Use Case

Online Proofing Tool for Web Projects

Proof your build against the approved design before review. Catch visual drift in spacing, color, and typography — the obvious issues and the subtle ones nobody would notice by eye.

Two layers of issues. Most teams only catch one.

There are two types of visual problems in any web build. The first kind is obvious: wrong color, broken layout, incorrect button state. Reviewers catch these and send them back. The second kind is subtle: spacing 4px too tight, a font weight one step too light, a color that drifts slightly from the approved hex. These are too subtle to flag in a review — but they compound into a build that never quite matches the design.

OverlayQA catches both. Visual Comparison lets you compare your build directly against the approved Figma frame so you see every obvious mismatch before it reaches review. AI Design Review scans for the subtle drift that human reviewers consistently miss. According to Webvizio, 57% of creative teams still need 3-5 versions before approval. Most of those rounds are catching things that could have been found first.

Common proofing challenges

• Too many approval rounds — The build goes to review, comes back with issues, gets fixed, goes back. Most of those issues could have been found before the first review.
• Subtle drift that slips through review — Spacing, font weight, and color values drift slightly from the approved design. These differences are too small to spot by eye, and the build ships with quality that is close but not right.
• No design reference during review — Reviewers look at the build without the approved design side-by-side, relying on memory instead of comparison.
• Issues without enough detail to fix — Plain screenshots and text notes leave developers reproducing the problem rather than fixing it.

How online proofing works with OverlayQA

1. Open the build — Navigate to your staging or production URL in Chrome.
2. Load the approved design — Select the Figma frame you are proofing against. OverlayQA pulls it directly from your Figma file.
3. Run Visual Comparison — Compare the build against the design and mark any spacing, color, or layout discrepancies you find.
4. Run AI Design Review — AI scans the build for subtle drift: font weights, spacing values, and colors that are close but not right.
5. Export issues to your tracker — Send captured issues to Jira, Linear, or Notion. Each includes a screenshot, element details, and page context so developers can fix it immediately.

Frequently asked questions

What is online proofing for web projects?

Online proofing for web projects means comparing your live build against the approved design before it goes to review — like proofreading a document before you send it. OverlayQA lets you compare your implementation against the approved Figma frame, run AI Design Review to catch subtle drift, and export issues to Jira, Linear, or Notion so they get fixed before the approval round.

How do you proof a website before launch?

Open the staging build in your browser, load the approved Figma frame for comparison, and work through each page checking for visual discrepancies — wrong colors, misaligned layout, incorrect spacing. Then run AI Design Review to catch the subtle issues no one would notice by eye: font weights that are slightly off, spacing that is a few pixels tight, colors that are close but not exact. Export any issues you find to your project tracker so they are fixed before launch.

What is the difference between obvious and subtle design issues?

Obvious issues are the ones reviewers catch and send back: wrong button color, broken mobile layout, missing section. Subtle issues are harder to spot but still matter: spacing 4px too tight, a font weight one step too light, a blue that drifts slightly from the approved hex. Both types degrade quality — but subtle drift rarely gets caught without systematically comparing against the approved design.

How does proofing reduce approval rounds?

Most approval rounds exist to catch issues the team could have found themselves. When you proof the build against the approved design before review, you catch the obvious mismatches first. Agencies with structured review processes see up to 60% fewer revision rounds (DesignRush). Fewer issues reaching the approval round means fewer round trips and faster sign-off.

What does OverlayQA capture when you log a proofing issue?

Each issue includes a screenshot of the affected element, the spacing and color values on the page, the page URL, viewport dimensions, and browser metadata. This gives developers enough detail to find and fix the issue without follow-up questions. Issues export directly to Jira, Linear, or Notion.