diff --git a/backend/apps/ifc_validation_bff/views_legacy.py b/backend/apps/ifc_validation_bff/views_legacy.py
index 4f5c30f0..f5b671c9 100644
--- a/backend/apps/ifc_validation_bff/views_legacy.py
+++ b/backend/apps/ifc_validation_bff/views_legacy.py
@@ -26,7 +26,8 @@
 from apps.ifc_validation.tasks import ifc_file_validation_task
 
 from core.settings import MEDIA_ROOT, MAX_FILES_PER_UPLOAD
-from core.settings import DEVELOPMENT, LOGIN_URL, USE_WHITELIST 
+from core.settings import DEVELOPMENT, PREVIEW
+from core.settings import LOGIN_URL, USE_WHITELIST 
 from core.settings import FEATURE_URL, MAX_OUTCOMES_PER_RULE
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -61,7 +62,7 @@ def get_current_user(request):
         return user
 
     # only used for local development
-    elif DEVELOPMENT and not USE_WHITELIST:
+    elif (DEVELOPMENT or PREVIEW) and not USE_WHITELIST:
 
         username = 'development'
         user = UserAdditionalInfo.find_user_by_username(username)
@@ -109,7 +110,10 @@ def get_feature_filename(feature_code):
 def get_feature_url(feature_code):
     """
     Get the URL for the corresponding feature filename
-    In DEV, we return the filename in the 'development' branch of the repository and 'main' for PROD. 
+    We return the filename in the relevant branch of the repositoy, eg.
+    - 'development' for DEV
+    - 'preview' for PREVIEW
+    - 'main' for MAIN
     """
     feature_files = get_feature_filename(feature_code)
 
diff --git a/backend/core/settings.py b/backend/core/settings.py
index 453338ae..e1c6be20 100644
--- a/backend/core/settings.py
+++ b/backend/core/settings.py
@@ -33,13 +33,13 @@
 # SECURITY WARNING: don't run with debug turned on in production!
 DEBUG = ast.literal_eval(os.environ.get("DEBUG", 'False'))
 DEVELOPMENT = os.environ.get('ENV', 'PROD').upper() in ('DEV', 'DEVELOP', 'DEVELOPMENT')
-STAGING = os.environ.get('ENV', 'PROD').upper() in ('STAGE', 'STAGING', 'QA')
+PREVIEW = os.environ.get('ENV', 'PROD').upper() in ('PREV', 'PREVIEW', 'STAGE', 'STAGING', 'QA')
 PRODUCTION = os.environ.get('ENV', 'PROD').upper() in ('PROD', 'PRODUCTION', 'PRD')
-ENVIRONMENT = 'DEVELOPMENT' if DEVELOPMENT else 'STAGING' if STAGING else 'PRODUCTION'
+ENVIRONMENT = 'DEVELOPMENT' if DEVELOPMENT else 'PREVIEW' if PREVIEW else 'PRODUCTION'
 PUBLIC_URL = os.getenv('PUBLIC_URL').strip('/') if os.getenv('PUBLIC_URL') is not None else None
 
 # URL for rule hyperlinks; determine the branch based on the environment
-FEATURE_BRANCH = "development" if DEVELOPMENT else "main"
+FEATURE_BRANCH = 'development' if DEVELOPMENT else 'preview' if PREVIEW else 'main'
 FEATURE_URL = os.getenv(
     "FEATURE_URL", f"https://buildingsmart.github.io/ifc-gherkin-rules/branches/{FEATURE_BRANCH}/features/"
 )
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@
     "django_cleanup.apps.CleanupConfig"  # to automatically remove unlinked files
 ]
 
-if DEVELOPMENT:
+if DEVELOPMENT or PREVIEW:
     INSTALLED_APPS += [
         "debug_toolbar",
     ]
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@
     "django.middleware.clickjacking.XFrameOptionsMiddleware",
 ]
 
-if DEVELOPMENT:
+if DEVELOPMENT or PREVIEW:
     MIDDLEWARE += [
         "debug_toolbar.middleware.DebugToolbarMiddleware",
     ]
diff --git a/backend/core/urls.py b/backend/core/urls.py
index 64673ffd..0d16ce9a 100644
--- a/backend/core/urls.py
+++ b/backend/core/urls.py
@@ -11,7 +11,8 @@
 
 from .views_auth import login, logout, callback, whoami
 
-from core.settings import MEDIA_ROOT, MEDIA_URL, STATIC_URL, STATIC_ROOT, DEVELOPMENT
+from core.settings import MEDIA_ROOT, MEDIA_URL, STATIC_URL, STATIC_ROOT
+from core.settings import DEVELOPMENT, PREVIEW
 
     
 def redirect_root(request):
@@ -80,7 +81,7 @@ def redirect_to_v1(request, resource, suffix=None):
     path('callback/',        callback, name='callback'),
 ]
 
-if DEVELOPMENT:
+if DEVELOPMENT or PREVIEW:
     urlpatterns += [
         # redirect root to admin
         path("", lambda request: HttpResponseRedirect("/admin/")),