors, analytics view): while the socket is connecting or waiting to
+// reconnect the panel cannot load or save, and this says so. An empty
+// text hides the note.
+defineProps({ text: { type: String, default: '' } })
+</script>
+
+<template>
+  <div v-if="text" class="conn-note" role="status">{{ text }}</div>
+</template>
+
+<style scoped>
+.conn-note {
+  padding: 0.2rem 1rem;
+  border-bottom: 1px solid var(--line);
+  background: var(--surface);
+  color: var(--muted);
+  font-size: 0.8rem;
+}
+</style>
diff --git a/frontend/src/PageEditor.vue b/frontend/src/PageEditor.vue
index 0d14b6b..091604f 100644
--- a/frontend/src/PageEditor.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/PageEditor.vue
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
 // was loaded in.
 import { computed, onActivated, onMounted, onUnmounted, ref, watch } from 'vue'
 import { EditorView, basicSetup } from 'codemirror'
-import { EditorState } from '@codemirror/state'
+import { Compartment, EditorState } from '@codemirror/state'
 import { keymap } from '@codemirror/view'
 import { indentWithTab } from '@codemirror/commands'
 import { markdown } from '@codemirror/lang-markdown'
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ import { cmHighlight, cmTheme } from './cmtheme'
 import { flagFor, langName } from './langs'
 import { editorLang } from './editorLang'
 import LangSelect from './LangSelect.vue'
+import ConnNote from './ConnNote.vue'
 import { reconnectPolicy, socketSlot, watchConnecting } from './reconnect'
 import { dropPageCache, loadPlain } from './swapdoc'
 
@@ -68,6 +69,20 @@ let titleTouched = false
 // (a dropped open would otherwise leave the editor empty/stale forever).
 let sessionDoc = null
 
+// Connection state drives the note above the editor (ConnNote), and locks
+// input until the page's document has arrived: typing before the accept
+// would be clobbered by it. While merely DISconnected the editor stays
+// editable — text stashes and pending saves flush on reconnect.
+const conn = ref('connecting') // connecting | open | waiting
+const retryIn = ref(0)
+const docReady = ref(false)
+const editable = new Compartment()
+const connNote = computed(() =>
+  conn.value === 'connecting' ? 'connecting to the server…'
+    : conn.value === 'waiting' ? `connection lost — reconnecting in ~${retryIn.value} s…`
+    : docReady.value ? '' : 'loading the page…',
+)
+
 let ws = null
 let view = null
 let savedResolve = null
@@ -684,6 +699,9 @@ function stashCurrent() {
 function openPath(p) {
   if (p !== path.value) stashCurrent()
   path.value = p
+  // Lock input until the doc arrives (typing would be clobbered by it).
+  docReady.value = false
+  view?.dispatch({ effects: editable.reconfigure(EditorView.editable.of(false)) })
   send({ type: 'open', path: p, lang: lang.value })
 }
 
@@ -738,6 +756,8 @@ function onMessage(ev) {
     siteLangs.value = msg.translate_langs || []
     lang.value = msg.lang || ''
     sessionDoc = { path: msg.path, lang: lang.value }
+    docReady.value = true
+    view.dispatch({ effects: editable.reconfigure(EditorView.editable.of(true)) })
     titleTouched = false
     // Restore stashed unsaved edits over the server doc when returning
     // to a page left dirty.
@@ -961,6 +981,7 @@ function consumePendingLine() {
 
 function connect() {
   clearTimeout(reconnectTimer)
+  conn.value = 'connecting'
   if (ws) {
     // Replacing a stale socket: detach its handlers so its close is silent.
     ws.onopen = ws.onmessage = ws.onclose = ws.onerror = null
@@ -976,6 +997,7 @@ function connect() {
   clearTimeout(connectWatchdog)
   connectWatchdog = watchConnecting(ws, 'editor')
   ws.onopen = () => {
+    conn.value = 'open'
     reconnects.opened()
     if (sessionDoc && sessionDoc.path === path.value && sessionDoc.lang === lang.value) {
       // Reconnected: local text is authoritative — don't re-open (that
@@ -995,7 +1017,10 @@ function connect() {
     // before the first doc bricks the editor until a retry lands one.
     // The wait is the policy's: doubling backoff with jitter (./reconnect).
     console.warn('[pagerite] editor socket closed:', ev.code, ev.reason || '')
-    reconnectTimer = setTimeout(connect, reconnects.closed())
+    const wait = reconnects.closed()
+    retryIn.value = Math.max(1, Math.round(wait / 1000))
+    conn.value = 'waiting'
+    reconnectTimer = setTimeout(connect, wait)
   }
 }
 
@@ -1016,6 +1041,8 @@ onMounted(() => {
         cmTheme,
         cmHighlight,
         EditorView.lineWrapping, // Markdown lines are long: soft-wrap them
+        // Locked until the page's document arrives (docReady/ConnNote).
+        editable.of(EditorView.editable.of(false)),
         EditorView.updateListener.of((u) => {
           if (u.docChanged) requestRender()
           // Cursor moves (typing included) drive the page scroll sync.
@@ -1096,6 +1123,7 @@ onUnmounted(() => {
         @click="saveAndRefresh"
       >💾</button>
     </header>
+    <ConnNote :text="connNote" />
     <div v-if="langOptions.length > 1" class="lang-note">
       <template v-if="lang">
         {{ currentLang.name }} translation — edits affect only this language.