Personalization is fast becoming an integral part of Web sites like iGoogle and Facebook, and organizations see personalization as a way to make their sites stickier and more engaging.
The following video introduces Personalization: http://www.ektron.com/personalization/
Ektron CMS400.NET provides tools to let membership users personalize their experience on your site, bringing relevant information to their fingertips. By letting users add widgets, applications, and feeds to a Web site, CMS400.NET provides a framework on which to easily build true, personalized portals.
Make Your Site, Their Site with CMS400.NET
When membership users can choose and organize content on their digital dashboard, your site becomes their site. Everyone has different needs and preferences, and CMS400.NET’s portal functionality lets you create a more interactive, engaging experience by giving power to the user.
How Personalization Works
On an Ektron CMS400.NET Web site, personalized areas can have multiple tabs, letting users organize content by subject – think of tabbed browsing. Users can easily add new tabs, switch between them, and define each one as public or private. For example, a tab that displays personal financial information can be private, so only that user can see it. Each tab can have multiple columns, to further customize the view.
Ektron CMS400.NET widgets can be dragged and dropped into each tab. These widgets can range from RSS feeds to applets to Ektron server controls. They make it possible for a site visitor to access all information from one location, rather than using many mouse clicks to log into separate Web sites or applications.
Developers can give users access to any pre-built Ektron CMS400.NET widgets, and even build their own widgets that talk to third-party systems to customize the way site visitors are engaged. See Also: Using Widgets and Widget Reference
Empower your Intranet ...
Building personalization into your intranet empowers employees with customization that fits their work and personal life. Widgets can range from photos, local weather, and updated news to a personal work calendar, a sales time line and tracker, or a feed to a discussion board about a new product release.
Managers can use widgets to enhance their access to their team’s information. A human resources department can update job postings on a weekly basis via a widget rather than navigating to the company’s careers site.
… and Public Facing Web Sites
Personalization revolutionizes the way visitors interact with sites, and Ektron CMS400.NET provides the tools to make that happen. See what some organizations can do with personalization.
Healthcare portals have regular site visitors who desire the same information each time they visit. Enable visitors to receive allergy, fitness, nutrition, and appointment information whenever they log in – your site visitors may even save recipes to their nutrition tab.
Clothing store customers are fashion-minded individuals who like to view the latest styles on these Web sites. Let them view the department they always go to first with the click of a button. Clothing widgets can show what’s available in their size. This personalization will increase site traffic and sales.
Banking sites can allow users to access personal account widgets, and separate it from their business financial information. Calculator widgets can keep them on the site as they make financial decisions.
Schools personalize their Web site for each student and parent. Personalized portals let students have widgets such as school e-mail, personalized school calendars (with their homework, project due dates and social events), feeds linked directly to their grades, a school library search tool, and more to keep them connected and informed.
Personalization enables membership users to access information they want with the click of a button. No longer do they have to navigate all over a Web site (or sites) to find content. Ektron CMS400.NET’s personalization functionality lets organizations create iGoogle-like interfaces integrated within content management, so that they can serve their customers and members in a more powerful and personal way, building user adoption and increasing site traffic.
This section also contains the following topics.
Personalization versus PageBuilder Pages
Individual versus Group Personalization Pages
Creating an Individual Personalization Page
How a Membership User Interacts with an Individual Personalization Page
