Your host
Netlify + Siteshare
Netlify hosts the site and builds it when main changes. Siteshare lets your client change it and publishes as one commit on main. Your client's drafts don't start a build on Netlify, and your client needs no Netlify account. We tested this on 28 October 2026: a draft built nothing, and the published change and the restore were live on Netlify within minutes. On 7 November 2026 we added the deploy notifications: Siteshare showed Live 16 seconds after Publish.
- 01
Host the repository on Netlify
Import the GitHub repository in Netlify, with main as the production branch.
- 02
Add the site to Siteshare
Install the Siteshare GitHub App on the same repository and add the site, or run npx siteshare connect in its folder.
- 03
Let Netlify tell Siteshare when it's live
In Siteshare, open the site's Settings and copy the URL and the JWS secret under Netlify. In Netlify, go to Project configuration, Notifications, Deploy notifications, and add three HTTP POST requests with them: Deploy started, Deploy succeeded and Deploy failed.
- 04
On a private repository in an organization, allow Siteshare's commits
Netlify can hold back a deploy whose commit author isn't on your Netlify team. Siteshare commits as Siteshare, so check that those deploys go through, for example with auto-approval.
- 05
Invite your client
They open the site with /edit at the end of the address and sign in with a code.
| Question | Netlify | Siteshare |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Builds the site from GitHub and serves it | Lets your client change the code, in drafts, and publishes |
| Your client's drafts | Nothing: drafts are marked [skip ci], which Netlify skips | A live preview of the draft on the real site |
| Publish | Builds main and takes it live | Builds a clean copy first, then one commit on main |
| Live | Reports a production deploy through its deploy notifications, not in GitHub | Shows your client Live when Netlify's notice comes in, and mails you the before and after |
| Editing for clients | Visual Editor, for teams that Netlify Support enabled, with a content schema; Agent Runners for your Netlify team | An editor on the site itself, no schema, no Netlify seat |
Before and after main
Netlify is good at everything that happens once main changes: the build, the CDN, previews of pull requests. Siteshare covers what comes before: a client who wants to change a text or a photo, sees it in a draft on the real site, and publishes only what builds.
Questions
Does Siteshare deploy to Netlify?
No. It only commits to main in your repository. Netlify sees the commit and builds as it always does; Siteshare has no Netlify keys.
Why not Netlify's Visual Editor?
It needs a content schema and is available to teams that Netlify Support enabled. Siteshare edits the site as it is, and your client needs only an email address.
Does my client see when the site is live?
Yes, once you add Netlify's deploy notifications with the URL and secret from the site's Settings in Siteshare. Netlify reports production deploys only that way, not in GitHub, so without them your client hears that the site is updating, and Netlify takes it live as usual.
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