Appcues Installation Overview

What is "installation"?

Appcues works by adding a bit of JavaScript to your application that allows Appcues to show content you build to users on your existing pages. This script loads with the page and uses user properties, group properties and events you send us to determine which users should see what content. Once you install Appcues, you can publish content live to your users!

This document focuses on Appcues installation in web applications, for information about installing Appcues in mobile applications check out the Installing the Mobile SDK doc!

Installation Options

If you use Segment, a third-party analytics tool, you can install Appcues by following the Segment installation instructions. If you don't use Segment, read on for an overview of getting installed with our step-by-step guide!

Installation: step-by-step

Determine what user properties, group properties and events you want to send to Appcues.

What makes Appcues powerful is its ability to target content to just the right users at just the right time. In order for Appcues to know who your users are and what they have done in your application, you need to send us two types of data: user properties and events.

User properties are "adjectives" that describe your users; things like first name, last name, and email address. See the User Properties Overview for more info.

Group properties describe the account on which the user is currently active; things like company name, plan tier, and industry. See the Group Properties Overview for more info.

Events are actions your users have taken; things like clicking a certain button, inviting a teammate to your application, or any other actions that are meaningful for your application. See the Events Overview for more info.

Installation plan template

To make it easy to figure out what events and properties you want to send to Appcues, we created an installation plan template. Click here to make a copy of the template. If you choose to create an installation plan, you can share it with the developer(s) that will install Appcues so they know exactly what data you need!

Insert Appcues code snippets

If you are not comfortable inserting code into your application, we recommend asking a developer on your team to complete this step of the installation. You can share your installation plan with them so they know exactly what data you need, then invite them to your team and direct them to the step-by-step developer installation guide in Appcues.

Start testing and publishing Appcues content!

Once Appcues is installed, you will be able to test flows and publish them live to your users!

How does Appcues work once installed?

Appcues will show your published flows to targeted audiences based on conditions that you set. Conditions can include any combination of URL, domain, device type, browser language, user properties, group properties, events completed, and more.

Appcues will capture user properties, group properties and events that you choose to send to us. This information is what you'll use for audience targeting so that your flows will show to the right person at the right time.

Having issues with your installation?

Check out this troubleshooting doc, or send us an email at support@appcues.com. We'll help get you installed just right!