ShareMyPage vs. Pastebin and GitHub Gist for Sharing HTML
ShareMyPage vs. Pastebin and GitHub Gist for sharing HTML: a paste shows your markup as text, a rendered link shows the page. Who each one is for, and the downside of each.
Most people reach for Pastebin and GitHub Gist for sharing HTML, because they're fast, free and everyone knows them. They were built to share code, though, not a page. Send someone a paste and they see tags and angle brackets instead of the thing you made.
I built ShareMyPage, which shares the rendered page, so I'm not neutral here. There are still jobs where a Gist is the better pick, and I'll name them.
Pastebin and Gist are right when the code is the point
Paste HTML into either one and the recipient sees the raw markup. That is exactly what you want when someone is meant to read it. Gist adds version history and comments, which makes it excellent for working on code together.
This is for you if:
- you're asking a developer to review something
- you're sending a snippet or a bug repro
- it's a config someone will read and run
- you want line-level comments and history around the source
The downside is that neither renders the page. Gist can preview some file types, but for an arbitrary HTML document the person on the other end still has to copy it, save an .html file and open it in a browser. Most people won't bother. And a public paste gives you no real way to decide who gets in.
ShareMyPage is right when the recipient should see the page
ShareMyPage takes the same HTML and gives you a link to the live page, not its source. The recipient taps it and sees the finished result on any device, with no download and no copy and paste. It runs in a sandboxed frame, so it is safe to open. Claude can create the page for you over MCP.
This is for you if:
- it's a page ChatGPT or Claude built you, or a report
- it's a prototype you want feedback on
- the person you're sending it to isn't technical
- you need access control, which a public paste doesn't give you
Two real downsides. The recipient sees the result, not the markup, so a developer who wants to read and discuss your source is better off with a Gist. And on the free plan ShareMyPage keeps only the last three versions of a page. Full history is on the paid plans.
| ShareMyPage | Pastebin / GitHub Gist | |
|---|---|---|
| What the recipient sees | The rendered page | The raw HTML source |
| Opens live on a phone | Yes, one tap | No, it is a text view |
| Access control | Public, password, or workspace | Public or unlisted only |
| Version history | Last 3 on free, full history on paid | Gist: yes · Pastebin: no |
| Best at | Showing the finished page | Sharing and reviewing code |
The short version
- Use Pastebin or Gist if the code is meant to be read and run.
- Use ShareMyPage if the page is meant to be seen and used.
The tip I'd give a friend: if the person you're sending it to has never saved an .html file and opened it in a browser, send them the page, not the source.
If you want them to see the page and not the code, create a page on ShareMyPage and paste your HTML in.