diff --git a/helpers/libraries/publishHelpers.js b/helpers/libraries/publishHelpers.js
index c2e10091..0977d01a 100644
--- a/helpers/libraries/publishHelpers.js
+++ b/helpers/libraries/publishHelpers.js
@@ -3,6 +3,53 @@ const config = require('config');
 const fs = require('fs');
 
 module.exports = {
+  validateFile (file, name, license, nsfw) {
+    if (!file) {
+      throw new Error('No file was submitted or the key used was incorrect.  Files posted through this route must use a key of "speech" or null');
+    }
+    // check file type and size
+    switch (file.type) {
+      case 'image/jpeg':
+      case 'image/png':
+      case 'image/gif':
+        if (file.size > 5000000) {
+          throw new Error('Your image exceeds the 5 megabyte limit.');
+        }
+        break;
+      case 'video/mp4':
+        if (file.size > 50000000) {
+          throw new Error('Your video exceeds the 50 megabyte limit.');
+        }
+        break;
+      default:
+        throw new Error('The ' + file.Type + ' content type is not supported.  Only, .jpeg, .png, .gif, and .mp4 files are currently supported.');
+    }
+
+    // validate name
+    const invalidCharacters = /[^A-Za-z0-9,-]/.exec(name);
+    if (invalidCharacters) {
+      throw new Error('The name you provided is not allowed.  Please use A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and "-" only.');
+    }
+    // validate license
+    if ((license.indexOf('Public Domain') === -1) && (license.indexOf('Creative Commons') === -1)) {
+      throw new Error('Only posts with a license of "Public Domain" or "Creative Commons" are eligible for publishing through spee.ch');
+    }
+    switch (nsfw) {
+      case true:
+      case false:
+      case 'true':
+      case 'false':
+      case 'on':
+      case 'off':
+      case 0:
+      case '0':
+      case 1:
+      case '1':
+        break;
+      default:
+        throw new Error('NSFW value was not accepted.  NSFW must be set to either true, false, "on", or "off"');
+    }
+  },
   createPublishParams (name, filePath, license, nsfw) {
     logger.debug(`Creating Publish Parameters for "${name}"`);
     // const payAddress = config.get('WalletConfig.LbryPayAddress');
diff --git a/public/assets/css/componentStyle.css b/public/assets/css/componentStyle.css
index 0937c2ce..a837dabd 100644
--- a/public/assets/css/componentStyle.css
+++ b/public/assets/css/componentStyle.css
@@ -122,11 +122,22 @@ button.copy-button {
 	height: 6em;
 }
 
-#image-preview {
-	display: none;
+#asset-preview-holder {
+	width: 100%;
 	margin-bottom: 1em;
 }
 
+.snapshot-generator {
+  display: block;
+  height: 1px;
+  left: 0;
+  object-fit: contain;
+  position: fixed;
+  top: 0;
+  width: 1px;
+  z-index: -1;
+}
+
 /* meme */
 canvas {
   background-color: white; 
diff --git a/public/assets/js/claimPublish.js b/public/assets/js/index.js
similarity index 57%
rename from public/assets/js/claimPublish.js
rename to public/assets/js/index.js
index ef657746..81b1d9ee 100644
--- a/public/assets/js/claimPublish.js
+++ b/public/assets/js/index.js
@@ -4,65 +4,27 @@ var uploader = new SocketIOFileUpload(socket);
 var stagedFiles = null;
 
