HubSpot Ideas

megannorris

Bring back public preview links

Recently, email preview links were changed to only be visible with a login. I would like to request a solution that brings this back. I see now that the change was made for security purposes and I recognize that I don't fully understand the use case in which these links are problematic but maybe there is a solution that could work.

 

Use case:

We use preview links extensively internally to get feedback from people across our org on emails that are being sent out. The biggest benefit is that I can make changes in hubspot and they can refresh to immediately see those edits.

 

Options:

* make preview links temporary so they can be used for short periods of time for editing.

* make the preview link optionally public in our hubspot settings

* provide a public preview that is watermarked or otherwise notes that it is a preview

 

Objection 1 - sending email previews instead:

Sending email previews is not ideal as some people in the org are visual editors and prefer to see changes before making more - which ends up meaning a big back and forth for me - make changes, send preview, make changes, send preview, "can we go back to the version from email 4?", find email four and change back, etc. The process is much more streamlined and real time when I have links available.

 

Objection 2 - give everyone hubspot access:

While not ideal, it is possible to set everyone up in hubspot and set up permissions so they ideally can't poke anything in our hubspot instance other than viewing that link BUT this becomes problematic when we work with partners and promote shared webinars. Suddenly we need to consider giving people ourside our org access to our hubspot and this is really not a solution that makes sense for us. 

 

Objection 3 - Screenshots:

I can't capture a whole email in a single screenshot. 

76 Replies
MHolsberg
Member

YES! Please bring it back! Without that option, it lengthens the edit/approval process. 

bwils811
Participant

SOLUTION: Alright.. I think I've stumbled across a solution folks, which is awesome since this thread hasn't garnished any attention from HubSpot yet. Give this a try and let me know if it solves everyone's shareable link problems. I've tested it with an incognito browser and it doesn't appear to need a HubSpot login to view the email. And, when you make changes to the draft and click save, a simple refresh of the tab shows the changes, just as the old preview links did. 

  • Open up the email you'd like to create a preview link for
  • Go to Settings
  • Click the dropdown labeled "Plain text and web version"
  • Hit the toggle to turn the web version on
  • Now, you can't use the "copy link" button for the "Page URL" as that link doesn't go live until you send the email. However, click "Sharable Preview" to open a preview in a new tab or click "Preview" like you used to and copy the link. 

The login requirement seems to be only required for the "temporary slug" URL that HubSpot uses when the email does not contain a link to the web version. So, when you toggle the web version on, you can bypass the login screen and share with non-HubSpot users. Only downside is that a "View in Browser" link gets added to the top of you email design, but you can move that column/module to the bottom of the email. 

 

Let me know if this works universally! Hopefully this is the solution/hack that will work until HubSpot puts a more user-friendly fix back in. 

JeannieF
Participant

@bwils811  I was eager to try your solution. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me. I tried it in incognito using Firefox and Google Chrome, and my sharable preview link wasn't a "temporary slug" URL either. I'd get the HubSpot login page. I'm curious to see if it will work for others.

BPaulette
Participant

@JeannieF @bwils811   Same.  I was also eager to see the solution work, but I end up at the HubSpot login page in other browsers

ValidGlint145
Participant

Need this. It allow us to share landing pages to external organizations before they go live.

GCooper
Member

bring this feature back

mchvatal
Contributor

Please, please, please bring this back!!

alyssamwilie
Recognized Expert | Elite Partner

I keep having to create pages just so our QAers can QA templates because an auto-tester can't log into Hubspot. It's incredibly annoying. Really really really would like to have template preview pages unlocked.

VNguyen6
Member

Yes pleaseeeee

Before removing the feature, at least you guys must track how frequently the function is in used. And if you do, I believe the answer is A LOT.

Which makes a sharable link really sharable is the ability to share with someone without having to log in. My managers can have a really quick look at the final email draft and give me the very last comments. It used to be quick and not any more. Now it's a painful process!

 

Please take these feedbacks into account!

 

Thanks,

Van

slogans
Contributor

@PamCotton it's been over a year since this preview gating was put into place. Can you provide an update on this problem or link the solution? 

BSCARAVELLI
Contributor

Up vote

BGurr
Member

We need public preview URLs back! Our whole company needs to be aware of emails going out and we leverage Slack to make everyone aware - preview URLs were the perfect solution for this. Now we have to Slack everyone to go check their email, check their junk if they cannot see it, and we often have new employees who have not been added to the send list yet who dont get it. It's a nightmare!

Zoates27
Member

We need this functionality!!!!! Sharing fully personalized preview links to non-Hubspot users would be a huge help.

AJordan97
Member

Please consider bringing this functionality back! Often times we share content with others outside of our org and it no longer works correctly.

dougfairbro
Contributor | Diamond Partner

I agree that hiding the preview link behind a login is counterintuitive. I wonder what the results were from the research to go down that route? Previewing a landing page or email couldn't be that much of a security risk imo to justify this move.

 

Please bring is back, it's making life very difficult without it.

SvonAppen
Member

We definitly need an option so share an email within the company – in particular with colleagues who do not have an hubspot account.

Astein
Participant

Removing this functionality is a whole new level of daft. It has literally caused chaos in our approval process where not all stakeholders are members of the same brand. 

 

I find it harder and harder to defend Hubspot as a platform 

RTafelski
Member

We would also benefit from being able to use a shareable link to our marketing emails. 

 

slogans
Contributor
yep, that's what this idea's about
eddiem
Member

It would be nice for Hubspot to provide an update on this issue since it's been over 1 1/2 years since the original posting and there's 150+ upvotes. Is it even on your radar? My organization struggles with this same issue. It makes the approval process much more cumbersome.