How to Collaborate with Clients Using Atarim’s URL Collaboration Feature

Paste a web address, send one link, and your client leaves feedback on the page itself — no install, no account, no screenshots in email.

Atarim team Updated 30 Jul 2026 · 11 min read

Client Collaboration

Adding a site to Atarim by URL so a client can comment on it

Before you start

Relevant for

Project Managers, Design Leads, and Team Members who need client feedback on a live site without asking the client to install anything.

Required knowledge

Basic familiarity with the Atarim dashboard. No technical setup on the client’s side.

Tools & resources needed

An active Atarim account.
Access to the Projects screen.
A web address that loads for someone who is not signed in.

One field, one button — the whole setup for a URL-based project. Everything after that is about who you send the link to, and how the page gets displayed when they open it.

URL collaboration turns any reachable web address into a project your client can comment on directly. They click a link, point at the thing they mean, type what they want changed, and it arrives in your task list as a task attached to that exact spot on the page.

This guide covers the whole loop: creating the project from a URL, choosing how the page gets displayed, inviting the client the right way, and handling the feedback that comes back. The step most people skip is the second one, and it is the one that determines whether the page loads quickly for everyone afterwards.

Creating a Project from a URL

Type or paste the address into the field, which shows https://example.com as a placeholder. If you leave off https://, Atarim adds it for you.

Select Add Site. On success you will see a confirmation that the website was added, and Atarim takes you straight into the collaborate view for the new project — you do not return to the Projects screen.

The Atarim Projects screen with a web address typed into the URL field and the Add Site button beside it — One field, one button — the whole setup for a URL-based project

Typing a web address into the URL field on the Atarim Projects screen — Choose your collaboration method

The Choose your collaboration method dialog in Atarim, showing the in-Atarim and Chrome extension options — Type or paste the address into the URL field — leaving off https:// is fine

If you see	What it means
URL is empty	The field was blank. Enter an address and try again.
Invalid URL format	The address could not be read as a web address. Check for typos and stray spaces.
A generic failure message	Something went wrong adding the site. Try again, and check the address loads in a normal browser tab.

The address must be publicly reachable

Anything behind a login, a staging password, an IP allowlist, or a firewall rule will not load for Atarim or for your client. For those sites use the Chrome extension instead, which works on the page as you see it in your own browser. See How To Whitelist Atarim When Your Site Uses Firewalls, WAF Rules, Or IP Restrictions

Choosing How the Page Is Displayed

If you are using Chrome without the Atarim extension installed, a dialog appears before the project is created, titled Choose your collaboration method:. This choice matters more than it looks, because it decides how the page loads for you and your team from then on.

Option	How it works	Trade-off
Collaborate inside Atarim Continue without Chrome Extension	Atarim fetches your web project and displays it inside Atarim.	Nothing to install, but the fetching step means you may see longer loading times.
Instantly Collaborate on Your Site Install Chrome Extension	You collaborate on the website itself, in your own browser.	Requires installing the extension, but gives no loading delay and pages that render correctly.

Extension for your team, in-Atarim view for clients

Install the extension for yourself and your team, and let clients use the in-Atarim view. Your team gets pages that load instantly and render correctly; the client still needs nothing installed, because a stakeholder who does not want the extension can collaborate inside Atarim on the same project. See How To Install The Atarim Chrome Extension

Tip

If a client reports the page loading slowly or looking wrong, this is usually the first thing to check. Sites that lean heavily on scripts, fonts, or lazy loading tend to be the ones that do not survive being fetched and redisplayed.

Inviting Your Client

Open the project’s share modal — Collaborate on this project — from the project block on the Projects screen or from the collaborate view. Which tab you use matters, because they do different things.

Tab	Use it for	What the person gets
Guests and Clients	Clients and outside stakeholders.	Access to this project only, in a simplified interface, with no sign-up.
Team Members	People inside your agency.	A workspace role — Administrator or Team Member — and broader access.
Manage Access	Setting who can reach the project at all.	Administrators only.

The share control on a project block on the Atarim Projects screen — The share control on a project block

The share control as it appears in the Atarim collaborate view — The same control as it appears in the collaborate view

Use Guests and Clients for clients

The Team Members tab assigns a workspace role and is meant for your own staff. Inviting a client there gives them more access than they need. The client route has no role to choose at all.

