This guide explains how comments are associated with different users and the various login and security options available to you and your clients. Properly associating comments ensures clear communication and maintains the security of your projects.

First, let's define the three types of accounts in Simple Commenter. Using clear and consistent terms is key to understanding how the system works.

 The primary owner of the Simple Commenter account. They have full administrative access to all settings, projects, and billing.

 A user invited to the account by an Account Admin. Team Members can collaborate on projects with permissions set by the Admin.

 A user invited to a specific project. Clients can typically only view and comment on the projects they have been explicitly added to.

For the purpose of this guide, a "guest" or "visitor" is anyone who is not logged in as one of the three roles above.

Account Admins, Team Members, and Clients can associate their comments by logging in.

This is the most straightforward method for associating comments. Users can log in or identify themselves directly within the comment modal.

 A user enters their name and email address.

 If the provided email address matches an 

 registered in your project, the comment will be automatically marked as 

 (see below) is disabled, any visitor can leave a comment by providing a name and email. These comments from non-registered users will not be marked as verified.

For projects requiring a higher level of security, we recommend enabling 

. This method ensures that only authenticated individuals can view or add comments. You can enable Token Access under 

Domain -> Setup & Access -> Token-Based Access

. Make sure to save the domain once it's enabled.

Account Admins, Team Members, and Clients

 must log in to add new comments or reply to existing ones.

To log in, a user enters their registered email address. They will receive a secure, one-time login link in their inbox.

This process prevents unauthorized users from accessing the comment threads, even if they have a link to the staging site.

You can also provide a seamless login experience for your team and clients directly from the Simple Commenter dashboard.

Click the option to visit the project domain.

This generates a unique URL with a secure token embedded in it.

You can share this link with a specific Team Member or Client. When they click it, they will be automatically logged in without needing to enter their email.

Note: For security, all token-based login links expire after 7 days.

Domain -> Setup & Access -> Setup Clients

You need to add clients per Domain, and there's an unlimited amount of clients you can add.

There are two additional methods to provide clients with a frictionless, one-click login experience. These methods are ideal for simplifying the feedback process.

You can automatically log in a client by adding their email address as a parameter to the project URL. This feature is active only when 

 The client will be automatically logged in and can start commenting immediately.

 The email is still captured for the comment session, and the user's name will default to "Client". This is useful for tracking feedback even from new stakeholders.

From your project dashboard, you can copy a unique, pre-generated URL for each client.

Sending this link directly to a client allows them to be automatically authenticated and logged in the moment they open it. It's the simplest way to grant project access.

By default, an Account Admin's comments will appear under the name "Workspace admin". To personalize this, set a name in your 

. This name will then be used for all your comments.

Simple Commenter offers two security postures to fit your workflow:

 This model is perfect for projects that are already behind a password-protected or private URL. It prioritizes ease of use, allowing anyone with the link to leave feedback without a mandatory login.

 This model requires all participants to authenticate via a secure token. It's the best choice for sensitive projects or when you need to control who can leave feedback strictly.

 When a user associates their email with a comment, that email is never exposed on the front-end of your website. It is stored securely in Simple Commenter's database and is only used for identity verification and sending comment notifications (if enabled). This makes sure your team and clients are protected from spam and scraping attacks.

User Roles and Comment Association

Guides

Simple Commenter has received a major behind-the-scenes update designed to make feedback more accurate and reliable than ever before.

A common challenge with website feedback is ensuring comments remain attached to the correct element as a site evolves. A comment left on a header 

 could previously become missing if the location of the 

. This update addresses that challenge head-on.

The element-finding logic within Simple Commenter is now dramatically smarter, ensuring feedback stays better anchored, no matter the changes.

How It Works: More Context, Better Accuracy

Think of Simple Commenter as trying to find a specific office in a large building. Previously, the system used a very rigid set of directions, like a blueprint location: 

"Start at the main entrance, go to the 2nd hallway, then enter the 5th door on the left." 

This was fast and precise, as long as the building layout never changed.

However, if a developer renovated the building and added a new office in that hallway, the "5th door on the left" would suddenly point to the wrong room. This is precisely what happens on websites—a small design change could make the old directions lead to the wrong element, causing your comment to appear misplaced.

Now, the system is much smarter. Instead of just following a rigid path, it also has a detailed description of the office itself: "I'm looking for the office with 'Sales Department' written on the door, inside the main 'Executive Wing'." This 'detailed description' is what we refer to as an element's 

 – a unique identifier created by combining various attributes of the element itself and its immediate parent.

This powerful new approach means even if the building layout changes, Simple Commenter can now intelligently scan the area to find the element that perfectly matches its unique fingerprint. The code snippet below illustrates a simplified version of our getElementFingerprint function, which is responsible for collecting these crucial data points to form each element's unique identifier.