 /* configure the submit button */
-document.getElementById('publish-submit').addEventListener('click', function(event){
+function publishSelectedImage(event) {
 	event.preventDefault();
+	// validate inputs
 	var name = document.getElementById('publish-name').value;
-	var invalidCharacters = /[^A-Za-z0-9,-]/.exec(name);
-	// validate 'name' field
-	if (invalidCharacters) {
-		alert(invalidCharacters + ' is not allowed. A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and "-" only.');
-		return;
-	} else if (name.length < 1) {
-		alert("You must enter a name for your claim");
+	try {
+		validateSubmission(stagedFiles, name);
+	} catch (error) {
+		alert(error.message);
 		return;
 	}
-	// make sure only 1 file was selected
-	if (!stagedFiles) {
-		alert("Please select a file");
-		return;
-	} else if (stagedFiles.length > 1) {
-		alert("Only one file is allowed at a time");
-		return;
-	}
-	// make sure the content type is acceptable
-	switch (stagedFiles[0].type) {
-		case "image/png":
-		case "image/jpeg":
-		case "image/gif":
-		case "video/mp4":
-			break;
-		default:
-			alert("Only .png, .jpeg, .gif, and .mp4 files are currently supported");
-			return;
-	}
-	// make sure the name is available
-	var xhttp;
-	xhttp = new XMLHttpRequest();
-	xhttp.open('GET', '/api/isClaimAvailable/' + name, true);
-	xhttp.responseType = 'json';
-	xhttp.onreadystatechange = function() {
-		if (this.readyState == 4 ) {
-			if ( this.status == 200) {
-				if (this.response == true) {
-					uploader.submitFiles(stagedFiles);
-				} else {
-					alert("That name has already been claimed by spee.ch.  Please choose a different name.");
-				}
-			} else {
-				console.log("request to check claim name failed with status:", this.status);
-			};
-		}
-	};
-	xhttp.send();
-})
+	// make sure the name is available then start the upload
+	validateClaimName(name)
+		.then(function() {
+			uploader.submitFiles(stagedFiles); //note: must pass the file as part of an array.
+		})
+		.catch(function(error) {
+			alert(error);
+		})
+};
 
 /* socketio-file-upload listeners */
-uploader.maxFileSize = 5000000;
-uploader.addEventListener("error", function(data){
-    if (data.code === 1) {
-        alert("Sorry, uploading is limitted to 5 megabytes.");
-    }
-});
 uploader.addEventListener('start', function(event){
 	var name = document.getElementById('publish-name').value;
 	var license = document.getElementById('publish-license').value;
diff --git a/public/assets/js/memeDraw.js b/public/assets/js/memeFodder-draw.js
similarity index 100%
rename from public/assets/js/memeDraw.js
rename to public/assets/js/memeFodder-draw.js
diff --git a/public/assets/js/memePublish.js b/public/assets/js/memeFodder-publish.js
similarity index 100%
rename from public/assets/js/memePublish.js
rename to public/assets/js/memeFodder-publish.js
diff --git a/public/assets/js/publishFunctions.js b/public/assets/js/publishFunctions.js
index 1c02be73..67fcbf09 100644
--- a/public/assets/js/publishFunctions.js
+++ b/public/assets/js/publishFunctions.js
@@ -3,33 +3,104 @@ function updatePublishStatus(msg){
 	document.getElementById('publish-status').innerHTML = msg;
 }
 
-/* regular publish helper functions */
-
-function previewAndStageFile(selectedFile){ 
-	var preview = document.getElementById('image-preview');
-	var dropzone = document.getElementById('drop-zone');
-	var previewReader = new FileReader();
-	var nameInput = document.getElementById('publish-name'); 
-
-	preview.style.display = 'block';
-	dropzone.style.display = 'none';
-	
-	previewReader.onloadend = function () {
-		preview.src = previewReader.result;
-	};
-
-	if (selectedFile) {
-		previewReader.readAsDataURL(selectedFile); // reads the data and sets the img src
-		if (nameInput.value === "") {
-			nameInput.value = selectedFile.name.substring(0, selectedFile.name.indexOf('.'));
-		}
-		stagedFiles = [selectedFile]; // stores the selected file for upload
-	} else {
-		preview.src = '';
+function validateFile(file) {
+	if (!file) {
+		throw new Error('no file provided');
+	}
+	// validate size and type
+	switch (file.type) {
+		case 'image/jpeg':
+		case 'image/png':
+		case 'image/gif':
+			if (file.size > 5000000){
+				throw new Error('Sorry, images are limitted to 5 megabytes.');
+			}
+			break;
+		case 'video/mp4':
+			if (file.size > 50000000){
+				throw new Error('Sorry, videos are limitted to 50 megabytes.');
+			}
+			break;
+		default:
+			throw new Error('The ' + file.Type + ' content type is not supported.  Only, .jpeg, .png, .gif, and .mp4 files are currently supported.')
 	}
 }
 
