Understanding the Core Patterns
Inline Content (Banners, Empty States, Pages)
Inline content is guidance that lives on the page without pop-ups or interruptions. It appears when and where it's relevant, without blocking a user's work.
Common formats
Banners
Horizontal bars for announcements, promotions, or alerts.
Use for: Feature releases, upgrade prompts, event promotions, trial countdowns, survey requests, maintenance alerts.
Empty States
Helpful guidance when a feature or section has no content yet.
Use for: Explaining what a feature does, showing how to get started, promoting premium features, reducing confusion and abandonment.
Full Pages & Content Blocks
Comprehensive experiences built directly into your product.
Use for: Onboarding checklists, help resource hubs, personalized dashboards, getting started guides
Overlays (Modals)
Overlays display content on top of your product to capture attention. They can be any size or shape, positioned anywhere on the page, and triggered automatically or from user interactions.
When to use overlays
Choose overlays when you need guaranteed visibility and the content is important enough to interrupt workflow. Good for:
High-priority announcements that users must see
Time-sensitive information with urgency or deadlines
Conversion opportunities like paywalls or upgrade prompts
Required actions before proceeding (surveys, setup steps)
Rich media that needs more space than inline allows
Hotspots
Hotspots draw attention to features without interrupting workflow. Users see a pulsing beacon, click when ready, and a tooltip appears with more information. They can minimize and return later, or dismiss when done.
When to use hotspots
Choose hotspots when you want to invite interaction without forcing it. Good for:
Feature discovery users can explore at their own pace
Contextual help available exactly where it's needed
Soft guidance that influences behavior without blocking it
Reducing UI clutter by hiding details until requested
Hotspot characteristics
Grouping behavior
Create hotspot groups for related features
Control whether first hotspot opens automatically on page load
Only one tooltip open at a time, but multiple beacons can be visible
Connect hotspots with "Dismiss & Open Next" interactions
Product Tours
Product tours are step-by-step guides that walk users through your product like a helpful colleague looking over their shoulder. Unlike static tooltips, tours move with users, appearing on specific elements at the right moment.
When to use product tours
Choose tours when users need active guidance through a process. Good for:
Onboarding new users with multi-page orientation
Feature adoption requiring multiple interactions
Workflow guidance through complex processes
Shorten time to "Aha moment"
Tour characteristics
Sequential progression
Steps advance in specific order
Can require user interaction before moving forward
Can span multiple pages with redirects between steps
Users can dismiss or complete at their own pace
Triggering options
Automatic on page load (with frequency control)
Click-triggered from specific elements
Triggered from other Candu content
Programmatic triggering based on user events
Next Steps
Now that you understand when to use each content type:
Identify your goal: What specific outcome are you trying to achieve?
Consider your user: Where are they in their journey?
Create your experience:
Learn more about advanced patterns:
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