--- lastModified: 2026-10-12 type: feature title: "Website Preview Tool for Storefront Review" description: "Use Runner AI's website preview tool to browse storefront routes, identify the version, and inspect errors. Review saved changes before choosing to publish." category: ai-websites h1: "A Website Preview Tool for Checking Your Current Store" keyword: "website preview tool" legacyKind: structured --- A **website preview tool** lets you inspect a storefront before deciding to publish it. Runner AI opens the store project in an interactive preview with route navigation, device frames, refresh controls, and error details when available. Start with your store and the page you need to review. The result is an observed project state you can discuss in Runner chat, not a screenshot mistaken for a working public store. ## Open the website preview tool on the intended version Select your store in the Runner workspace and open **Online Store**. The preview needs an existing storefront or a version that can be displayed. If Runner asks what the storefront should look like, describe the first version you want instead of expecting an empty project to render a completed store. If a build or preview preparation is still running, follow its progress before judging the result. Identify which version you are looking at before reporting a problem. Where version controls are available, the current-version label distinguishes the latest storefront from an older preview. A completed conversation's version card can open the historical result of that task, while older projects without saved history can use the current preview. Those are different review targets even when their homepages look similar. A finished task is not proof that the latest result reached Preview. The previous successful version can remain visible if the new version could not be promoted. Check the visible content and version labels against the change you requested. For example, if you asked for a revised collection introduction, find that introduction rather than treating task completion as confirmation that it appeared. ## Follow storefront routes instead of inspecting only the homepage Use the preview's navigation to move through the store as a customer would. Start at the homepage, follow a collection link, and open a product. Confirm that the destination actually loads and the path changes as expected. A homepage screenshot cannot show whether a menu destination is missing or a product link points to the wrong route. The path field lets you open a known route on the same preview site. Enter the route and press Enter when the field is available. It is not an arbitrary external-URL viewer, and invalid or external addresses are not accepted as storefront navigation. Use the preview's back and forward controls to revisit pages when their history supports those actions, without leaving the Runner project. Write down the expected result for each important destination. On a product page, check the visible title, images, price, options, and purchase control against your verified catalog. Navigate through links as well as entering paths, because a route can work directly while its menu link remains incorrect. Use [responsive site testing](/responsive-site-testing) for the adjacent task of checking the same journey across desktop, tablet, and phone layouts. ## Refresh saved work and report a reproducible preview failure After a correction, wait for the updated preview to become available and return to the affected route. Refresh reloads the visible preview; it does not publish the store. Save pending Design Mode changes first, because a refresh can clear the active selection and its undo and redo session. Repeated reloads do not substitute for resolving a build failure or an unavailable workspace. Read the state Runner shows. A preparing or reconnecting preview is not the same as a ready page. If a selected historical version fails to load, return to the current version when possible and report the version that failed. If Runner displays a preview error bar, expand the details. Use the offered fix or conversation action to give Runner the diagnostic; dismissing the bar only hides the message. For a visual or navigation problem without a diagnostic, send a bounded request in chat. Include the store, version when known, route, device frame, starting state, action, expected result, and observed result. Ask for the affected section to be corrected while preserving unrelated content. The [AI website editor](/ai-website-editor) covers that editing workflow. When Runner finishes, repeat the original steps rather than assuming that a new response proves the problem is gone. ## Keep preview review separate from a public launch A website preview tool is useful for deciding whether a project change matches its brief. It does not certify every connected system. Open the preview in a new tab when you need more room, but remember that a larger browser view is still the preview. Neither changing its frame nor opening another tab makes the storefront public. Check the systems that own the facts customers depend on. Visible product information does not prove current inventory, shipping eligibility, payment connection, or checkout readiness. Use the appropriate authorized test environment for purchase checks. Device frames help inspect layout, but they do not replace testing priority interactions on real phones, checking keyboard access, or measuring performance separately. When the current version passes your review, publication remains a separate action with its own access and readiness checks. The [publishing a website](/publishing-a-website) workflow covers that release decision and verification of the public address. If the public store still shows older content, compare the published result with the version you reviewed rather than refreshing Preview and expecting it to update customers' view. A website preview tool provides evidence for the scenario you observed, not an automatic launch approval. ## Website preview tool FAQ ### Is Runner AI's preview a screenshot generator? No. Runner AI's website preview tool opens the storefront project for interactive review. You can follow store links, inspect known routes, and use the controls available for that project. It is not a general service for capturing arbitrary public URLs or checking social-sharing cards. Choose the tool that matches the result you need, rather than treating every kind of preview as interchangeable. ### Why can the preview show an older version after a task finishes? A completed task and an updated preview are separate outcomes. Where saved version cards are available, a card can intentionally open an older task's result. The current preview can also retain the previous successful version if promotion of newer work fails. Check version labels and the requested visible change before concluding that you are reviewing the latest result. ### What should I send Runner when a preview page is broken? Send the route, version when known, device frame, starting state, action, expected result, and observed failure. Include displayed error details when they are available, but keep credentials out of the report. Ask for one correction and identify what must remain unchanged. After the correction, repeat the same steps in the updated preview to check the result. ### Does refreshing or opening the preview publish my store? No. Refresh reloads the preview, and opening it in a new tab gives you more space to review it. Save pending Design Mode work before refreshing. Publication requires its own action and checks, followed by inspection of the public store. A passing website preview tool review does not establish that customers can complete checkout. [Explore all Runner AI features](/)