Check out this MarkUp Google Chrome extension
If you’ve ever tried to wrangle design feedback on a Squarespace project, you’ll know the feeling: screenshots fly back and forth, email threads multiply, comments get lost in Slack, and someone’s always asking, “Which bit are we talking about again?” For anyone building sites (or getting signoffs) on Squarespace, collecting clear notes and pointing to actual bits of the page can turn into an almighty headache.
Enter the MarkUp Chrome extension. We’ve been road-testing this in the Pixelhaze workshop for more than six months, and, put simply, it’s now an essential cog in our design process. If you care about keeping your sanity (especially when the feedback starts rolling in), it’s worth taking five minutes to get this tool set up properly.
Let’s dig into why MarkUp solves a real headache, where most people make a mess of it, and, most importantly, how you can get the most out of it from day one.
Why This Matters
Picture this. You’ve just sent a first website draft to a client. There are four email chains, three people chipping in, and at least one person attaching hand-annotated screenshots drawn on their phone. By week two, you’re cross-referencing messages, copy-pasting suggestions between your project tracker and a spreadsheet, and you still don’t know which logo version they mean.
Leaving feedback scattered across email, Slack, and Word docs is a guaranteed path to errors and wasted time. It also means you’ll spend more time translating vague requests (“Can you tweak the header?”) than doing the actual work.
This chaos leads to wasted billable hours, demotivates teams, and risks letting things slip through the cracks. If you’re running a digital agency or freelancing, it’ll eat your profit margins alive.
MarkUp’s Chrome extension aims to sidestep this mess by letting you pin feedback directly to the live version of your Squarespace project. Everyone—designers, clients, copywriters, and even that one person who always spots a typo—can see, reply to, and resolve comments right on the website. No more guessing where a note applies, or hunting for version six of a PDF annotation.
Common Pitfalls
Here’s where plenty of folk make a mess of it:
- Thinking it’s yet another Chrome widget that adds no real value. Install and forget is easy, but you’ll never realise what you’re missing.
- Skipping account setup. If you don’t create a proper MarkUp account, you’ll hit a wall the minute you try to share feedback or invite a collaborator.
- Assuming clients will “just get it.” Most people’s first instinct is to annotate the old-fashioned way. If you don’t walk your clients (or team) through how MarkUp works, expect confusion and reversion to chaos.
- Not integrating with your actual workflow. If you cherry-pick MarkUp just for a quick note and carry on emailing everything else, you lose the real benefit: a single source of truth for all feedback.
Trust me, the first week we tried MarkUp, we did all of the above. Fast-forward and it’s second nature when it is set up right.
Step-by-Step Fix
Getting the MarkUp Chrome extension working is straightforward. To get the most out of it (especially on Squarespace projects), you need a bit of know-how. Here’s how we approach it at Pixelhaze.
1. Create Your MarkUp Account
First things first: head to www.markup.io.
- Click the “Sign up for free” button.
- Enter your details. Use a work email if you’ll be collaborating.
- Follow the prompts to activate and verify your account via email.
Set up using a shared agency mailbox (hello@youragency.com or similar) if multiple team members will need admin access. It makes future management much easier and avoids headaches if someone leaves the team.
2. Install the Chrome Extension
Once your account’s ready, grab the Chrome extension:
- On the MarkUp dashboard, look for the blue announcement bar at the top.
- Click “learn more” next to “Download MarkUp for Chrome.”
- Follow the Chrome Web Store instructions to add the extension.
You’ll now see the MarkUp icon parked near your browser bar.
Pin the extension to your toolbar. Otherwise, you’ll forget it’s there when you need to review a website-in-progress.
3. Start a MarkUp Project With Your Squarespace Site
Here’s how to get started:
- Open your Squarespace site in Chrome.
- Click the MarkUp extension icon. You may be prompted to sign in.
- Click “Create MarkUp” or “Open in MarkUp” (depending on if you’re starting fresh or returning to a project).
- MarkUp grabs a live version of your site and spins up a new project dashboard.
From now on, you (and anyone you invite) can annotate that exact page.
If you’re working on a site still under password protection, start the MarkUp project while logged in as an authenticated user. The extension passes through your session, which avoids access headaches for staging sites.
