Guide · handoff email
Website handoff email template
A short, copy-paste email that hands the site over properly: what shipped, how to review it, and what happens after approval — with the evidence attached instead of promised.
The template (copy-paste)
Subject: [Project name] — site handoff for your review
Hi [client first name],
The site is ready for your review. Everything below is live
at the final URLs — no staging links.
REVIEW LINK: [one link covering all pages]
EVIDENCE: [receipt PDF] — screenshots, capture date and a
content hash per page, so we both know which version this
approval covers.
HOW TO REVIEW
Open the review link (no account needed). For each page:
- Approve it, or
- Request a change — name the page and the element.
Pages are approved individually, so one change never reopens
the whole site.
AFTER YOU APPROVE
- Unchanged pages keep their approval if we edit later.
- Only pages that actually change come back to you.
- I'll send the invoice once every page is approved.
Support window: [X weeks] after approval for bug fixes.
Out of scope: content accuracy, third-party embeds, hosting
uptime. The evidence records what was observed at capture
time — it is not legal certification.
[Your name]Why attach evidence to the handoff email
A handoff email that only says "the site is done" creates two problems: the client doesn't know what to check, and the approval — when it comes — references nothing. Attaching a receipt with per-page content hashes fixes both: the review scope is explicit, and the sign-off binds to a version instead of a memory.
Rule of thumb: the email should never have to describe what the site looks like. That's the evidence's job.
Before you hit send
- Run a fresh capture so the receipt matches what you're shipping today.
- Confirm every page is at its final public URL — no redirects to staging.
- Check the receipts cover desktop and mobile for every page in scope.
- Set the support window before the client asks.
The full pre-send checklist lives in the website handoff approval checklist, and the approval email for after their review is covered by the website sign-off template.
Common handoff email mistakes
- Sending screenshots as loose attachments — nobody can tell which page or version they show.
- Asking for "general feedback" instead of per-page decisions, which stalls the invoice.
- No change policy, so every future tweak feels like a renegotiation.
- Linking a staging URL that dies a week later, taking the approval's meaning with it.