Email Notifications

SimpleCommenter sends email notifications to keep all stakeholders informed about comment activity on your projects. This guide explains how the notification system works, who receives emails, and how to customize your preferences.

How Email Notifications Work

Email notifications are sent as digest summaries based on your configured frequency. Rather than sending an email for every single comment, SimpleCommenter batches notifications together to prevent inbox overload.

Notification Types

SimpleCommenter tracks several types of activity and notifies the appropriate recipients:

Who Receives Notifications

Admins & Team Members

Workspace admins and team members receive notifications for project activity:

• New Comments - All new comments on domains they manage (excluding their own comments if "Notify on Own Comments" is disabled)
• New Replies - Replies added to any comment thread
• Thread Participation - Replies to threads where they've previously commented

Clients

Clients receive a more focused set of notifications:

• Status Changes - When their comment is marked as "Done" or "Review", letting them know their feedback was addressed
• Replies to Their Comments - When someone replies to a comment they submitted

Configuring Notification Settings

Domain-Level Settings

Each domain has its own notification settings. To configure:

1. Go to your Domain in the dashboard
2. Click the Notifications tab
3. Configure the following options:

Email Frequency Options

Control how often you receive notification digests:

Managing Your Personal Preferences

For Admins & Team Members

You can manage your notification preferences in Account Settings:

1. Click your profile in the top-right corner
2. Go to Account Settings > Notifications
3. Configure your preferences:

Global Opt-Out: Disable all email notifications across all domains.

Per-Domain Opt-Out: Disable notifications for specific domains while continuing to receive updates for others. This is useful if you:

• Are only actively working on certain projects
• Want to reduce email volume without missing critical updates
• Have delegated certain domains to other team members

For Clients

Clients can manage their notification preferences directly in the widget:

1. Click the Settings icon in the widget
2. Toggle Email Notifications on or off

Alternatively, clients can click the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of any notification email.

Email Content

What's Included in Notification Emails

Each notification email includes:

• Domain Name - Which project the activity is from
• Comment Details - The comment text, commenter name, and timestamp
• Status Badge - Visual indicator of comment status (Done, Review, etc.)
• Replies - Any replies in the thread, with new replies highlighted
• Attachments - List of attached files (if any)
• Quick Links - Direct links to the dashboard and the live domain

Email Preview Example

Notification emails show up to 2 items per email to keep them scannable. If there are more updates, you'll see a "...and more comments not shown" message with a link to view all activity in the dashboard.

Magic Links

Notification emails include magic links that automatically sign you in:

• Dashboard Link - Takes admins/team members directly to the dashboard
• Domain Link - Takes clients directly to the live website with the widget open

Troubleshooting

Not Receiving Emails?

If you're not receiving notification emails, check the following:

1. Notifications Enabled - Verify email notifications are enabled for the domain (Settings > Notifications)
2. Notifications Enabled Date - Only comments created after notifications were enabled will trigger emails
3. Frequency Timing - Emails are batched based on your frequency setting; wait for the next scheduled send
4. Spam/Junk Folder - Check your spam folder and add noreply@simplecommenter.com to your contacts
5. Personal Opt-Out - Ensure you haven't opted out in Account Settings
6. Domain Opt-Out - Check if the specific domain is in your disabled notifications list
7. Valid Email - Ensure your account has a valid email address

Clients Not Receiving Emails?

For clients to receive emails:

1. They must be signed in to the widget (not anonymous)
2. They must have opted in to notifications when signing up
3. They must not have unsubscribed via the email link
4. Their email must be a valid format

Too Many Emails?

If you're receiving too many emails:

1. Increase frequency - Change from "Hourly" to "Daily" or "Weekly"
2. Disable specific domains - Opt out of low-priority domains in Account Settings
3. Disable "Notify on Own Comments" - Avoid notifications for your own activity

Technical Details

Email Delivery

• Emails are sent via SendGrid
• Sender address: noreply@simplecommenter.com
• All emails are logged for troubleshooting

When Emails Are Triggered

The notification system runs on a schedule and checks:

1. Which domains have emailNotifications: true and hasPendingNotification: true
2. Whether enough time has passed since the last email (based on frequency)
3. Which comments/replies haven't been marked as notified yet

After sending, comments are marked as notified to prevent duplicate emails.

Next Steps

• Configure domain settings
• Set up Slack notifications for real-time team alerts
• Manage team members