How to markup a website for client review
To markup a website for client review, share a link your client can open and click to pin notes directly on the page — no extension or account required on their end. If you're marking it up yourself, a browser extension or a screenshot annotated in Figma works. For client feedback, the link-based approach is the only method that reliably removes the barrier.
Screenshot + annotate in Figma or Preview
Take a full-page screenshot (GoFullPage in Chrome, Cmd+Shift+3 on Mac for the visible area), open it in Figma or Preview, and draw arrows, add text labels, and circle the areas you want changed. Good for a quick personal markup before a call, or for marking up a competitor site you want to reference. The limit: the screenshot is stale the moment the live site changes, and if your client sends a marked-up screenshot back — emailed, re-saved — mapping it to the current build adds a step. Most useful when you're the only person marking up.
Use a browser extension for your own review
Extensions like Marker.io's sidebar or BugHerd's widget let you click an element on the live page, leave a note, and route it to a project board with the URL, browser, and OS captured automatically. Good for QA passes on your own staging build — the output goes straight to a ticket. Two real limits: the extension needs to be installed by whoever is annotating, and it needs to be configured via a JS snippet or connected project. Neither is hard, but neither is something you hand off to a non-technical client in 30 seconds.
Share a review link your client can open and click
Proxy-based tools — Drafty, Pastel, AnnotateWeb — load the site through a special URL so reviewers can hover any element, click, and leave a pinned note without installing an extension or creating an account. You paste the live URL, get a review link, send it to your client. They open it on their laptop or phone, click the heading they want shortened, and the note lands in your thread immediately. This is the approach that actually removes the barrier: no 'can you send me the extension again,' no 'I don't have a Figma account.' The one gotcha: pages that require a login to view (a staging environment behind HTTP auth, a CMS preview URL with a one-time token) may not load through a proxy tool. Test with the exact URL you'll send before you share it with the client.
When the site is behind a login or staging auth
Proxy-based tools can't see through authentication walls — they hit the login page the same as any anonymous visitor. For a staging site behind HTTP basic auth, the cleanest workaround is to temporarily disable the auth gate, share the review link, and re-enable it after. For a CMS preview URL, copy it fresh and test it in a private browser window before sending. If disabling the gate isn't an option, a screenshot pass (step 1) or a recorded walkthrough with timestamped notes is the fallback. Some embedded-widget tools (BugHerd, Marker.io) work on authenticated pages because the script is loaded inside the authenticated session — worth the setup if staged reviews are a recurring part of your workflow.
If you're sending the site to a client and need useful, located feedback back — not marking it up yourself — the review-link approach is the one worth using. Drop the URL into Drafty, share the link, and your client clicks the exact heading, button, or footer block they mean and leaves a note pinned right there. No extension for them to install, no account to create, no paragraph trying to describe which nav item. Their notes arrive in a thread anchored to the element, you push a revised version on the same link, and they see the update in place.
Open a live demoQuestions
- How do I markup a website without an account?
- Use a proxy-based tool — paste the live URL and you get a shareable review link. Your client opens it without signing up or installing anything. On your end, you need an account to create the link; the reviewer does not need one to annotate.
- Can my client markup a website without downloading an extension?
- Yes. With a link-based review tool, your client opens the URL in any browser and clicks to pin notes directly on the page. No extension, no plugin, no account. This is the main reason link-based tools work better than extension-based tools for client feedback — you can't reliably ask a client to install something before they give you a revision.
- What is the best way to get client feedback on a live website?
- A shareable review link your client can open on their phone or desktop, click any element, and leave a pinned note — without installing anything. The alternatives (emailed screenshots, voice notes, 'the thing near the logo') all require you to decode what they meant. A pinned note on the actual element removes that step.
- How do I markup a staging site for client review?
- Paste the staging URL into a proxy-based review tool. If the staging site is behind HTTP basic auth, temporarily disable it, share the link, and re-enable it after the review. If you can't disable auth, a recorded screen walkthrough with timestamped notes is the fallback — or an embedded-widget tool that loads inside the authenticated session.
- Does website markup work on mobile?
- Browser extensions don't work on iOS or Android mobile browsers. The method that works on mobile is a proxy link — your client opens the review link in Safari or Chrome on their phone, taps the element, and leaves a note. No installation needed.
- How is marking up a website different from sending an annotated screenshot?
- An annotated screenshot is a frozen image that goes stale the moment the live site changes. Website markup pins notes to the actual element on the live page — so even after a revision, the feedback stays in context. And when your client sends the markup back, there's no decoding which screenshot version they marked up.
Keep exploring
Stop emailing files back and forth.
Share one link. They comment on the exact spot — no account, always the current version.