How to get client approval on a Squarespace website.
A vague "looks good!" in an email is not approval. Here's how to get a clear, written sign-off on a Squarespace site at the right moments, so launch day doesn't come with surprises.
Approve in Stages, Not Once at the End
If the first time a client approves anything is the finished site, every decision is open for debate at once: the colors, the layout, the copy, the photo on the About page. Split approval into stages, each one locking in decisions the next stage builds on:
- Sitemap: which pages exist and what goes on each.
- Design direction: the home page, or a style tile with fonts, colors and a sample section.
- Full build: every page with real content, on the Squarespace site itself.
- Launch: final checks done, ready to go live.
Once a stage is approved, changes to it are new work. Say that in your proposal, and remind the client at each sign-off. This is the single most effective defense against scope creep.
Show the Site, Not Screenshots
For the full build, review on the real site. Clients judge a website by scrolling it on their phone, not by looking at a flat image. A screenshot hides problems a real page shows straight away: text wrapping awkwardly on mobile, an image cropped differently, a button that's hard to tap.
During the build the site isn't public, so the client needs a way in. Either invite them as a contributor so they can see it in the editor (Website editor is a sensible role at this stage), or use the Viewer role, which lets someone see a private or password-protected site without entering the site password. The steps are in how to give a client access to Squarespace.
Ask the client to review on the devices their customers use. If most of their traffic is mobile, a desktop-only review misses the version most people will see.
Ask for Specific Feedback
"What do you think?" invites a vague answer. Give the client a short brief for each review: what to look at, what's already decided, and when you need their answer. For example: "Please check every page for accuracy of names, prices and contact details, and flag anything that's wrong or missing. The layout and colors were approved last week. I need your feedback by Thursday."
Ask for all feedback in one batch. Consolidated feedback is a revision round; a stream of single comments over a week is not, and it's much harder to price or close out. If several people on the client's side need to review, ask them to agree among themselves and send one set of changes.
Get Approval in Writing
Approval should be a written, unambiguous yes, tied to a specific version of the work. Something like: "I approve the home page design as shown on the site on October 6, and understand further changes to it are outside the agreed scope." It doesn't have to be a legal document. An email or a message the client sends in reply works, as long as it's specific and you can find it again.
Keep a record of each approval with its date. If a question comes up after launch ("we never agreed to that photo"), you can point to the moment it was agreed instead of relying on memory.
Agree Who Has the Final Say
Approval goes wrong most often when more than one person on the client's side has an opinion and nobody has the last word. The owner approves the design, then their business partner sees it a week later and wants a different color scheme.
At kickoff, ask who will give feedback and who makes the final decision. Write both down. When you send work for review, address it to the decision-maker and ask them to collect comments from everyone else first. If a new voice appears late in the project, it's fair to say their feedback can be included as a change request rather than reopening approved work.
Keep the number of reviewers small. Two or three people who actually care about the site give better feedback than a committee.
Run a Pre-Launch Check Before the Final Sign-Off
Before you ask for launch approval, go through the site yourself so the client is approving a finished product, not a list of bugs:
- Every page checked on mobile and desktop.
- Links and buttons go where they should.
- Forms submit and arrive at the client's email.
- SEO titles and descriptions set on every page.
- No placeholder text, images or demo content left.
- Domain ready to connect.
Then ask for final approval to launch, with a clear note of what happens after: a bug-fix window if you offer one, and how new changes are handled and billed. See how to hand off a Squarespace website for the rest of that conversation.
Where Bridge Fits
Bridge is a website feedback tool for the review stage on Squarespace. When a client opens the site in the Squarespace editor, they can pin a comment to the exact heading or image they mean, and it arrives as a task with a screenshot of what they saw plus their browser, operating system and window size. You can work through those tasks by status and mark them resolved as you go. See how tasks work.
Two limits worth knowing. The widget only appears in the Squarespace editor, so a client reviewing on the live or password-protected site without editor access would use the project's chat page instead. And Bridge doesn't do e-signatures, contracts or PDF and video proofing. For a formal sign-off document you'd still use a separate tool, or a clear written message you can find later in the project's chat.
Common Questions
How do I get a client to sign off on a website design?
Ask for approval in stages (sitemap, design, full build, launch), give a specific brief for each review, and get a written yes tied to a dated version of the work.
How can a client see a Squarespace site before it launches?
Invite them as a contributor so they can see it in the editor, or give them the Viewer role, which lets them see a private or password-protected site without the site password.
What should a website approval email say?
It should name exactly what is approved and when, and note that further changes to approved work are outside the agreed scope.
What if a client wants changes after approving the design?
Treat them as new work: quote the change, agree the cost and timing, and adjust the launch date if needed.
Chat directly
on Squarespace.
Bridge helps you stay connected with the clients you manage. Chat directly and make every conversation count.
