Customer preview receives the current editor design, including unsaved changes. Use it to inspect the canvas, customer-editable fields, and product options. It is separate from the published shopper page and does not prove checkout readiness.
Open Customer Preview
Open the customer form dock from the tab on the right edge of the canvas, then select Open full preview (the expand icon) in its header. The preview opens over the editor without publishing the product. Save separately when you want to keep your edits.
Complete the required fields and switch through the available materials, sizes, fonts, colors, and add-ons.
For a quicker check, stay in the dock. Its own Preview view shows the customer form beside the canvas, so you can keep the settings panels open and watch a change land while you make it. Open full preview is the full-screen version of the same thing.
It is the real customizer, not a mock-up of one
Both entry points load the shopper’s own customizer inside the editor and push your in-memory design into it. Nothing is re-implemented for the merchant side, so a fix or an improvement to what shoppers see appears here on the same day, and a layout problem you find here is a layout problem shoppers would have had.
That is also why the preview needs a moment on a cold start. If it has not appeared after about fifteen seconds, the panel replaces itself with a message and a retry control rather than spinning forever.
The cart is deliberately closed
The add-to-cart button is disabled here and reads Preview only instead of Add to Cart. Hover it and it tells you why: this is a preview, and checkout turns on once the design is published. Clicking it does nothing except raise that same notice, which clears itself after three seconds so you are not left with a red banner over your work.
This is not a bug to report or a field you have filled in wrongly. Checkout belongs to a published product, so validate the actual cart flow on the publication itself.
Check mobile twice
Use Preview size inside the preview to switch to the narrow layout.
Test image upload, long option labels, dropdowns, and the lowest field in the form. The canvas and form should remain usable without horizontal scrolling.
Then check it on a real phone, which is a different test. Test on mobile opens a popover with a QR code you scan with the phone’s camera.
A narrow browser window and a real phone disagree more often than you would expect. Touch targets, the on-screen keyboard pushing the form up, and photo upload from the camera roll are all things only the phone can show you.
Does Customer Preview publish the product?
No. It previews current editor changes without publishing or enabling checkout.
Why are my latest changes missing?
The preview should receive current editor changes. Check for loading errors and reopen it if needed. Save separately to keep the edits; publishing is another step.
Why does the QR code show an older design?
The mobile link points at one exact saved version, because a separate device cannot receive the editor's unsaved state. Save the design, then reopen the popover for a link to the new version.
What is the most important mobile check?
Complete the entire flow and confirm that every required field and the final action remain reachable.
Next
Read the live preview to understand what the shopper sees while editing.