Homepage Settings for Visitors, New and Returning Members

A community homepage plays a pivotal role in your community's success—it’s the first impression for visitors and a key driver of engagement. However, not all visitors are the same: logged-out users may need a welcoming introduction, while logged-in members require personalized content that fosters deeper participation. To address this, Bettermode provides flexible homepage settings, enabling you to create distinct experiences for different types of users (new users, logged-out, and logged-in users). This ensures that every visitor gets a tailored experience designed to maximize engagement.

Overview of Homepage Settings

Default Homepage for Logged-out Visitors
This setting allows you to choose a space to serve as the homepage for visitors who are not logged in. The selected space will be displayed when accessing the root URL (/) without an active user session.
Default Homepage for Returning Members
This setting directs logged-in users to a tailored home page, allowing them to see content based on their space membership and exclusive access. Logged-in members will be directed to this space when accessing the root URL (/). If no value is set, this defaults to the homepage for logged-out visitors.
New Users Homepage
After signing up, new users are redirected to this space for onboarding or initial guidance upon their first user session. If no value is set, this defaults to the homepage for logged-out visitors.

Steps to Set a New Homepage

Step 1: Create a New Homepage Space for Each Experience

Log in to your community with an admin account.
Navigate to Administration via the top header by clicking your profile image.
Go to Design Studio > Collections and Spaces tab.
Under the relevant collection, click [...] > + Add Space.
Note: It is recommended to create the home page under No Collection.
Choose a space template, name it, and adjust its privacy settings.
Note: The privacy settings for the space must be Public to be configured as a Home page
Click Create to finalize the new space.

Step 2: Assign the New Homepage(s)

Navigate to Administration and select Settings.
Under the Site Settings section, locate the Homepage Settings.
Assign spaces to the following options:
- Default Homepage for Logged-out Visitors
- Default Homepage for Returning Members
- New Users Homepage
Click Update to save your changes.

Step 3: Test Your Homepage Settings

Access the root URL (/) while logged out to confirm the logged-out homepage.
Log in and confirm the returning members' homepage.
Complete a test sign-up to verify the new users' redirection.

Important Note:

If you are linking to a homepage space in the top navigation or sidebar and have set different default homepages for logged-out visitors and logged-in returning members, it’s crucial to use the permanent link of those spaces. This ensures the links work correctly, as the root URL (“/”) will be rendered conditionally based on the user’s session.

Example:

You have a custom Link Menu in the sidebar that links to the Explore page and Feed page…

Logged-out visitors’ homepage: Explore Space (/explore)
Logged-in returning members’ homepage: Feed Space (/feed)

Add a link to the Explore and Feed Space in the navigation, using the permanent links /feed and /explore instead of the root URL /.

Incorrect: A link to / will redirect logged-out visitors to /explore and logged-in members to /feed.
Correct: Use /feed to ensure consistent behavior for all users.

By using the permanent link, /feed, you ensure that all users, regardless of their session state, are directed to the intended Feed Space when they click the link.

Benefits

Create personalized experiences: Offer tailored experiences by showing logged-out visitors a welcoming introduction (e.g., “Explore Space”) while returning members see relevant updates (e.g., “Feed Space”). Acquire new members with a default homepage for visitors highlighting the key benefits of joining your community while also gating exclusive content for members.
Streamlined navigation: Clearly define navigation paths for different user types, keeping your community intuitive and easy to navigate.
Boost engagement: Use the new user landing page to create a customized onboarding experience, guiding new members to spaces with tutorials, guidelines, or next steps that help them quickly understand and participate in the community. This ensures a warm welcome and encourages immediate involvement.

FAQs

1. What happens if I don’t have a space assigned to a Homepage setting?

By default, if no space is assigned to a specific setting:

Returning Members Homepage defaults to the logged-out homepage.
New Users Homepage defaults to the logged-out homepage.

Can I set up different landing pages for specific member segments?

At this time, Enhanced Homepage Settings cater to logged-out users, new users, and returning members broadly. However, you can tailor the homepage for logged-in users to show content based on their space membership.

Does the new user landing page work for members joining through SSO?

Yes! The new user homepage will still apply to users who authenticated through SSO.

Why can’t I delete a homepage space?

It is not possible to delete a space if it is assigned as a homepage. Please ensure that you remove the space from your Homepage settings before deleting the space.