Merge fields drop a contact's details into your page. Conditional display blocks go further. They show or hide whole blocks based on who's visiting. So past buyers can see an upsell, while new visitors see your entry offer. In this lesson, you'll open a block's display settings, choose who sees the block, and test it.
Personalization only works when Ontraport recognizes the visitor. A visitor's browser gets cookied when they click a link in your email, fill out a form, log in to your membership site, or click a tracked link. Logged-in members are the surest, because the site knows exactly who they are. Anyone without the cookie is anonymous. That includes brand-new visitors, and also known contacts who've cleared their cookies.
To open a block's display settings, hover over the block, click the gear icon on its right, and choose Edit block. Then open Display settings. Device display shows the block on Desktop Only or Mobile Only, and the Designing for mobile devices lesson covers that. The rest of these settings are just for pages. They decide who sees the block, and when.
The main setting is Display this block to whom. Everyone makes it a normal block. Anonymous visitors only is for people Ontraport doesn't recognize yet. It's the place for a lead magnet form, like a free download in exchange for an email address, so people already on your list don't see it. Identified visitors only shows the block to anyone Ontraport recognizes, like a coupon or a webinar invitation for your existing leads.
Some identified visitors is where it gets powerful. The block shows only to recognized contacts who meet a condition you set. You can use tags, any field on the contact record, past orders, product subscriptions, automations, fulfillment lists, relationships, or membership site access. For example, show a related product to people who bought a certain product. Or use Field is this value on the State field to show a local workshop only to contacts in Colorado. To add a similar rule fast, hover over a condition and click its copy button.
A common setup uses three blocks. Contacts who've ordered at least one product see a thank-you discount. Contacts who've ordered nothing see a first-time buyer offer. And anonymous visitors see a sign-up prompt.
If you have an Ontraport membership site, three more options target members. All logged in members shows the block to members who are logged in. Some logged in members adds a condition, just like Some identified visitors. And Everyone except logged in members hides the block from them. Together, these make handy navigation: a Log in link for everyone else, and a Log out link for members.
You can also show a block only when the page URL contains specific text. Turn on that toggle, click Add condition, choose contains or does not contain, enter the text, and click Done. This works well with UTM values in your ads. One ad's link can include "facebook" and another's "google", and each visitor sees the matching offer.
Show this block when today's date is lets you show or hide a block by date, with options like On, Before and After. For example, a block that appears automatically on your launch date. Click Done when you're finished. Your live page only changes when you publish.
Always test before you send traffic. First, publish the page. You can publish to a free temporary Ontraport domain while you test. Then set up two test contacts: one that meets your condition, and one that doesn't.
Make a simple form with an email field, and set its thank-you page to your published page. In the form's Advanced settings, leave Conditions calculator for Ontraport Pages has run checked. It's on by default, and it makes sure conditional blocks on the thank-you page reflect what was just submitted.
Submit the form with your matching contact's email, and check that the block appears. Then submit it with the other contact's email, and check that it doesn't. For URL conditions, visit the published page with the text in the URL. To see what anonymous visitors see, clear your browser's cookies. And if a block doesn't show up, check its conditions first. It won't appear for a test contact who doesn't fit them.
So: open a block's display settings, choose who sees it, add URL or date conditions if you need them, and test with a contact on each side of the rule. Next up: tips for improved page performance.