How do I review and approve a website preview?

How do I check a preview?

1. Open the link on a computer first. A bigger screen makes it easier to read every word.
2. Read everything that changed. Go slowly over names, phone numbers, prices, dates and hours. These are the details customers act on.
3. Look at each photo. Is it the right one, the right way up, and cropped so faces and key details show?
4. Click any new links and buttons. Make sure each goes where it should, and that phone links dial the right number.
5. Open the same link on your phone. Text should be readable, nothing cut off, and no sideways scrolling.
6. Compare it with what you asked for. If the wording is new, make sure it says what you mean, the way you’d say it.

Expected result: you’re confident a customer would read the page and get the right answer.

The short version

• Check names, numbers, prices, dates, photos and links, on a computer and then a phone.
• Reply “Approved,” or list each fix on its own line. Not sure? Ask first.

How do I reply?

• If it’s right, reply “Approved” or “Yes, go ahead.”
• If something needs fixing, list each fix on its own line. “Change Tuesday to Thursday in the second paragraph” is quicker to act on than “the hours look wrong.”
• If it’s easier to show, send a screenshot with the spot circled. On a Mac, press Shift-Command-4 (Apple’s screenshot guide). On Windows, press the Windows logo key, Shift and S (Microsoft’s Snipping Tool guide). Crop out anything private first.
• If you’re not sure, ask.

A person at E-3 makes the fixes, and you get an updated preview to approve.

Why is there a preview at all?

Bigger changes are tested on a staging copy first. For a redesign or a site move, you approve a preview before launch, so you see the new site before customers do. You’re the final check. You know your prices, your staff and your hours better than anyone, so a two-minute look from you catches things only you would know, like a name spelled differently on the sign out front.

What should I look for, by type of change?

Wording and prices

Read the new text out loud. Typos hide in silent reading. Check every number twice, including the ones next to the change, since a price list is easy to shift by one line.

Hours and contact details

Check the days, the times, and AM or PM. If the details also appear in the footer or on the contact page, check those too. See how to update your phone number, address or hours.

Photos

Wide banners crop their sides on a phone. If a face or logo gets cut off on the small screen, tell us. Photos of people should be ones they’ve agreed to have online.

New pages

Check the page title, the menu label, and that the page shows in the menu where you expect. Click through from the home page as a customer would.

What are the common edge cases?

• It looks slightly different on my phone. That’s normal. Columns stack and images shrink to fit small screens. What matters is that everything is readable and nothing important is hidden.
• Someone else should approve. Tell us who’s allowed to approve changes. Naming one or two people avoids mixed messages.
• I approved, then spotted a mistake. Tell us straight away so a person at E-3 can fix it. See how to undo a change.
• Can customers or Google see it? Previews are for you to review, not for the public. If you ever find one in search results, let us know.
• Editing your own site? WordPress has its own preview. The View menu shows the page at Desktop, Tablet and Mobile widths, as WordPress explains in How to use the View feature.

What if this didn’t work?

• The link won’t open. Try another browser or a private window. If it still fails, reply and tell us what you see.
• The preview doesn’t match my request. Reply with what’s different.
• I can’t tell what changed. Ask us to point it out.

How does E-3 handle this?

Ask for a change and a person at E-3 makes it. Updates and bigger changes are tested on a staging copy first, and for a redesign or a site move you approve the preview before launch. Website care includes daily backups, so if something looks wrong once it’s live an earlier version can be restored. Questions about a preview? Call 814-399-4655.

Related questions

• Can you update the text on my website?
• How do I undo a change to my website?
• What is a staging site?