design review made easy: commenting directly on live prototypes
March 16, 2026 · 5 min read
the short answer
you can run a design review by commenting directly on a live prototype in the browser — clicking the real element and leaving a note instead of marking up a static export. the tool captures the element's selector and url so every comment points at exactly what you saw.
more feedback collected when reviewers comment on live work versus static exports
— nielsen norman group usability research
design reviews break down when the thing being reviewed isn't the thing being shipped. you export a static frame, collect comments on it, and then have to map every note back onto the live build by hand. reviewing the live prototype directly skips that whole translation step.
static exports lose the point
- a flat image has no hover, scroll, or responsive behavior to react to
- comments on an export don't line up with the real implemented element
- the prototype keeps evolving while the export sits frozen
- reviewers comment on what something looks like, not how it behaves
the best design feedback comes from interacting with the real thing. a live prototype lets reviewers click, scroll, and feel the spacing and motion — and that's where the meaningful notes come from. it's the same reason commenting on live web ui beats screenshots, which we cover in how to give precise ui feedback without screenshots.
comment on the prototype itself
with spotlight, you open the live prototype in chrome and click any element to leave feedback right on it. spotlight captures the element's css/xpath selector and the page url, so each comment is anchored to the actual component the designer or developer is building — not a picture of it.
if your review notes need a legend to match them back to the build, you're reviewing the wrong artifact.
what the team gets out of it
- designers see feedback attached to the exact element they built
- reviewers react to real interaction, not a frozen frame
- every comment collects in a shared dashboard for one clean pass
- feedback links can be shared so async reviewers join without a meeting
this is especially useful for async and distributed teams, where a live review meeting isn't always possible. reviewers leave element-anchored comments on their own time, and the designer works through a single, unambiguous list. to make those notes easy to hand off, see how to share specific web ui feedback links.
design review doesn't have to mean exporting, annotating, and re-mapping. point at the live prototype, say what you mean, and let the feedback stay attached to the real element from review to ship.
frequently asked
why review a live prototype instead of a static export?
a live prototype lets reviewers interact with real hover, scroll, and responsive behavior, and comments anchor to the actual element — so feedback maps directly onto the build instead of needing manual translation.
does this work with any prototype hosted on a url?
yes. spotlight is a chrome extension that runs on any live page, so any prototype you can open in the browser can be reviewed element by element.
how do remote reviewers join the review?
they leave element-anchored comments asynchronously, and everything collects in a shared dashboard. you can also share specific feedback links so reviewers land right on the relevant element.
try spotlight free
comment directly on the elements that matter. install the extension and leave your first note in under a minute.