Before an onsite message goes live, you can preview it on your own website without showing it to visitors. When you're happy with it, you schedule it or publish it straight away. This article explains how to preview, publish, and pause a message, and how to read its status.
Preview a message
You can preview a message at any time, including while it's still a draft.
- Open the message from Onsite > Messages (New).
- Select Preview in the top-right corner. The Preview link panel opens.
- Choose how to open the preview:
- Select Open to open your website with the message in a new tab.
- Select Copy link to copy the preview link, for example to send it to a colleague.
- Scan the QR code to open the preview on your phone.
The preview opens on the site the message belongs to, with the banner Preview mode - Not visible to your visitors at the top of the page. The message starts in its first step, so you can click through it the same way a visitor would.
Previewing doesn't publish the message or change its status. Always test the message on both a phone and a computer before you publish it.
Publish or schedule a message
When the message is ready, use the Schedule button in the top-right corner:
- Select Schedule to choose when the message goes live.
- To go live straight away, select the arrow next to Schedule and choose Publish now.
Before you publish, check that:
- The Site and Script tag in General settings are correct.
- The display conditions only include the criteria you need.
- The start date and end date in Scheduling are correct.
- Every step looks right on both mobile and desktop.
Message status
Each message has two status badges, both in the message list and next to the message name in the editor:
- The first badge shows whether the message is currently showing on your website, for example Online or Offline.
- The second badge shows the message's state, for example Draft for a message that hasn't been published, or Active for a published message.
Pause and edit a live message
To stop a live message from showing, select Pause in the top-right corner of the editor. While a message is paused, new visitors don't see it, but existing links and reminders still work.
You can't change a message while it's live. When you open a setting on a live message, you'll see This flow is live. Pause it before making edits. Select Pause to edit to pause the message and make your changes.
To pause a message for a set period, for example during a sale, set Pause from and Pause to in Scheduling instead. The message then pauses and resumes automatically.
Copy or delete a message
Select the ⋯ menu in the top-right corner of the editor and choose Copy to make a copy of the message, or Delete to remove it.