Event Triggering vs Event Targeting
Understand when to trigger content from events vs. target users by event history.
Table of Contents
Both event triggering and event targeting let you make Appcues experiences respond to what users do in your product — like uploading a file, inviting a teammate, or completing a setup step. The difference is when and how events are used.
Key terms
Triggering is the action that starts an experience. Flows can trigger when a user navigates to a URL, clicks a link in a Checklist or Launchpad, opens a permalink, advances from another Flow, or — with event triggering — at the moment a custom event fires.
Targeting is the set of conditions a user must meet to qualify for an experience. If a user matches the targeting rules, the experience appears based on its trigger settings (e.g., once they land on the correct URL).
Event targeting
Event targeting lets you use events as audience conditions on a Flow's targeting page — for example, "show this Flow to users who completed 'Uploaded File' in the last 7 days."
Appcues collects new event data on each page load. That means if a user completes the qualifying event on the current page, Appcues won't evaluate that data until the next page load. At that point the user qualifies and sees the Flow.
Use event targeting when you want to reach users based on their event history, and a slight delay (until the next page load) is acceptable.
Event triggering
Event triggering starts a Flow the instant a custom event fires — no page load required. If you want to show a congratulatory modal the moment someone uploads their first file, event triggering makes that possible in real time.
This is especially useful for Single Page Applications where navigation doesn't always produce page loads, or for highly behavioral experiences tied to clicks, hovers, or in-page actions.
Event triggering is available on select plans. Check your Account details page or contact our team for availability.
Learn more about setting up event triggering.
Which one should you use?
| Event targeting | Event triggering | |
|---|---|---|
| Available on | All plans | Select plans |
| When it evaluates | Next page load | Instantly, when the event fires |
| Best for | Qualifying users by past behavior | Showing experiences in real time |
| Example | "Users who uploaded a file this week" | "Show a Flow the moment a file is uploaded" |
You can combine both: use event targeting to narrow your audience and event triggering to control exactly when the Flow appears.