Access Settings

Configure who can access and use the commenting widget on your website. These settings control widget visibility, authentication requirements, and client access modes.

Parameter-Based Activation

When enabled, the widget only appears when a specific URL parameter is present.

How it works:

Add ?feedback=true to any page URL to show the widget
Without the parameter, the widget is hidden from visitors
Useful for internal review or staging environments

Turning the widget off again:

Once activated, the widget stays visible on every page of the site (the activation is remembered in the visitor's browser). To hide it:

Add ?feedback=false to any page URL, or
Open the widget drawer, go to the Profile tab, and click Exit

This is useful when you want to collect feedback on a live site without exposing the widget to regular visitors.

Already using ?simple-commenter=true? That older parameter still works everywhere ?feedback=true does, so existing links and bookmarks keep functioning. New links generated by Simple Commenter use ?feedback=true.

Always Visible

When parameter-based activation is disabled, the widget appears on all pages where the script is installed.

Authentication

Choose a widget visibility option that requires login to make users sign in before they can view or leave feedback. This is independent of client registration: requiring sign-in does not require admin approval.

Benefits:

Track who left each comment
Enable email notifications to commenters
Prevent anonymous spam

When disabled:

Anyone can leave comments anonymously
Name and email fields are optional

Client Access Modes

Control how external clients can access and use the widget:

Open Registration

Anyone can create a client account without admin approval. If the widget requires login, visitors must register or sign in before they can view or leave feedback. When using an email link, they must open the link to finish signing in.

If the widget does not require login, registration is optional and visitors can leave feedback without an account.

Require Registration Without Approval

For a staging site where everyone should see the widget, but every reviewer should have an account:

Set widget visibility to Visible to all, but requires login.
Set client registration to Open Registration.

Visitors see a form to create their account, with Sign in one link away for anyone who already has one. New clients get access after completing registration, without requesting approval. Changing visibility or the login requirement keeps your chosen registration policy.

Request Access

Clients can request an account, but must be approved by an admin before they can sign in. Choose a visibility option that requires login to prevent visitors from leaving feedback without an account.

Workflow:

Client clicks "Request Access" in the widget
Request appears in your Clients dashboard
Admin approves or rejects the request
Client receives email notification of decision

Invite Only

Only clients you explicitly invite can get a client account. Choose a visibility option that requires login to restrict feedback access to invited clients and project team members.

Workflow:

Go to Clients in the dashboard
Click Invite Client
Enter their email address
They receive an invitation email with access link

Manage your client list in the Clients section.

On projects that require login, choose when the widget asks for an account. The control sits under Client registration and only appears for the two visibility options that require login.

The default, and how it has always worked. The widget asks for an account as soon as a visitor opens it. Nothing can be viewed or written until they sign in.

When they post their first comment

Every visitor sees the full widget. They can pick a spot and write their feedback first. A small dialog asks for their name and email (or Google) only when they press Post, and the comment goes live right after.

What happens around the sign-in:

The draft stays on the page while the dialog is open. Closing the dialog returns to it untouched.
The sign-in link can be opened in another tab or in the Google popup. The tab with the draft notices the sign-in and posts the comment itself, with its screenshot and attachments.
If the link is opened in another browser, the comment text and its spot are restored there from a saved draft; the screenshot is not.
Existing comments stay hidden until the visitor signs in. Pressing View opens the same dialog.
With Invite Only, the dialog asks for the email only and tells visitors who are not on the invite list.

Not available with Request Access. A visitor would write a comment, register, and then wait for approval with nothing posted. Choose Open Registration or Invite Only to let visitors comment first.

Every sign-in in the widget uses the same form. On projects that require login it opens as a small dialog over the page. Where login is optional it sits on the Profile tab of the widget's drawer, with a link to carry on without an account.

Google first, then the email path. Google is not offered on white-label workspaces.
A sign-in link by email is the main action. No password is needed.
A password is one link below it, for people who have set one. Someone who forgot theirs can send themselves a sign-in link from the same place.
Open Registration and Request Access also ask for a name. A request ends on a "Request sent" screen until you approve it.
Invite Only asks for the email alone. A reviewer you invited without a name is asked for it once, right after they sign in, and can skip it.

Client Visibility

Decide whether clients see each other's feedback on this project. Workspace admins and team leads always see everything.

All feedback on the project

The default. Clients see every comment on the project, including comments from other clients, with the statuses you allow for clients.

Only their own feedback

Each client sees the comments they wrote and your team's replies to them. Other clients' pins, comments and names stay hidden. This is made for beta programs and user tests where testers must not influence each other.

What changes for clients:

Applies everywhere a client sees comments: the widget, its comment list, the client dashboard, the AI assistant and email notifications.
Clients can mention your team but no longer see other clients to mention.
A client can reply to and change the status of their own comments only.
Comment numbers keep their project-wide order, so a client may see #4 and #9.

Needs a visibility option that requires login, so every comment has a verified author. If you switch the widget back to an option without login, the setting returns to All feedback on the project.

Saving Changes

Changes save automatically. Check the save status at the top of the page before leaving. The Visitor experience summary explains the selected combination.

Next Steps

Manage clients
Configure what clients can do
Set up default access settings
Log your own users in automatically with the JS API (skip the widget login for people already signed into your app)