Now, the system conducts a full investigation, collecting a much richer set of contextual clues for every single comment. This includes:

 The text on an element remains a vital clue. The system is now better at handling minor text edits, such as changing "Step-by-step" to "Step by step."

 The element's specific type and styling are now recorded. A main heading is treated differently from a small paragraph or a special kind of button, helping to distinguish it from other elements.

 This is the most significant upgrade. The system now understands an element's "neighborhood" on the page. A "Products" link in the main navigation menu is now treated as completely distinct from a "Products" link in the site footer. This contextual awareness is crucial for accuracy.

 For developers, the system now recognizes specific IDs and other attributes used to mark important elements, using them as rock-solid anchor points.

 Comments will now stay locked to the correct element, even if the page layout is changed or an element is updated from a paragraph to a heading.

 The system is now much better at re-discovering elements that are temporarily hidden inside dropdown menus or pop-ups. It will patiently wait for them to reappear instead of making an incorrect guess.

 Users can leave feedback with the confidence that it’s anchored precisely where intended, providing the clearest possible direction for development and design teams.

This advanced element detection is now active on all projects. It represents a significant step forward in making Simple Commenter the most intuitive and reliable feedback tool available.

Developing this new element-finding logic truly pushed me outside my comfort zone, forcing me to dive deep into areas of coding I hadn't extensively explored before.

One of the most significant things I learned and implemented during this process was the 

. In simple terms, it's a metric for measuring the difference between two sequences (in our case, two strings of text). It quantifies the minimum number of single-character edits (insertions, deletions, or substitutions) required to change one word or phrase into the other.

For Simple Commenter, this means if a client comments on an element with the text "Step-by-step Guide," and later that text is changed to "Step by step Guide" (just a space added, a minor edit), the Levenshtein algorithm helps our system understand that these two texts are very, very similar, rather than treating them as completely different. This allows the comment to remain accurately attached to the correct element, even after small textual refinements on the page. It's a powerful way to add a layer of "fuzzy" matching to our precise element identification.

Interestingly, this wasn't my first brush with advanced text analysis. A while back, I was developing a media monitoring application – a project that never saw completion, unfortunately. However, during that endeavor, I gained valuable experience in 

 and various other text analysis techniques, such as 

 (determining the emotional tone of text) and topic modeling (identifying underlying themes in large sets of text). While the context was different, that foundational exposure to parsing and understanding textual data proved surprisingly relevant and helpful in tackling the complexities of robust element identification for Simple Commenter. It's rewarding to see how different coding journeys can converge and provide unexpected insights!

Improved Comment Accuracy

Blog

One of the most common questions I get is: 

“When a user comments to change an image, how can they share the new one?”

 Until now, the answer was usually to send it by email—bringing us back to old, inefficient workflows. That’s why I’m excited to introduce 

Introducing File Uploads in Website Feedback

Collecting feedback on your website just got easier. With the new 

Attach screenshots, documents, and media files to any comment or reply.

Share error logs, design files, or supporting documents without leaving the feedback tool.

Keep all project context in one place—no more chasing files across email threads.

This update is designed to streamline communication and help you resolve website issues faster.

Using file uploads in Simple Commenter is effortless:

Start a new comment or reply to an existing thread.

Your file is uploaded and securely stored, visible to everyone in the thread.

 Common document, image, and media formats. (Business & Enterprise plans will support additional types like .zip and .sketch.)

Simple Commenter offers flexible plans to fit your needs:

 Now in testing! Enjoy 1GB storage and 3-month retention.

 Coming soon, with higher limits and more file types.

 Storage and retention limits may be adjusted as we monitor usage and costs.

 Attach Figma exports, screenshots, or design files for precise reviews.

 Upload error logs, browser screenshots, or video clips to clarify issues.

 Share reference documents, contracts, or media assets directly in the feedback thread.

No more lost context—everything stays with your website feedback!

We’re working on advanced plans for teams with bigger needs:

 5GB storage, 6-month retention, all standard file types.

 50GB storage, 12-month retention, plus support for .zip and .sketch files.

Stay tuned for more details and early access opportunities.

Ready to streamline your website feedback process? 

 in your next comment or reply. Your feedback helps us improve—let us know what you think!

Simple Commenter 1.11: File Uploads for Website Feedback

Contents

Introducing File Uploads in Website Feedback

How File Uploads Work

Plans & Storage Limits

Trial & Pro

Unlimited

Business (coming soon)

Enterprise (coming soon)

Use Cases: Why File Uploads Matter

Upcoming: Business & Enterprise Plans

Try File Uploads Today