Every onsite message starts from a template. A template gives you a ready-made flow for a common goal, such as collecting newsletter signups or running a refer-a-friend campaign, so you only need to adjust the content, design, and settings. This article describes the templates you can choose from and what each one includes when you create a message.
Available templates
| Template | Use it to | Flow it starts with |
|---|---|---|
| Newsletter signup | Collect a single piece of information, usually an email address, from new visitors. | Minimized, Form, Message |
| Member signup | Collect several fields and turn visitors into members. | Minimized, Form, Message |
| Contact update | Ask existing contacts to update their data or preferences. | Form, Minimized, Message |
| Onsite promotion | Grab visitors' attention and send them to a page, without a form. | Minimized, Message |
| Refer a friend | Let visitors invite their friends, with rewards for both. | A flow for the visitor and a flow for the friend |
| Empty variant | Show nothing, as the control group in an A/B lift test. | No steps |
Create a message from a template
- Go to Onsite > Messages (New) and select Create message.
- Select the template that matches your goal.
- Enter a Name and choose the Site the message should run on. Both fields are required.
- Select Create. The message opens in the editor as a draft, with the template's flow in place.
Newsletter signup
A newsletter signup collects one piece of information from the visitor. The form starts with an email field, followed by an opt-in checkbox and a call-to-action (CTA) button. After the visitor submits the form, the Message step confirms the signup.
If you want to offer an incentive, such as a discount code, turn on Reward in the settings panel.
Member signup
A member signup collects the information you need to create a member. The form includes fields such as email, phone number, name, social security number, date of birth, and address. Review the Form fields in the layers list and keep only the fields your program needs, since every extra field makes the form longer to fill in.
Contact update
A contact update asks people who are already contacts to fill in missing information or update their preferences. Unlike the signup and promotion templates, the flow starts with the Form step, so the message opens in its maximized state straight away. The Minimized step comes after it.
Onsite promotion
An onsite promotion shows content without collecting any data. The flow has a Minimized step and a Message step with your main content. To send visitors straight to a page when they click the Minimized step, open its behavior settings and set On click to Redirect to landing page.
Refer a friend
A refer-a-friend campaign has two parts:
- The visitor's flow: Minimized, Referral (where the visitor refers their friends), Share with more friends, and Message.
- The friend's flow: after Friend enters site, the friend sees Friend maximized, Friend minimized, and Friend reward.
This template turns on Referrals, Friend reward, and Friend sendouts in the settings panel. In Referrals, choose the sharing channels visitors can use, such as WhatsApp, Messenger, email, or a shareable link. In Friend reward, set up the reward the friend receives.
Empty variant
An empty variant has no steps, so visitors who are selected for it don't see anything. Use it as the control group in an A/B lift test, to compare visitors who see no message with visitors who see one. To learn how A/B testing fits into message selection, see How a message is selected.
After you create a message
A template is only a starting point. You can change the design and behavior of every step, and turn on Reward, Sendouts, or Referrals in the settings panel for any message. For an overview of the editor, see Introduction to the new editor.