How do I share the Customer's order page?

Somewhere between taking the order and shipping it, a customer will ask where it is. On a school or league order with a hard event date, they will ask several times, and often through three different channels.

Each of those interruptions costs more than the two minutes it takes to answer, because answering means stopping, finding the job, checking with whoever is running the press, and going back. Do it eight times a day and it is a meaningful part of somebody's week.

Send a link instead

Every order has a public status page that can be shared with the customer. No login, no account to create — the link itself is the access, so it works for the office manager who ordered the shirts and for the three colleagues she forwards it to.

It shows the order and its items, the current stage, proofs awaiting approval, and shipping and tracking once it exists. It updates as the job moves, because it is reading the live order rather than a status somebody remembered to update.

Send it at the right moment

The link is most useful when it arrives before the customer starts wondering. Sending it with the order confirmation converts a fortnight of uncertainty into something they can check themselves.

Sending it after they have already called has largely missed the point — you have taken the call, and the link now reads as a brush-off rather than a service.

Use it for proof approvals

The same page is where a customer approves artwork. That matters beyond convenience: an approval recorded against the order is a timestamped record of exactly what was signed off.

Any shop that has reprinted a job because of a disputed approval knows what that is worth. "You approved it" is an argument. "You approved it on the 14th, and here is the proof you approved" is not.

What the customer cannot see

The page shows the customer's own order — items, quantities, status, proofs, shipping. It does not expose your cost, your margin, your supplier, or any other customer's work. It is safe to forward, which is important, because it will be forwarded.

Sharing it

Open the order and copy the public link, or send it directly from the order. The link is unique per order and does not expire, so a customer can keep checking after delivery — useful when they come back for a reorder and want to know exactly what they had.

Related: the public order view · how an order moves through the shop.