External Review Gadget
Outline
In this module, you will learn about the External Review Links Gadget, one of the most powerful collaboration tools in Optimizely CMS. This gadget allows editors to share unpublished changes with people outside the CMS, such as clients, legal teams, or executives, for review and approval. By generating secure links, you can provide external stakeholders with either view-only or edit-and-comment access, ensuring smoother feedback workflows without requiring them to log in to the CMS.
After completing this module, you should be able to:
- Create and manage external review links for unpublished content
- Distinguish between view links and edit links
- Apply advanced options such as link expiration, PIN codes, and visitor group targeting
- Collect and manage external feedback directly within the CMS
Creating External Review Links
Editors can generate links that allow external users to preview unpublished content. Two types of links are available:
- View Links: Provide read-only access so reviewers can preview changes.
- Edit Links: Allow reviewers to add comments directly on the content.
Sharing and Managing Links
Links can be shared via email directly from the CMS, including subject and message customization. By default, links are active for five days, with an option to extend them for an additional five days. Links can also be deleted if no longer needed.
Security and Access Control
- Add PIN codes to secure access to sensitive content.
- Assign visitor group criteria to preview different personalized versions of the same page, ensuring reviewers can validate multiple experiences.
Collaboration and Feedback
- External reviewers using edit links can leave comments directly in the preview environment.
- Feedback remains tied to the relevant content, reducing the risk of losing information in emails or chat threads.
- Editors can access the comments within the CMS and make necessary updates efficiently.
To see how External Review Links work in practice, explore the demo here: