Every onsite message in the legacy editor starts on the Configuration tab. Its first three cards, General, Scheduling, and Additional targeting and behaviour, decide where the message runs, when it's shown, and which visitors see it. This article describes every setting on those cards, in both standard and advanced mode, so you know what to fill in and what you can leave as it is.
Open the Configuration tab
- Go to Onsite > Messages.
- Select the onsite message you want to change, or select New onsite message and choose a preset.
- The editor opens on the Configuration tab. Select Edit on a card to open it, and Done to close it.
- Select Save Changes (or Save as draft for a new message) to keep your changes.
The same view is also available in the Onsite Manager, under Manage messages.
Standard and advanced mode
The editor opens in standard mode, which shows the settings most messages need. Turn on Advanced mode at the top right to see every setting. The settings that only appear in advanced mode are listed separately below.
If you save an onsite message in advanced mode, you can't switch it back to standard mode. You can turn advanced mode on to look at the settings and then leave without saving, but once you save, the message stays in advanced mode.
General
The General card holds the basic information about the message. When the card is closed, it shows the message's name, site, and script tag.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Name | The name of the onsite message in your list. It's used in UTM tags, but visitors don't see it. A clear, consistent naming scheme makes testing and reporting easier. |
| Preset | The setting preset the message is based on. Changing the preset on an existing message applies that preset's default settings straight away, without asking you to confirm, so check your settings again afterwards. |
| Brand name | The brand or store name used in the message's texts. It's required when you create a message in standard mode, and you can't save the message without it. Once the message is saved, the field no longer appears on the card. |
| Site | The website the message is shown on. Sites are set up in the Onsite Manager under Configuration > Sites. To learn more, see Site settings in the Onsite Manager (Legacy). |
| Language | The language of the message. It's set from the site's settings, but you can change it. The suggested default texts, button labels, and other elements are created in the language you choose. |
| Script tag | Connects the message to a script call on your website. The message can only be shown when the script on your website calls this tag. The default is cornerwidget. Other common tags are checkout and login. If several messages use the same tag and match the same visitor, one of them is picked at random, which works as an A/B test. To learn more, see Understanding script tags. |
| Linked landing page URL | The page visitors are sent to when they select a link from the message, for example in a confirmation or reminder email. The message opens on that page. |
| Dismissal time (days) | The number of days before a visitor who has completed the message sees it again on the same device. The default is 0. |
| Minimized message dismissal time (days) | The number of days before a visitor who has seen the minimized message sees it again. The minimized message stays visible for the rest of the visitor's session. The default is 0. |
| Start in minimized state | Under Display settings. When it's on, the message first appears as a small minimized widget that visitors select to open. When it's off, the message opens straight away. It's on by default. |
To test a message live on your website without visitors seeing it, give it a script tag that your website never calls.
General settings in advanced mode
In advanced mode, the General card shows these extra settings.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Specific attribution time (days) | The number of days after a visitor completes the message during which their purchases count as conversions for the message in reports. The default is 30. It overrides the default attribution time in the site settings. |
| Priority setting | Decides which message is shown when several messages match the same visitor. A higher number means a higher priority. Messages with the same priority are picked at random. The default is 0. To learn more, see How a message is selected. |
| Interactions | Registers an interaction on the contact in Customer Engagement when they complete the message. Choose an interaction schema and select Add, or select Remove to remove it. You can also select Create schema or Delete schema. Interaction schemas are created in Customer Engagement, so the site must be connected to Customer Engagement in its site settings. |
| Customize redirect page | The text on the page that friends pass through when they open a referral link, and the text on its button (Custom CTA button text for redirect page). If you leave them empty, a default text in the message's language is used. |
| Show another onsite message after completion | Shows a second onsite message when the visitor completes this one. Enter the second message's script tag. For example, you can ask for more information after a newsletter signup. Turn on Show next onsite message only to visitors that have registered as new contacts/members to show it to new contacts only. |
| Redirect after completion | Under Settings. The page visitors are sent to when they complete the message. If you leave it empty, the message closes. |
| Show a different onsite message for existing contacts/members | Under Settings. The script tag of a message to show instead when the visitor is already a contact or member. If you leave it empty, existing contacts and members are let through or stopped according to the settings below. |
Existing contacts and members
By default, a visitor who's already a contact or member can't complete the message. They see the exception An existing contact/member is stopped from finishing instead. These checkboxes under General change that:
- Allow existing contacts/members to successfully complete onsite message flow: lets existing contacts and members complete the message. Off by default.
- Allow existing contacts/members who give a missing marketing preference: lets existing contacts and members complete the message if they give a marketing preference they haven't given before. Off by default.
- Allow existing contacts/members who give a missing consent: the same, for a consent they haven't given before. Off by default.
- Update marketing preferences for existing contacts/members: updates the marketing preferences on the contact in Customer Engagement with what the visitor chose. On by default.
Display settings
In advanced mode, Display settings has these settings as well as Start in minimized state:
- Never display the onsite message: stops the message from being shown. Off by default.
- Only display to contacts/members missing information or marketing preferences: shows the message only to contacts and members who still have information or marketing preferences to give. Off by default.
- Always show on trigger: shows the message every time the script tag is called, even to visitors who have already completed or closed it, or seen it earlier in the session. Off by default.
- Allow minimizing completed onsite message: lets visitors minimize the message after they've completed it. Off by default.
- Hide when minimized on desktop and Hide when minimized on mobile: hide the minimized widget on that device, so the message is only shown when it opens. For example, combine them with the maximize conditions in Additional targeting and behaviour. Off by default.
Scheduling
The Scheduling card decides when the message is shown. Dates use the time zone set for the site.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Start date | The date and time the message starts. Choose a later date to schedule it, or the current time to start it straight away. You need a start date to publish the message. If it's missing, the card turns red. |
| End date | The date and time the message expires. After that, visitors no longer see it. An expired message can't be published again. Leave the end date empty to keep the message running. |
| Pause from | The date and time to pause the message. While it's paused, new visitors don't see the message, but links in confirmation and reminder emails and in shared referral links still work. You can't set it on a new draft. |
| Pause to | The date and time to start showing the message again after a pause. |
For time-limited campaigns, always set an end date so the message stops on its own.
Additional targeting and behaviour
The Additional targeting and behaviour card decides which visitors see the message and when it opens. Without any criteria, every visitor on the site who triggers the script tag can see it.
Add criteria
- Under Visitor segmentation, choose whether visitors must match All or Any of the criteria.
- In the empty criteria row, choose a criterion under Select criteria.
- Choose an operator and enter a value, then select Done.
- To add another criterion, select Add criteria.
Use Sort to change the order of your criteria, or Clear all criteria to start over.
Available criteria
| Criterion | Options |
|---|---|
| Engage contact/member | is or is not, plus identified by contact ID, accepting emails, accepting sms, accepting postal, or in audience |
| Engage contact card field | A field on the contact card, plus Is set, Is not set, Matches, or Not matches |
| Engage consent | One of your consents in Customer Engagement |
| Engage multichannel promotion | Is available, Is not available, Validity time, or Match |
| Engage points | greater than, less than, between, account exists, or account does not exist |
| Engage reward voucher | is available or is not available |
| URL, Landing page URL, and Referer | Contains, Does Not Contain, Match, or Does Not Match, plus a value |
| URL path | Exact, plus a path |
| No other onsite message completed in session | No options. The message is only shown if the visitor hasn't completed another onsite message in the same session. |
| Message with script tag has been completed | The script tag of another message that the visitor must have completed |
| Cookie and Local/Session storage | Contains, Does Not Contain, Match, or Does Not Match, plus a key and a value |
| CSS selector | Contains, Does Not Contain, Match, or Does Not Match, plus values |
| Prefill data | Is Provided or Is Not Provided |
| User | is or is not, plus A Subscriber, Identified, Previously logged in, or Previously shopped |
Keep your criteria as simple as you can. Every criterion you add makes the audience smaller and the setup harder to troubleshoot.
Maximize the message automatically
If the message starts minimized, you can open it automatically. Under Maximize onsite message after..., select Add condition and choose one of these:
- Automatically maximize after delay: opens the message after the number of seconds you enter.
- Automatically maximize after number page visits: opens the message after the visitor has viewed the number of pages you enter.
- Automatically maximize after idle time: opens the message after the visitor has been inactive for the number of seconds you enter.
Select Remove condition to remove a condition.
Only trigger on first script call in session
In advanced mode, turn on Only trigger on first script call in session to show the message only on the first script call of a visitor's session.
Next steps
Below these cards, you can turn on Reward, Sendouts, and Referrals. Each one adds a card and new steps to the message. Then design each step of the message, preview it, and publish it. To get an overview of the editor, see The onsite message editor (Legacy).