Sharing a preview
There are three ways to show your work to someone else: send them the site's address, invite them into the workspace, or give them a read-only link to the site's analytics. This page covers what each one shows, who can open it and how to stop it.
Which way to share
| Way | What they see | Sign-in | How to stop it |
|---|---|---|---|
| The site's address | The site itself, every page, as last published | None | Change the address, or delete the project |
| A seat in the workspace | The project page: conversation, preview, versions and analytics | Their own Briks account | Remove them from the workspace |
| A shared analytics link | The site's analytics, read only | None | Take back |
| A monthly client report, on paid plans | Last month's figures by email, with a link to a report they can print | None | Stop, or the email's own link |
There's no link that shows the studio conversation to someone outside the workspace, and nothing to share before the first publish. The client report is set up under Analytics, Settings, Client report: type your client's email and press Send monthly. Analytics covers what it holds.
Send the preview address
The first publish puts your site at its preview address, yourname.briks.live. It's a real address: anyone who has it can open the site on any device, with no sign-in. Two things make it a preview rather than a launch. It's kept out of search engines, and messages sent through its forms are kept in the studio and not emailed.
Open the site
Where: Preview toolbar
Press Open in new tab above the preview. On a wide screen you can also click the address beside the project's name in the top bar.
Copy the address
Where: Browser
Copy it from your browser's address bar. It works the same for every page, so you can send a link straight to an inner page too.
Send it
Where: Email or chat
Paste it wherever you talk to the person. Tell them it's a preview, so they don't expect it to show up in a search.
Find their form tests
Where: Settings, Forms
If they try the contact form, their message lands under Settings, Forms, not in your inbox.
The owner sends
larkcafe.briks.live/menuto her business partner:Here's the new menu page. Does the brunch section read right on your phone?
The partner opens it on his phone with no account, replies with two corrections, and the owner sends them to Briks as one change. He reloads the same address and sees the fix.
When you publish to production, the same address keeps working (or your own domain takes over, if you've connected one), search engines may list it, and form messages are emailed to you. See Preview and production.
Invite someone to follow the work
For a colleague or client who should see the project itself (the conversation, the preview at each width, the versions and the analytics), invite them to the workspace. The Viewer role “Sees projects, previews and analytics, and changes nothing.” Inviting people starts on the Pro plan, with no seat fees, and invitations go out by email. If they should be able to ask for changes too, make them an Editor.
A seat covers every project in that workspace, not just one. If that's too much, keep the project in a workspace of its own. Members and roles and Handing a site to a client cover both.
Share the site's analytics
For someone who only needs the numbers, such as an agency or an accountant, make a shared link. The studio describes it as “A read-only view of these figures for someone outside the workspace, such as an agency or an accountant. No sign-in; never shown to search engines.”
Open the analytics settings
Where: Analytics
Open the project's Analytics tab and switch to Settings.
Name the link
Where: Shared links
In Who is it for?, type who it's for, such as
Our accountant. This name is only for you.Make it
Where: Shared links
Press Make a link. The link is copied for you: “Link made and copied. Anyone with it can see this site's analytics, read only.”
Send it
Where: Email or chat
Paste it into a message. Use Copy link on its row whenever you need it again.
The person sees a page with your site's name, its address marked “analytics, read only”, and the same figures as your Analytics tab. They can change the date range and filters, but nothing else. Each link in your list shows when it was made and when it was last opened, or “not opened yet”. A site can have up to 10 live links at once.
The owner makes a link named
Hollis & Co accountsso their accountant can see how many people found the site from local listings before the year end.
The accountant opens the link with no account, sets the range to the last 12 months and reads the sources. Nothing else in the workspace is visible to them.
Take a link back
Find the link
Where: Analytics, Settings
Under Shared links, find the row with the name you gave it.
Take it back
Where: Shared links
Press Take back and confirm. The studio says “The link stops working at once.”
Anyone who opens it after that sees “This link has been taken back or is not valid. Ask the site's owner for a new one.” Making and taking back links needs edit rights (Editors, Admins and Owners). Anyone in the workspace can copy a link that already exists.
Can I share a site before it's published?
No. The preview address exists from the first publish. Before that, the build is visible only inside the studio.
Will they see the changes I make after I send it?
Yes. The address always shows the latest publish, so ask them to reload once Briks says a change is published.
Can I put a password on the preview?
No. Keep anything private off the preview, or share it only by inviting people into the workspace.
Can I see who opened a shared analytics link?
You see when it was last opened, not by whom. Give each person their own named link if you want to tell them apart.