Hey, it's Csaba and welcome back! In the previous lesson, we talked about the number one challenge of website personalization: data collection. Now, we're going to discuss the technical challenges of putting that data to use!
The next challenge of website personalization is actually serving personalized content to your visitors. And here's where the biggest differences exist between the two main types of website personalization, embedded content and overlays.
Using embedded content to personalize your native, base content requires loading the extra, personalized content AFTER your main base content has loaded. This is usually done through a Javascript code, either replacing existing content or inserting a new one. Both take time and can have a negative side effect, which is called a flicker.
If your website flickers, a visitor will see your webpage loading once and then quickly changing content to display something new. So, it's basically a kind of flash or flicker that occurs as your content changes.
This flicker can be managed in multiple ways: The first and easiest solution is to use a top-notch personalization tool that optimizes the load time of each embedded content piece, resulting in below-second load times, so most visitors won't notice the flicker. The second option is simply being careful about the size of the content being loaded above the fold. The fifth option is using server-side personalization: generating the optimal, personalized content before the HTML is sent to the visitor's browser. While this one provides the best user experience in theory, it's the least popular solution due to its technical difficulties.
The good news is that the first two options – using a top-notch personalization tool like OptiMonk and being careful about the size of the personalized content – will usually result in basically unnoticeable flickers, and thus, a perfect experience from a customer perspective.
Another popular way of managing speed issues is using overlays to deliver personalized messages whenever possible. Popups and other overlays don't have to appear at the same time as the native, base content. In fact, delaying overlays by a couple of seconds actually makes them more efficient, and results in better conversion rates.
In conclusion, picking an overlay format for the most important message and serving the rest of your personalized messages as embedded content is usually the best combination.
In the next lesson, we'll talk about the website personalization process and how to get started.
