Premium Channel Previews

Which Channels Are Preview Only

So on Free, nine channel types are preview only, and on Starter three are. On Pro, Business and Agency every channel type can be published. This follows the Website Widgets plan alone: an AI Chatbot plan does not unlock a channel, and neither does Bundle & Save, which changes the price only. See Pricing to compare plans.

What You See In The Dashboard

Open Website Widgets in the dashboard sidebar, open your website, and go to the Channels tab. A channel your plan only previews is labelled in four places:

• The Add a Channel drawer. The channel carries a Preview only tag. Its Add button still works.
• The channel editor. A notice at the top says it is a premium channel that you can configure and preview, that visitors will not see it until you upgrade, and which plan it is included from.
• The Channel Builder list. The row shows a Preview only badge, a line such as "Preview available · Included from Starter", and an Upgrade button that opens Billing.
• The Plan Allowances card. Below the list, rows such as Premium channels · Form, Feedback and Services · Offers · Guided Form read Included or Preview only for your current plan.

Build A Preview Channel

1. On the Channels tab, click Add Channel, then Add next to the channel you want.
2. Fill in its settings as you would on a plan that includes the channel.
3. Click Save as Draft. The notice confirms that nothing was published.
4. Check the Owner draft preview card in the editor. It shows the channel title, your description and a one-line summary of the draft, for example how many questions or services are visible.

The Live Preview on the Overview and Appearance tabs shows published channels only, so a preview-only draft does not appear in it. If you click Publish changes on a preview-only channel, the editor answers Publish blocked and keeps your draft as it is. Nothing on your site changes.

Take The Channel Live

1. Click Upgrade on the channel’s row and move the workspace to a Website Widgets plan that includes the channel.
2. Go back to the Channels tab and open the channel with Edit.
3. Click Publish changes. The row now reads Live.

Your draft is kept through the upgrade, so there is nothing to rebuild. The reverse also holds: if the workspace later moves to a plan that does not include a channel, visitors stop seeing that channel and its settings stay in the dashboard.

Premium Options Inside A Channel

Some options inside channels you already have depend on the plan as well. Most can be set up and saved ahead of an upgrade and publish only from a higher plan. A few stay locked until the plan includes them.

• Channel Title. On Free the field is locked with a Starter + tag and channels keep their default names. Renaming starts on Starter. A Custom Link always has its own label.
• Multiple Agents for WhatsApp and Telegram. Free publishes one agent. Starter publishes up to 2, Pro up to 5 and Business up to 20. See WhatsApp: Single And Multiple Agents.
• More than one location in Find Us / Maps publishes from Pro.
• Custom review platforms in Leave a Review publish from Starter. Free publishes one built-in platform.
• A second channel of the same type in one widget, such as two Contact Forms, publishes from Business.
• Channel sections publish from Business. On Pro they can be drafted, and on Free and Starter they are locked. See Channel Order And Grouping.

If It Does Not Behave As Expected

• Publish blocked on a channel your plan includes. An option inside it is ahead of the plan: more enabled agents than the plan publishes, a second Maps location below Pro, or a custom review platform on Free. Change that option, save, and publish again.
• The channel is still Preview only after you upgraded. Use the refresh button at the top of the Channel Builder card, then open the channel and click Publish changes. If Billing still shows the old plan, see I Paid But My Plan Has Not Updated.
• The drawer says channel availability could not be confirmed. Nothing is assumed available while that message shows. Refresh and try again.
• You are not sure why a channel is locked. A Channel Is Locked Or Marked Premium walks through each label.