Sending the Invite

Open the share modal and select the Guests and Clients tab.

Under Add Guests or Clients, type an email address and press Enter. Repeat for each person. Each address is added as a separate entry, and there is no name field — the client gives their name themselves the first time they open the link.

Under Add a Note, write some context for the invite.

Select Instant Invite – No Login Needed. The invitation email goes out with the collaboration link.

The fields for inviting a client or guest to an Atarim project, with an email address and a note — The fields for inviting a client or guest — an address and a note, with no role to choose

Sending the Link Yourself

If you would rather send the link in your own message, use Copy Link in the share modal header. Its tooltip reads Copy a quick link to this project. The link carries a collab=true marker, which is what opens the page in collaboration mode.

The Copy Link control in the Atarim share modal header — Copy Link, for sending the collaboration link in your own message

Tip

Copying the link is the faster route when the client is already in a conversation with you — a link in a reply gets opened more reliably than a system email that may land in a promotions folder.

Clients can invite their own colleagues

Collaborators and guests see a simplified share view instead of the three tabs — a single form asking Who would you like to invite? and Would you like to add a note?, with an Invite button. This lets a client bring a colleague in without giving them access to your team settings. See Understanding User Roles And Permissions

What the Client Sees the First Time

The link opens the page straight away — there is no sign-in wall. The client is only asked who they are at the moment they first try to do something, such as submitting a task or leaving a comment. A small form appears headed Let others know who you are.

The client opens the link and starts a task on the page.

When they go to submit, the identification form appears. It has a Name field and an Email field, plus a checkbox agreeing to the terms and conditions.

They fill it in and continue. Their identity is stored in their browser and remembered for 90 days, so they are not asked again.

The Let others know who you are form showing a Name field, an Email field, and a terms and conditions checkbox — The identification form — Name, Email, and the required terms checkbox

The terms checkbox is required

The client cannot continue until they tick I agree to the terms and conditions. If a client says the button is not doing anything, this is almost always why — point them at the checkbox rather than troubleshooting their browser.

Only the email is required, and the 90 days is per-browser

The email is validated — an invalid address shows Please enter a valid email. The Name field is optional, but if a client leaves it blank their feedback is attributed to “Guest”, which makes a multi-stakeholder review hard to read, so ask them to fill it in. The 90 days is stored in the client’s own browser, so someone who switches from laptop to phone, uses a private window, or clears their browsing data will be asked again. That is normal and does not affect the feedback they already left.

Tip

If two people need to use the same shared computer as different guests, add ?new=true to the end of the collaboration link. That clears the remembered identity so the next person is asked for their own details.

How Clients Leave Feedback

The client selects the part of the page they want to talk about. A task is started, pinned to that spot on the page.

They type their feedback and submit it. The task appears for your whole team straight away, with the page and location attached.

A client leaving feedback pinned to an element on a page in Atarim — Feedback is pinned to the element it is about

Ask for the outcome, not the change

“This headline does not say what we do” is more useful than “make it bigger”, because it leaves you room to solve it properly. See Atarim For Clients And Stakeholders: How To Provide Clear Feedback

Recommendation

Mark internal work as internal before you send the link. Internal tasks are hidden from guests and clients entirely, so your QA notes do not appear alongside the client’s own feedback. See Internal Tasks

Reviewing and Responding

Open the project and review incoming tasks from the Inbox or the Boards screen.

Reply on the task to answer the client, or leave a private note for internal remarks. Comments are visible to the client; notes are not.

Update the task’s status as the work moves along, and set it to Complete when it is done.

Client feedback arriving in the Inbox as tasks

Replying quickly does more than replying thoroughly

A short acknowledgement keeps clients commenting; silence teaches them to batch everything into one long email instead.

Benefits of Collaborating by URL

Benefit	In practice
Nothing for the client to install	They click a link and start commenting.
No account needed	Guests identify themselves once and are remembered.
Feedback arrives located	Each comment is pinned to the element it is about, so “the button” is never ambiguous.
Works beyond WordPress	Any publicly reachable address can become a project.
Everything lands in one place	Comments become tasks in your existing list rather than scattered email.

