Hide parts of the UI with query parameters

When would you want to hide UI elements

• Showcasing a specific facility not relevant to your usual audience: When promoting  a new building, lab, or research facility, eliminating unnecessary UI elements reduces distractions. Visitors are more likely to engage fully with the content when other options are not competing for attention, especially those not relevant to that audience.
• Creating more tailored experiences: Certain UI elements may only be relevant to specific user groups. For example, an events section might be useful for admitted students but not for prospective students. You can use query parameters to hide those parts of the experience that are not relevant to them, without affecting your normal virtual experience. 

Hide parts of the UI with query parameters.

This article provides an overview of various query parameters that can be used to customise the user interface (UI) of a web page. These parameters are particularly useful for creating a more streamlined and user-specific experience by enabling or disabling certain UI elements. The parameters discussed below are ind (interact disabled), exd (explore/map disabled), pd (personalisation disabled), evt (events), dsd (discover disabled) and sf (show the personalisation/filters panel on entry), as shown in the image below.

IND - Interact Disabled (?ind=true)

• Purpose: To hide the interact section on the sidebar and the main menu.

• Usage Scenario: Applicable when the interact section is not relevant or needed for certain users.

• Implementation: Append ?ind=true to the URL to disable the interact section.

MD - Map Disabled (?exd=true)

• Purpose: To hide the explore section/map in the sidebar and the main menu.

• Usage Scenario: Ideal for instances where the map or explore functionalities are not required.

• Implementation: Use ?exd=true in the URL to remove the map/explore section.

PD - Personalisation Disabled (?pd=true)

• Purpose: To hide personalisation links in the sidebar and main menu.

• Usage Scenario: Used when personalisation features are not necessary or when a uniform experience is desired for all users. This might be useful when you want to showcase a specific facility at your campus like a new laboratory, innovation facility, start-up hub on campus etc.

• Implementation: Including ?pd=true the URL will disable links related to personalisation.

EVT - Events (?evt=1)

• Purpose: To show events for some audiences but hide them for others.

• Usage Scenario: Used when you would like to turn off events for your general audience, however, you would like your admitted students to view a welcome events page. 

• Implementation: Including ?evt=1 in the URL will show events to the audience while on your normal URL, events will not be displayed. Please be sure to turn off events in your CMS.

DSD - Discover Disabled (?dsd=true)

• Purpose: To hide the Discover section for some audiences in the sidebar.

• Usage Scenario: Used when you would like to hide sections of the page builder from your audience. 

• Implementation: Including ?dsd=true the URL will hide the page builder sections.

SF - Show Personalisation/Filters on Entry (?sf=1)

• Purpose: To automatically open the personalisation (filters) panel as soon as a student enters the site, rather than waiting for them to click the “Personalise” button.

• Usage Scenario: Useful when you want to prompt students to set their preferences up front (for example their subject area or student type) so that content is tailored to them from the very start of their visit. Commonly used on campaign or open day links.

• Implementation: Append ?sf=1 to the URL to open the personalisation/filters panel on entry. Example: https://demo.vepple.co.uk/?sf=1

• Note: This is shown once per browser session. After the student opens or closes the panel it will not automatically reappear as they continue to navigate the site within that same session.

When a student opens a link with ?sf=1, the personalisation panel opens automatically so they can set their study level, subject area and student type before they start exploring:

If your experience also has lead capture switched on, the student is then prompted to sign in (Step 2) before they continue into the experience:

If you would like to hide multiple elements, all you have to do is include the above parameters with the character '&' after each. For example;

&hd=true&ind=true&pd=true&exd=true

NTU Showcasing their Medical Technologies Innovation Facilities (MTIF)

Nottingham Trent University (NTU) provides a prime example of why a university might choose to modify the UI of its virtual experience. When promoting their (MTIF), NTU wanted to create a guided and distraction-free experience for a specific group of  visitors who weren’t students but rather academics, researchers etc. By hiding the general campus navigation options and disabling unnecessary interactions, they ensured that these visitors focused solely on the MTIF tour.