4. Share and Collaborate Without Confusion
Now it’s time to get real-world feedback.
- In your MarkUp dashboard, add comments or “pins” directly to problem areas, copy suggestions, images, or even white space that needs tweaking.
- Click “Share” to invite colleagues, clients, or external reviewers by email.
- Everyone can reply to, resolve, or even assign comments.
This puts an end to questions about which page a comment refers to and lets people point at exactly what they mean. When comments get resolved, you can mark them complete so nothing lingers forever unresolved.
Before rolling out to a client, jump on a five-minute call and screen share. Show them how to add comments and reply. This tiny bit of upfront handholding produces less confusion and way fewer panicked "Help! What do I click?" emails later.
5. Keep Your Workspace Organised
Once you have more than one project, naming and organisation become vital.
- Give projects clear, client-friendly names (“Acme Corp September Homepage Feedback” beats “Website_1_Rev2”).
- Use MarkUp’s folder structure if you often have multiple rounds (e.g. “Round 1 Feedback”, “Round 2 Final Edits”).
- Archive old feedback rounds after signoff so your workspace stays clean.
At Pixelhaze, we add the date and purpose to every new MarkUp project (e.g. “Pixelhaze X: Blog Design Edits – 15 March”). If a client starts sending notes for an old round, you know it’s time for a polite nudge!
6. Harness Authenticated Mode for Password-Protected Sites
Squarespace sites are often locked behind passwords until go-live. This can trip you up if collaborators can’t see the actual website.
- Use the Chrome extension from a browser window where you are logged in to the password-protected site.
- When you “Create MarkUp,” it captures your authenticated session.
- Now you can annotate (and share) live, even private work-in-progress sites.
It sounds obvious, but double-check which “version” you’re working on. Copying and pasting URLs between staging and production gets messy. Use MarkUp’s link sharing so all feedback lands in the right place.
What Most People Miss
Two key insights separate those who only half-use MarkUp from the people who turn it into a genuine timesaver.
First: The most effective approach is using MarkUp as your main home for all feedback. Resist the urge to let clients send “one last note” via email or WhatsApp. It might feel easier in the moment, but it’s a surefire route to missed requests and awkward “Wasn’t that fixed?” exchanges. Politely but firmly nudge everyone back to MarkUp.
Second: Train your team and clients up front, not after something’s gone wrong. That five-minute demo (or even a quick screencast video) means you won’t be fielding support calls or translating cryptic notes later. Most non-designers love MarkUp once they know where to click.
MarkUp works well as a shared whiteboard stuck to your website. Using fewer feedback channels saves time and helps avoid confusion.
The Bigger Picture
Sorting out your feedback process leads to smoother projects, less wasted time, and more consistent quality.
For freelancers, projects finish sooner with less chasing, making it easier to get paid faster and take on more work without burning out. For agencies, this approaches professionalism and paves the way for repeat business. Clients will actually remember that working with you was easy, which is rare.
There’s another payoff nobody talks about: you’ll find more time for the fun, creative work you actually enjoy. When feedback is all laid out in one place from first draft to final sign-off, there’s less stress and more room to think creatively.
MarkUp isn’t the only way to manage feedback, but after six months of using it for every project at Pixelhaze, our verdict is simple: it fixes what email and Slack can’t. You’ll never go back to juggling screenshots and ambiguous comments.
Wrap-Up
If you’re building or managing Squarespace sites (or honestly, any web project involving collaborative feedback), the MarkUp Chrome extension is about the best five-minute investment you can make. It brings sanity and structure to feedback rounds, saves everyone time, and clears up confusion about what needs review.
Here’s what to remember:
- Set up your account and extension before you need it.
- Walk your team and clients through the basics with a quick demo.
- Insist on using MarkUp as your HQ for comments and approvals—no excuses.
- Stay organised with project names, folders, and clear archiving.
- For password-protected or staging sites, use the Chrome extension's authenticated mode.
The end result is less admin, faster signoff, happier clients, and a much smoother ride from first draft to launch day. You'll have more time for the work you love and spend less time on late-night feedback hunts.
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