Publishing sheets to the web in Smartsheet helps you collaborate with external stakeholders.

Collaboration that reaches beyond your Smartsheet accounts

Think about the people who care about a project but don’t have Smartsheet logins. Clients, vendors, board members, contractors—the list goes on. Turning a live sheet into something they can view without signing in is a game changer. In Smartsheet, that magic trick is called publishing sheets to the web. It’s simple, transparent, and surprisingly powerful for keeping outsiders in the loop without turning your project into a maze of emails and copies.

Here’s the thing: collaboration works best when information is current and easy to access. If a stakeholder has to chase updates or wrestle with a login, momentum slows down. Publishing to the web sidesteps those frictions. It creates a single link that anyone can use to see the latest data. No accounts, no complicated permissions; just a clean view of what matters.

What exactly is publishing to the web?

Let me explain in plain terms. Publishing to the web is a feature in Smartsheet that lets you share a sheet or a report publicly on the internet. It’s like putting a live dashboard on a storefront window: passersby can glance at what’s happening and stay updated as things change. You control what gets shown, so you can spotlight the project timeline, milestones, upcoming tasks, or any data you’ve chosen. If you update the sheet, the web view updates too. It’s instantaneous in practice, which is exactly what you want when you’re coordinating with people who aren’t inside your Smartsheet workspace.

Now, why this beats the other ways people often try to collaborate with outsiders

• Document sharing through email

• It’s a one-way attachment most of the time. Recipients see a snapshot, not a living, breathing sheet. If you update the plan mid-project, you’ll have to resend or explain changes, which can quickly become a tangle.

• Combining sheets into a master sheet

• That’s great for internal organization, but it doesn’t automatically translate to external audiences. A master sheet is a powerhouse for your team, not for external stakeholders who don’t log in.

• Managing permissions on individual rows

• Fine-grained access is essential inside Smartsheet, but external viewers can’t benefit from it in a meaningful way. Row-level permissions are terrific for internal control, but they don’t help someone who can’t even access the sheet in the first place.

• Publishing to the web, of course

• This is where outsiders get a clean, current view without barriers. It’s the most straightforward way to share a status, a schedule, or a report with people who don’t use Smartsheet.

A practical way to use web publishing without losing control

Imagine you’re coordinating a marketing launch with a freelance team and a client. You’ve got a calendar, deliverables, and approval checkpoints. Publishing the relevant view to the web allows the client to see the latest timelines and approvals without requesting a login or a copy of the data. You keep things tidy by choosing exactly which columns and rows appear, so sensitive details stay out of sight. If something shifts—say a due date slides a week—the change is visible in real time to everyone who has the link.

If you’re worried about exposing too much, here’s a simple rule of thumb: publish only what your external audience needs to know. You can always point people to a more detailed, internal sheet for day-to-day updates. The public view becomes a curated window into the project, not a full database dump.

Safety, privacy, and sensible sharing

Publishing to the web is convenient, but with convenience comes responsibility. A few practical tips:

• Publish selectively: choose a view that highlights milestones, timelines, and current tasks. Remove sensitive data or internal notes from the published view.

• Keep the link under control: treat the URL like a storefront address. Don’t post it publicly where it’s easy to stumble upon; share it directly with stakeholders who need it.

• Review before you publish: double-check what columns and rows are visible. It’s easy to forget a sensitive column is sitting in plain sight.

• Use a read-only mindset: most published views are read-only for external viewers. They can comment or request updates only if you’ve set up a workflow for that, or if you share the sheet in a different way.

• Remember the life cycle: you can stop publishing at any moment. When the project winds down, you can retract the link so no one else can view the data.

When you might choose other paths

There are moments when publishing to the web isn’t the best fit. If external stakeholders must interact with data—update statuses, assign tasks, or submit documents—publishing alone isn’t enough. In those cases, you’d rely on more collaborative methods, such as sharing a sheet with the appropriate permissions or using a form to capture input from outsiders. And if you’re sharing something that needs strict access control, a private share with specific people inside Smartsheet could be the safer route.

Real-world flavors: how teams use this in the wild

• A product launch with a vendor team

• A shared, published view helps the vendor see launch milestones, timelines, and who’s responsible for each deliverable without juggling multiple emails or portals. It keeps everyone aligned, from the creative squad to the production crew.

• A construction project with an external client

• Clients can watch the schedule evolve as tasks shift and milestones are met. It reduces status meeting fatigue and keeps the client in the loop with a single, reliable link.

• A nonprofit grant cycle

• Stakeholders can review progress against milestones and grant disbursement timelines. The public view fosters transparency while keeping sensitive data private.

• A corporate event with sponsors

• External partners can track venue logistics, timelines, and approvals. It’s a simple way to show progress and keep commitments on track.

A quick, beginner-friendly walkthrough

If you’re curious to try it, here’s a high-level path you can follow without getting mired in options:

• Open the sheet you want to publish.

• Look for the Publish button—usually in the upper right.

• Choose to publish to the web as a sheet or as a report, depending on what your audience needs.

• Pick exactly which columns and rows you want visible.

• Copy the published link and share it with your stakeholders.

• If you need to pull back access, return to the publishing controls and stop publishing.

A few soft tips to make the most of this feature

• Keep visuals crisp. Use clean headers, concise column titles, and a logical task order. A tidy published view is easier to scan than a cluttered one.

• Think in slices. If your project includes several lanes—timeline, budget, approvals—consider publishing separate views for different groups. A client might care about timelines, while a contractor might focus on tasks and due dates.

• Pair with a quick update ritual. A short weekly note that highlights what changed since the last publish can help stakeholders feel connected without feeling overwhelmed.

In the end, publishing sheets to the web is all about accessibility without sacrificing control. It’s a straightforward bridge that lets external folks stay informed, engaged, and aligned with the project’s pulse. And if you ever feel unsure, you can always pause and revert to a more private sharing setup—your data, your call, at every step.

A closing thought

Projects thrive when information flows smoothly, and the right sharing method makes that flow almost seamless. Publishing to the web gives you a reliable, low-friction way to bring outsiders into the loop—without turning your collaboration into a jumble of emails, attachments, and login prompts. So the next time you’re lining up a project with someone outside your Smartsheet circle, consider this route. A simple link can open a world of clarity, accountability, and momentum. Give it a try, and see how the conversation changes when everyone can see the same live view.