Personalization Rules allow you to display targeted messages to visitors on your TeamSideline website based on things like when they visit, what device they are using, where they are located, how many times they have visited, or how they arrived at your site. This gives you an easy way to communicate important, timely information without changing the content of your regular site pages.
TeamSideline admins can use Personalization Rules in several ways, but two of the most useful are:
Top Bar Messages and Pop-Up Messages.
Choosing Between a Top Bar and Pop-Up
As a general rule, use a Top Bar Message for short, timely announcements that visitors should be able to see without interrupting their browsing.
Use a Pop-Up Message when the information is more important or requires more detail, especially when you want to include an image, additional information, or a button that takes the visitor somewhere else on your site.
For example:
Top Bar:
Registration opens September 20!
Pop-Up:
Fall Registration Opens September 20
Get your player registered for the upcoming season. Registration is open to players ages 5–14.
[Register Now]
Top Bar Message
A Top Bar Message is a great way to place a short, noticeable announcement at the top of your website without interrupting the visitor's experience.
This is especially useful for time-sensitive information such as:
- Rainout or field closure notices
- Registration opening soon
- Registration deadlines
- Important program announcements
- Schedule changes
- Tryout or evaluation reminders
- Temporary changes to your organization's hours or availability
For example, if games are canceled because of weather, you could display a message such as:
RAINOUT NOTICE: All games scheduled for Saturday have been canceled due to weather. Please check your schedule for updates.
You can also control when the message appears, which pages it appears on, and who sees it, making it easy to use for temporary announcements.
Creating a Top Bar Message
- In the site editor's side panel, click More > Personalization > Add Rule > Top Bar Message.
- Select your Trigger configurations:
- Device used – desktop or mobile
- Visitor Location – city, region, or country
- Timing – a date range and repeat schedule
- Number of visits
- Campaign URL – visitors arriving from a tracked marketing link
- You can combine multiple conditions to create more specific targeting.
- From the action options, choose Show Top Bar Message.
- Enter the message you want displayed.
- Select which page(s) the message should appear on.
- Set when the message should start and, if applicable, stop displaying.
- Click Preview to see how the message will appear, then click Next.
- Enter a Rule name so it is easy to identify later.
- Optionally enable Show once per visitor if you do not want the message to continue appearing for returning visitors.
- Click Activate to make the rule live, or Save as Draft to finish it later.
- Republish your site for the change to appear to visitors.
Important: Changes to a personalization rule are not live until the site is republished. Rules do not trigger automatically while viewing a site preview. To test a rule, click the three-dot menu next to the rule and select Preview.
Important: If a Cookie Notification banner is enabled on the site, it takes priority and may cover the Top Bar Message. Turn off the Cookie Notification if the Top Bar Message needs to be immediately visible.
Important: A visitor who has already seen a rule will not see it again for 30 minutes, or until they clear their browser cache, even if the trigger conditions are still met.
Managing an Existing Top Bar Message
To edit, pause, or remove a Top Bar Message after it has been created:
- In the side panel, click More, then click Personalize.
- Click the three-dot menu next to the rule.
- Select Edit, Activate/Deactivate, or Delete as needed.
Note: If more than one active rule is set to show a Top Bar Message on the same page at the same time, only one will display. The rule listed highest in the rule list takes priority. Drag and drop the rules in the list to change their order.
Pop-Up Message
A Pop-Up Message can be used to grab a visitor's attention with a larger, more prominent message. This is similar to the Splash Page available in the legacy TeamSideline Content Editor, but with significantly more options for controlling when, where, and how the message is displayed.
A Pop-Up Message is a good option when you have something important that you want visitors to see before continuing through your site, such as:
- Registration is now open
- Important registration deadlines
- Season announcements
- Weather or emergency updates
- Tryout information
- Important changes to programs or schedules
- A special announcement that applies to a specific group of visitors
For example, if registration is opening tomorrow, you could use a Pop-Up Message to announce the opening date and include a button that takes visitors directly to registration.
Unlike a standard page announcement, you can use Personalization Rules to determine which visitors see the pop-up and when they see it. For example, you could display a registration announcement only during a specific date range, show it only to visitors on mobile devices, or have it appear only on certain pages.
This makes Pop-Up Messages a flexible replacement for the legacy Splash Page while giving you much more control over the visitor experience.
Creating a Pop-Up Message
- In the site editor's side panel, click More > Personalization > Add Rule > Pop-Up Message.
- Select your Trigger configurations to determine when and to whom the pop-up should appear:
- Device used – display the pop-up to visitors on desktop or mobile.
- Visitor Location – target visitors based on their city, region, or country.
- Timing – set a specific date range and repeat schedule.
- Number of visits – show the message based on how many times someone has visited the site.
- Campaign URL – display the message to visitors who arrive through a specific tracked marketing link.
- You can combine multiple conditions to create more specific targeting.
- From the action options, choose Show Pop-Up Message.
- Customize the pop-up message:
- Enter the message or announcement you want visitors to see.
- Add a title, description, button, image, or other available content.
- Choose which page(s) the pop-up should appear on.
- Configure how and when the pop-up should appear based on your selected settings.
- Click Preview to see how the pop-up will appear to visitors.
- Click Next and enter a Rule name so you can easily identify the personalization rule later.
- You can also enable Show once per visitor if you do not want the pop-up to continue appearing to returning visitors.
- Click Activate to make the rule live, or Save as Draft if you want to finish setting it up later.
- Republish your site for the changes to appear to visitors.
Managing an Existing Pop-Up Message
To edit, pause, or remove a Pop-Up Message after it has been created:
- In the side panel, click More, then click Personalize.
- Find the Pop-Up Message rule you want to manage.
- Click the three-dot menu next to the rule.
- Select Edit, Activate/Deactivate, or Delete as needed.
Note: If you have multiple active personalization rules that could display a Pop-Up Message on the same page at the same time, the rules are prioritized based on their order in the rule list. Drag and drop the rules to change their priority.
Important: Changes to a personalization rule are not live until the site is republished. Rules do not trigger automatically while viewing a site preview. To test a rule, click the three-dot menu next to the rule and select Preview.
Important: A visitor who has already seen a rule will not see it again for 30 minutes, or until they clear their browser cache, even if the trigger conditions are still met.