Choosing Between Pre-filtered and User-filterable Widgets

Overview

When managing your event website, you will often want to display filtered lists of content. This could be for exhibitors, speakers, agendas, or libraries. Common examples include filtering by:

• A category such as Sector, Year, or something event-specific

• Tagging options such as Featured, New, or Sponsored, to create curated content pages

There are two main approaches you can use:

• Pre-filtered widgets

• User-filterable widgets

This article explains the difference, when to use each, and how to set them up.

What is a Pre-filtered Widget?

A pre-filtered widget displays only the content you define in the CMS. When a visitor loads the page, they will only see the pre-selected results.

Example use case

If you create a Year category and tag speakers as 2024, 2025, 2026, you can build a page that shows only 2026 speakers. This gives you precise control over what visitors see.

Why we recommend pre-filtered widgets

Better user experience
Visitors get to the most relevant content faster because the page is already curated.

SEO benefits and preserving historic content
Instead of deleting old data, you can keep it available on dedicated pages (for example, “Speakers 2024”, “Speakers 2025”). This helps preserve the SEO value of those pages and increases the number of indexable URLs on your site. As long as pages are clearly labelled, this can help support organic traffic over time.

Helpful guides

• Create and manage categories: https://support.asp.events/hc/en-us/articles/360012623011-How-to-Create-and-Manage-Categories-in-Showoff

• Apply filters to a widget using categories: https://support.asp.events/hc/en-us/articles/33057495420701-Quick-Guide-Setting-Up-a-Filtered-Widget-Using-Categories

What is a User-filterable Widget?

A user-filterable widget displays a list of content and adds search and filter controls that allow website visitors to filter the results themselves.

Typically, the page loads with an unfiltered list, then the visitor refines the results using:

• A free text search

• Pre-defined filters (such as categories or module fields)

Example

You can see a basic example here:
https://showcase.asp.events/community/exhibitor/grid

On this page, the exhibitor list loads without filters applied, but visitors can use filters at the top or side to narrow results.

How to Enable User Filters in a Widget

You can add user-filterable options to widgets for modules such as Exhibitors, Speakers, Seminars, and Libraries.

1. Add the relevant widget to your page

2. Open the widget settings

3. Go to the Search and Filters tab

4. Scroll down to the User filterable fields section

5. Enable Free Text (recommended)

   • This allows visitors to search using their own keywords

6. Enable any additional filter options you want to show

   • These options vary by module, but may include categories you have created and built-in fields (for example exhibitor country, or session date within an agenda)

   • You can enable as many as needed

7. Click Update on the widget

8. Save the page in the CMS, then refresh the front end to view the changes

Notes and Further Guidance

• General widget guide: https://support.asp.events/hc/en-us/articles/360017686738-Using-Widgets-to-Add-Dynamic-Content

• Composer 2 widget tutorials: https://support.asp.events/hc/en-us/sections/360001519832-Composer-2-Tutorial-Videos

Why some fields do not appear in user filters

Only multi-selectable fields appear in the user-filterable list. For example, a basic text box custom field will not be available as a selectable filter.

If you want a custom field to be user-filterable, create it as a checkbox, radio, or dropdown with pre-defined options.

Speaker custom field guide (other modules follow a similar approach):
https://support.asp.events/hc/en-us/articles/33898310461597-How-to-Tag-and-Filter-Speakers-Using-Custom-Fields

If you are unsure about the best approach for other modules, please contact Support.

Search Method considerations

When setting up user-filterable search, you may want to review the Search Method used by the widget.

More info here:
https://support.asp.events/hc/en-us/articles/360013933311-Understanding-Search-Methods-for-Exhibitors-Libraries-Seminars

Optional: Sidebar Filters (Template Dependent)

Some templates support a sidebar filter layout (like the demo page). If you are using Composer 2, you can usually switch the filter layout using the widget settings:

1. Open the widget

2. Go to the Search and Filters tab

3. Find the Search Form Template dropdown

   • Style 1: filter appears above the content

   • Style 2: sidebar filter layout

4. Update the widget

5. Save the page and refresh the website

Important note: Other templates may have different steps to achieve this. If you cannot find the option, or you are unsure what your template supports, please contact Support.