-/* drop zone function s*/
+function validateSubmission(stagedFiles, name){
+	// make sure only 1 file was selected
+	if (!stagedFiles) {
+		throw new Error("Please select a file");
+	} else if (stagedFiles.length > 1) {
+		throw new Error("Only one file is allowed at a time");
+	}
+	// validate 'name' field
+	var invalidCharacters = /[^A-Za-z0-9,-]/.exec(name);
+	if (invalidCharacters) {
+		throw new Error(invalidCharacters + ' is not allowed. A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and "-" only.');
+	} else if (name.length < 1) {
+		throw new Error("You must enter a name for your claim");
+	}
+}
+
+function validateClaimName (name) {
+	var deferred = new Promise(function(resolve, reject) {
+		var xhttp;
+		xhttp = new XMLHttpRequest();
+		xhttp.open('GET', '/api/isClaimAvailable/' + name, true);
+		xhttp.responseType = 'json';
+		xhttp.onreadystatechange = function() {
+			if (this.readyState == 4 ) {
+				if ( this.status == 200) {
+					if (this.response == true) {
+						resolve();
+					} else {
+						reject("That name has already been claimed by spee.ch.  Please choose a different name.");
+					}
+				} else {
+					reject("request to check claim name failed with status:" + this.status);
+				};
+			}
+		};
+		xhttp.send();
+	});
+	return deferred;
+}
+
+/* regular publish helper functions */
+
+function previewAndStageFile(selectedFile){ 
+	var previewHolder = document.getElementById('asset-preview-holder');
+	var dropzone = document.getElementById('drop-zone');
+	var previewReader = new FileReader();
+	var nameInput = document.getElementById('publish-name'); 
+	// validate the file
+	try {
+		validateFile(selectedFile);
+	} catch (error) {
+		alert(error.message);
+		return;
+	}
+	// set the preview
+	if (selectedFile.type === 'video/mp4') {
+		
+	} else {
+		previewReader.readAsDataURL(selectedFile);
+		previewReader.onloadend = function () {
+			dropzone.style.display = 'none';
+			previewHolder.style.display = 'block';
+			previewHolder.innerHTML = '<img width="100%" src="' + previewReader.result + '" alt="image preview"/>';
+			
+		};
+	}
+	// set the name input value to the image name if none is set yet
+	if (nameInput.value === "") {
+		nameInput.value = selectedFile.name.substring(0, selectedFile.name.indexOf('.'));
+	}
+	// store the selected file for upload
+	stagedFiles = [selectedFile];
+}
+
+/* drop zone functions */
 
 function drop_handler(ev) {
 	ev.preventDefault();
@@ -64,7 +135,7 @@ function startPublish() {
 	//download the image 
     var dataUrl = canvas.toDataURL('image/jpeg');  // canvas defined in memeDraw.js
 	var blob = dataURItoBlob(dataUrl)
-	var fileName = nameInput.value + ".jpg";  //note: need to dynamically grab type
+	var fileName = nameInput.value + ".jpeg";  //note: need to dynamically grab type
 	var file = new File([blob], fileName, {type: 'image/jpeg', lastModified: Date.now()});
 	stageAndPublish(file); 
 };
diff --git a/routes/api-routes.js b/routes/api-routes.js
index a0065a58..f3e06263 100644
--- a/routes/api-routes.js
+++ b/routes/api-routes.js
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ const multipart = require('connect-multiparty');
 const multipartMiddleware = multipart();
 const publishController = require('../controllers/publishController.js');
 const lbryApi = require('../helpers/libraries/lbryApi.js');
-const publishHelpers = require('../helpers/libraries/publishHelpers.js');
+const { createPublishParams, validateFile } = require('../helpers/libraries/publishHelpers.js');
 const errorHandlers = require('../helpers/libraries/errorHandlers.js');
 const { postToStats, sendGoogleAnalytics } = require('../controllers/statsController.js');
 
