Online Demo
Best Practices

Your internet connection is the lifeline of an online demo. Treat it accordingly.

• Use a wired ethernet connection wherever possible. Wi-Fi introduces variability that causes stuttering video, laggy screen shares, and dropped calls.
• Test your speed beforehand. Aim for at least 10 Mbps upload for a smooth stream.
• Bring a mobile hotspot as a backup and confirm it works before the demo starts. Keep it charged and ready to switch to instantly.
• Close bandwidth-heavy background apps: cloud backups (Dropbox, Google Drive sync), OS updaters, video streaming, and torrent clients.
• If others share your network, coordinate so no one is downloading large files during your demo window.
• Disable automatic OS and application updates for the day — these can trigger mid-demo and saturate your connection.

Any external dependency is a potential point of failure. Audit every one before going live.

• Open every URL your demo touches and confirm each page loads — the day before and again within 30 minutes of starting.
• Check the status pages of third-party services you rely on (APIs, cloud platforms, auth providers).
• Log into every account, dashboard, or admin panel in advance. Never type passwords live.
• Verify that embedded content — maps, iframes, widgets, media players — renders correctly in the browser you'll share.
• Confirm API keys are valid and you haven't hit a rate limit or quota cap.
• Pre-load and pin all tabs you'll visit so they're cached and ready to switch to instantly.

Status Pages to Bookmark

• Present the program at full size. Maximise your browser or app window before sharing. Partial windows or zoomed-out layouts make content hard to read and give a poor impression of the interface.
• Test screen sharing before the call on the same platform your audience will use (Zoom, Meet, Teams, etc.).
• Choose: full screen, single window, or browser tab. Browser tab sharing is often the cleanest and most stable.
• Set your resolution to 1080p. Ultra-wide or 4K scales poorly for attendees.
• Hide the browser bookmarks bar before sharing — it exposes personal sites, saved password hints, and browsing habits that are distracting and unprofessional on camera.
• Enable Do Not Disturb to suppress all notifications, calls, and pop-ups.
• Hide desktop icons and wallpaper. A clean desktop looks professional and avoids exposing personal files.
• Use a dedicated browser profile for demos — clean bookmarks, no autofill surprises, no personal history. The bookmarks bar can be hidden within that profile specifically.
• Close your email client, Slack, and any chat apps not needed for the demo.

Backup Strategies by Failure Type

Pre-Recorded Screencast

Record a full walkthrough of your demo in advance — both as a backup if anything breaks live, and as a rehearsal tool to catch pacing issues before the real thing. Store the recording locally, not only in the cloud, so it's accessible even if your internet drops.

Your demo account serves a dual purpose: it's where you author your marketplace content and the account you present from during live demos. It needs to be carefully prepared and kept in a clean, presentation-ready state at all times.

Populating with Dummy Data

• Fill every user-facing area with realistic but entirely fictional content — invented names, placeholder companies, made-up addresses, and fake amounts that look plausible on screen.
• Use a consistent fictional persona or organisation (e.g., "Acme Corp") throughout so the account feels coherent, not randomly assembled.
• Add dummy users and clients ahead of time. Populate the account with a realistic roster of fictitious users, contacts, and clients so that user lists, client directories, and participant views look active and well-used rather than empty or sparse.
• Execute program units and workflows in advance to generate historical data. Run through the core actions your program supports — completing units, submitting forms, logging activity, processing records — so that your dashboard and reporting screens are rich with data by demo day. Charts with real-looking history and full reporting tables are far more compelling than blank dashboards.
• Seed enough records that lists look populated. Aim for at least 5–10 rows in any list you'll scroll through, and enough activity to make trend charts meaningful.
• Pre-fill any forms or inputs you'll demonstrate so you aren't typing live.

Hiding Private or Sensitive Areas

• Audit every screen you might accidentally navigate to — identify anything that shouldn't be visible: billing details, admin settings, API keys, real credentials, or real usage data.
• Collapse, hide, or blur sensitive panels before the demo. Use role-based permissions to restrict visibility where possible.
• Remove or replace any real email addresses shown in account profiles, notification settings, or connected services.
• Review browser autofill settings to ensure no real credentials can accidentally surface while typing live.

Keeping the Account Demo-Ready

• Do a full dress rehearsal in the exact setup you'll use — same machine, same network, same platform. A mental walkthrough is not enough.
• Click every button and trigger every feature in sequence. If something breaks in rehearsal, it will almost certainly break live.
• Time yourself. Most demos run over — cut accordingly and identify what can be skipped if you're running long.
• If presenting with others, rehearse handoffs explicitly to avoid awkward silences or overlapping audio.

Prepare Your Recovery Lines

Complete this checklist at least 30 minutes before the demo:

• Start with the outcome. Tell your audience what they're about to see before diving into setup screens.
• Narrate what you're doing at all times — don't let loading screens create silent dead air. Say "This is fetching data from our backend — normally about two seconds" rather than waiting silently.
• Avoid live typing of complex commands, long URLs, or credentials. Use pre-written scripts, copy-paste, or keyboard shortcuts.
• If something breaks, stay calm and pivot to your contingency without over-apologizing. Audiences forgive hiccups when presenters stay composed.
• Keep an eye on the chat — your co-host can flag if attendees can't hear you or your screen share has frozen.
• Stick to the happy path. Avoid demonstrating features that are unstable or still in progress.

• Share a link to a recording, live version, or repository while interest is high — ideally in the chat before the call ends.
• Note anything that didn't go as planned and update your checklist and contingency plan for next time.
• Reset your demo account to its baseline state — ready for the next presentation.
• Send a follow-up to attendees with resources, links, and next steps within 24 hours.