COMPARISON GUIDE

EditWhere vs Pastel for WordPress Projects

Both tools promise smoother design feedback — but only one is built for the thing WordPress teams actually need: reviewing unpublished, password-protected pages securely. Here’s how they compare.

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The Core Question: Can It Review Pages That Aren’t Live?

Most WordPress projects involve reviewing work before it goes live — a staging site, a draft page, or a password-protected preview. This is where the comparison between EditWhere and Pastel gets interesting.

Pastel is a polished visual feedback tool that works well on publicly accessible pages. You paste a URL, share a link, and collaborators can pin comments directly on the page. For live sites or public staging environments, it’s a smooth experience.

But here’s the friction: if your WordPress page is behind a password, in draft mode, or on a staging URL that requires authentication, Pastel can’t load it. The tool depends on being able to render the page in an iframe — and that breaks the moment a login wall appears.

EditWhere is built specifically for this scenario. It installs as a WordPress plugin, works inside your admin, and lets reviewers access draft and password-protected pages through a secure, time-limited share link — no login required on their end, no iframe issues.

Side-by-Side: EditWhere vs Pastel

How the two tools stack up on the workflows WordPress teams run every day.

FEATURE

Works on draft / unpublished pages
Works on password-protected pages
Works on staging sites (auth required)
Secure time-limited share links
Visual comments on the live page
No reviewer login needed
WordPress-native (plugin)
Works on any public URL
Inline comment threads
Free plan available

EDITWHERE

Built for WordPress

Yes — core feature
Yes — fully supported
Yes — plugin bypasses auth
Yes — with expiry control
Yes — pin comments on page
Yes — reviewers need no account
Yes — installs as WP plugin
Yes
Yes
Yes

PASTEL

URL-Based Feedback

No — requires live URL
No — iframe blocked by auth
No — can't load gated pages
No — share via Pastel link only
Yes — on public pages
Yes — reviewers use shared link
No — browser-based, no WP plugin
Yes — any public URL
Yes
No — paid plans only

Where Pastel Falls Short on WordPress Projects

Pastel is a well-designed tool — but its architecture assumes the page you’re reviewing is already publicly accessible. For many WordPress teams, that’s simply not true.

Here are the three workflow gaps that come up repeatedly:

The Draft Page Problem

Your client wants to review a page before you publish it. You send them the WordPress preview URL — but Pastel can't load it. Preview URLs require a logged-in WordPress session, which Pastel's iframe renderer doesn't have. You're back to emailing screenshots.

The Password-Protected Page Problem

Many agencies protect work-in-progress pages with a WordPress password. It's a sensible approach — but Pastel hits a wall. The iframe loads the password prompt, not the page. Your reviewer sees a login form, not the design they're supposed to be approving.

The Staging Site Problem

Staging environments typically sit behind HTTP authentication or a private domain. Pastel can't render these either. So even if your staging URL is shareable, the moment there's any auth layer in front of it, Pastel's feedback workflow breaks down completely.

How EditWhere Solves This

EditWhere is a WordPress plugin, not a browser-based iframe tool. Because it lives inside your WordPress install, it has direct access to your content — published or not.

When you share a page for review, EditWhere generates a secure, time-limited link. That link lets your reviewer see the page — exactly as it will look when published — without needing a WordPress account, without bypassing your security, and without any friction.

Reviewers can pin visual comments directly on the page, leave threaded notes, and you see every piece of feedback in your WordPress dashboard. No third-party platform to manage, no copy-pasting between tools.

Install the plugin — takes under 5 minutes
Open any draft or protected page in your WP admin
Click 'Share for Review' — get a secure link instantly
Reviewer opens the link, sees the real page, leaves comments
You see all feedback in your dashboard — act on it, resolve it, done

EditWhere review workflow in WordPress dashboard

When Pastel Is the Right Choice

To be fair: Pastel is a genuinely capable tool in the right context. If your workflow looks like this, it may suit you well:

You review fully live, publicly accessible websites — no auth layers
Your team works across multiple platforms (not just WordPress)
You prefer a standalone SaaS tool over a WordPress plugin
Your clients are comfortable with third-party review platforms

But if you’re a WordPress-focused agency, freelancer, or in-house team who regularly reviews pages before they go live, Pastel’s iframe dependency will create friction at exactly the wrong moment — when your client is waiting for a review link.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes — this is EditWhere’s primary use case. When you generate a share link from within WordPress, EditWhere creates a secure, time-limited URL that lets your reviewer see the draft page exactly as it will appear when published. They don’t need a WordPress account, and the page doesn’t need to be live.

No. Pastel renders pages in an iframe using the public URL. If that URL is behind a WordPress password prompt or any authentication layer, Pastel can’t load the page content. Reviewers will see the login/password form instead of the page design.

No. Reviewers simply open the secure link you send them. They can view the page and leave pinned visual comments without signing up for anything. This removes a major friction point — especially when reviewing with clients who aren’t technical.

Yes — EditWhere is a WordPress-native plugin. It’s designed specifically for teams building and reviewing WordPress sites. If you need a tool that works across multiple platforms and technologies, a URL-based tool like Pastel may be more flexible for that use case.

We’ve put together a full comparison of visual feedback tools for WordPress teams — including BugHerd, Markup.io, and Atarim — in our pillar guide. It covers how each tool handles unpublished pages, reviewer access, and WordPress-specific workflows.

Read the Full Alternatives Guide →

Part of the EditWhere Alternatives Series

This page is part of our in-depth guide comparing visual feedback tools for WordPress teams. The pillar guide covers EditWhere alongside Pastel, BugHerd, Markup.io, and Atarim — with a focus on which tools actually work on unpublished and password-protected WordPress pages.

← Back to: Alternatives to Pastel, BugHerd, Markup.io & Atarim

Stop Sending Screenshots. Start Sharing Real Pages.

EditWhere lets you share any WordPress page — draft, password-protected, or staging — as a secure review link. Your clients see the real page. You get pinned visual feedback. No logins, no friction.

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✓ Free plan available ✓ No reviewer accounts needed ✓ WordPress-native