@@ -55,64 +55,30 @@ module.exports = app => {
         errorHandlers.handleRequestError('publish', originalUrl, ip, error, res);
       });
   });
+
   // route to run a publish request on the daemon
   app.post('/api/publish', multipartMiddleware, ({ body, files, headers, ip, originalUrl }, res) => {
     // google analytics
     sendGoogleAnalytics('publish', headers, ip, originalUrl);
     // validate that a file was provided
     const file = files.speech || files.null;
-    logger.debug(file);
-    if (!file) {
-      postToStats('publish', originalUrl, ip, 'Error: file');
-      res.status(400).send('Error: No file was submitted or the key used was incorrect.  Files posted through this route must use a key of "speech" or null');
-      return;
-    }
-    // check if the size is 5 mb or less
-    if (file.size > 5000000) {
-      res.status(400).send('Error: only files of 5 megabytes or less are allowed');
-      return;
-    }
-    // validate name
     const name = body.name || file.name.substring(0, file.name.indexOf('.'));
-    const invalidCharacters = /[^A-Za-z0-9,-]/.exec(name);
-    if (invalidCharacters) {
-      postToStats('publish', originalUrl, ip, 'Error: name');
-      res.status(400).send('Error: The name you provided is not allowed.  Please use A-Z, a-z, 0-9, "_" and "-" only.');
-      return;
-    }
-    // validate license
     const license = body.license || 'No License Provided';
-    if ((license.indexOf('Public Domain') === -1) && (license.indexOf('Creative Commons') === -1)) {
-      postToStats('puplish', originalUrl, ip, 'Error: license');
-      res.status(400).send('Error: Only posts with a license of "Public Domain" or "Creative Commons" are eligible for publishing through spee.ch');
+    const nsfw = body.nsfw || true;
+    try {
+      validateFile(file, name, license, nsfw);
+    } catch (error) {
+      postToStats('publish', originalUrl, ip, error.message);
+      logger.debug('rejected >>', error.message);
+      res.status(400).send(error.message);
       return;
     }
-    const nsfw = body.nsfw || true;
-    switch (nsfw) {
-      case true:
-      case false:
-      case 'true':
-      case 'false':
-      case 'on':
-      case 'off':
-      case 0:
-      case '0':
-      case 1:
-      case '1':
-        break;
-      default:
-        postToStats('publish', originalUrl, ip, 'Error: nsfw');
-        res.status(400).send('Error: NSFW value was not accepted.  NSFW must be set to either true, false, "on", or "off"');
-        return;
-    }
+
+    // prepare the publish parameters
     const fileName = file.name;
     const filePath = file.path;
     const fileType = file.type;
-    /*
-      note: make sure it's not a harmful file type
-    */
-    // prepare the publish parameters
-    const publishParams = publishHelpers.createPublishParams(name, filePath, license, nsfw);
+    const publishParams = createPublishParams(name, filePath, license, nsfw);
     // publish the file
     publishController
       .publish(publishParams, fileName, fileType)
diff --git a/views/index.handlebars b/views/index.handlebars
index 0e1302f9..a698756f 100644
--- a/views/index.handlebars
+++ b/views/index.handlebars
@@ -10,4 +10,4 @@
 <script src="/siofu/client.js"></script>
 
 <script src="/assets/js/publishFunctions.js"></script>
-<script src="/assets/js/claimPublish.js"></script>
+<script src="/assets/js/index.js"></script>
diff --git a/views/memeFodder.handlebars b/views/memeFodder.handlebars
index 214bde12..12a1dd50 100644
--- a/views/memeFodder.handlebars
+++ b/views/memeFodder.handlebars
@@ -10,5 +10,5 @@
 <script src="/socket.io/socket.io.js"></script>
 <script src="/siofu/client.js"></script>
 
-<script src="/assets/js/memeDraw.js"></script>
-<script src="/assets/js/memePublish.js"></script>
\ No newline at end of file
+<script src="/assets/js/memeFodder-draw.js"></script>
+<script src="/assets/js/memeFodder-publish.js"></script>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/views/partials/publish.handlebars b/views/partials/publish.handlebars
index 666b4519..d2b49224 100644
--- a/views/partials/publish.handlebars
+++ b/views/partials/publish.handlebars
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@
 			<p>Drag and drop your file here, or choose your file below.</p>
 			<input type="file"  id="siofu_input" name="file" accept="video/*,image/*" onchange="previewAndStageFile(event.target.files[0])" enctype="multipart/form-data"/>
 		</div>
-		<div class="image-preview-holder">
-			<img id="image-preview" src="" width="100%" alt="Image preview..."/>
+		<div id="asset-preview-holder">
+			
 		</div>
 	</div>
 	<div class="col-right">
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
 			<label for="publish-nsfw">NSFW</label>
 			</p>
 			<p>
-			<button id="publish-submit">Publish</button>
+			<button id="publish-submit" onclick="publishSelectedImage(event)">Publish</button>
 			<a href="/"><button id="publish-reset">Reset</button></a>
 			</p>
 			<p><i>By clicking 'Publish' I attest that I have read and agree to the <a href="https://lbry.io/termsofservice" target="_blank">LBRY terms of service</a>.</i></p>