Example Use Cases

Situation	How to run it
A pre-launch review of a live staging site	Add the URL, invite the client as a guest, ask them to comment page by page.
A competitor or reference site you are discussing	Add it by URL and use it as a shared annotation surface with your team.
A client on a locked-down corporate laptop	Send the link — the in-Atarim view needs no install or admin rights.
A site behind a staging password	Use the Chrome extension instead; the fetched view cannot get past the login.
Several stakeholders reviewing at once	Add all their addresses on the Guests and Clients tab in one invite.
Two reviewers sharing one computer	Append `?new=true` to the link so the second person identifies themselves.

Known Limitations

The address must load without signing in. Password-protected, gated, or IP-restricted pages need the Chrome extension.

The in-Atarim view can be slower, because the page is fetched and redisplayed rather than loaded directly.

Complex pages may not render perfectly in the fetched view.

Guest identity is per-browser. Ninety days applies to that browser only, not to the person.

The collaboration-method dialog only appears on Chrome when the extension is not installed.

The client’s view is deliberately reduced. Guests see a simplified interface, not the dashboard.

FAQs

Can clients use the link without an Atarim account?

Yes. They identify themselves once with a name and email, then comment directly on the page. No sign-up.

Does the client need the Chrome extension?

No. The extension is for you and your team. Clients can collaborate inside Atarim on the same project without installing anything.

Will this work on a site that is not WordPress?

Yes. Any address that loads publicly can become a URL project.

What about a site behind a staging password?

Use the Chrome extension. The in-Atarim view cannot get past a login.

When is the client asked who they are?

Not on opening the link. The form appears the first time they try to act — submitting a task or commenting. Only the email is required, along with agreeing to the terms.

How long is a guest remembered for?

90 days, stored in the browser they used. A different browser or device will ask again.

Should I invite a client on the Team Members tab?

No. Use Guests and Clients. The Team Members tab assigns a workspace role and is intended for your own staff.

Why does the page load slowly?

Because the fetched view retrieves the page and redisplays it inside Atarim. Installing the extension removes that step for whoever installs it.

Can a client invite someone else?

Yes. Guests and collaborators get a simplified share form so they can bring a colleague into the same project.

Common issues

Invalid URL format when adding — check for typos or stray spaces. The address needs to be a normal web address.
The page will not load in Atarim — open it in a private browser window. If it needs a login there too, use the Chrome extension.
The page loads but looks broken — you are on the fetched view. Install the extension for your team and re-check.
The page is slow for everyone — expected on the fetched view. The extension removes the delay for whoever installs it.
The client says the link does not work — confirm the project has not been archived or deleted, and re-copy the link with Copy Link.
The client says the submit button does nothing — they have not ticked the terms checkbox on the identification form. It is required.
Feedback is attributed to “Guest” — they left the optional Name field blank. Ask them to re-enter with a name, using ?new=true on the link.
The client is asked for their details again — they are on a different browser or device, in a private window, or have cleared their browsing data.
Client feedback is not appearing — check you are looking at the right project, and that the tasks are not filtered out by a status or view filter.
The client sees your internal notes — they cannot. Notes are never visible to guests. If they saw something internal, it was posted as a comment.

Conclusion

URL collaboration removes the two things that usually slow a feedback round down: asking the client to install something, and asking them to describe where on the page they mean. Paste the address, pick how the page should be displayed, invite them as a guest, and their comments arrive as located tasks in your existing list.

The two decisions worth getting right are installing the extension for your own team, and using the Guests and Clients tab rather than Team Members for anyone outside your agency. Discover How To Review And Respond To Client Feedback

Tips & best practices

Check the address loads in a private browser window before adding it — that is what Atarim and your client will see.
Install the Chrome extension for your team and let clients use the in-Atarim view.
Always invite clients from Guests and Clients, never Team Members.
Write a note on every invite, so it does not read like an automated email.
Mark internal work internal before you send the link.
Use ?new=true when a second person needs to identify themselves on a shared computer.
Reply quickly, even briefly — it keeps clients commenting instead of batching.

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