On the Calaméo blog, we often speak about us, the qualities of our solution and the reasons why we’re best in class.
So, for once, let’s reverse the roles: it’s our users who talk about us! Lancel, Atlantic Systèmes and APERHU share their experiences with our tool and explain how it has enabled them to meet their demanding and specific needs.
Lancel: “How Calaméo is helping us extend our reach”.
Lancel’s aim was to highlight its e-commerce offering while strengthening the links between its boutiques and its web presence. The challenge was to find a way to support remote sales without losing the spirit of whimsy cultivated by Lancel.
Calaméo was able to meet all their challenges. Find out how by reading the Success Story below:
(Only available in French)
Atlantic Systèmes: “How Calaméo contributed to our digital transformation”.
Atlantic Systèmes wanted to develop new digital media to assist its customers. But how to integrate this new content into their site, without committing to complicated development?
Calaméo has the solution! Find out more by reading the Success Story below:
(Only available in French)
APERHU: “The impact of our online magazine with Calaméo”
APERHU wanted to both launch a new digital medium and develop it in real time to meet the changing expectations of its audience. Key requirements included encouraging reader engagement and harmonizing the magazine’s integration into the APERHU website.
Calaméo helped APERHU find the best solutions to its problems. Find out how by reading the Success Story below:
(Only available in Spanish)
If you have similar issues to Lancel, Atlantic Systèmes and/or APERHU, there’s no doubt that Calaméo is the perfect tool for you.
For many businesses, showcasing digital publications on their own website is a great business solution. Clients can enjoy the convenient presentation and interactive features of catalogs, magazines and more all while browsing the brand’s site.
To help you take advantage of this powerful tool, we’ve created a complete guide to embedding your publications!
In part two of this series, we will explain how to customize your publication’s appearance in your website.
As you’re collecting the code for embedding your publication, you’ll see a preview of its look. You can use the default appearance or click “Customize options” to make changes. Since there are a lot of possibilities, we’ll break down the results for each category.
MODE
“Mini” and “Publication” offer very different choices for displaying your publication on your site. In “Mini” mode, readers can page through the document but must click to open the Calaméo viewer and access links, personalized elements and more included in your publication.
When “Mini” is selected, you can also define how the publication opens when clicked. “Open viewer directly” launches the publication in a new window, while “Open description page” launches the overview. “Open publication in full screen directly” launches the viewer in full screen, bypassing its Calaméo URL, once the embed is clicked.
In “Publication” mode, the viewer is inserted on your site page so that your audience can read your publication there in full.
VIEW
The View parameters let you choose a Reading mode for your embedded publication: Slide, Scroll or Book. Experiment to find the appearance that works best with the design of your site as well as any custom Skins or UX elements you’ve added to the viewer.
PAGE
Want to highlight a special page of your publication or ensure your audience sees particular content? Use this parameter to embed your publication starting at a certain page in either “Mini” or “Publication” mode.
SIZE
Although several pre-set sizes are available for your embedded publication, “Custom” allows you to define the height and width right down to the pixel. It’s important to allot enough space on your website page to accommodate the size that you select, otherwise your publication may not display correctly.
With our Platinum plan’s white labelled viewer, you can insert a full-sized publication on a dedicated page of your website and share it using your own URL. Include the “shareurl” parameter in the embed code so the share button broadcasts your URL on social media, too.
💡TIP: We love full-screen reading for great user experiences. If you’re planning to enable full-screen for an embedded publication, remember to check that the “allowfullscreen” parameter is present where you place the code.
With these examples in mind, you should now be able to choose the appearance of your embedded publications so that they look just right on your website!
In the final article of this series, learn more about statistics for embedded publications and mobile responsiveness.
Have you embedded a Calaméo publication on your blog or website? We’d love to see your best work! Tag us @calameo on Facebook and Twitter or on Instagram@calameo_publishing.
Virtual libraries offer a great tool for showcasing content on your website and keeping it organized. In fact, the easy-to-use Library Widget is one of our favorite digital publishing features on Calaméo. You can create your own virtual library, customize it and share in only a few clicks.
Let’s dive in to all the essentials of curating your virtual library!
A virtual library is a convenient, fun way to display a collection of digital publications. Just like a regular bookshelf, your virtual library allows you to bring together a group of materials in one place. It’s an inviting space where you can browse, read or simply show off your beautiful publications!
How to set up your own virtual library
You can make a virtual library in just a few minutes on Calaméo. In order to create a library widget stocked with your own Calaméo publications, go to the Publications tab of your account.
First, choose the Folder whose publications you wish to include in your virtual library. All of the public publications in that Folder will appear in your library shelves. (Your private publications are never displayed in the library widget.)
Next, click on the three squares icon at the top of the page to create your virtual library.
Finally, fine-tune the look of your library widget by clicking on “customize options”. You can select:
A background texture or color
How many shelves to show
The thumbnail size of your publication covers
Publication information to show
How to order your publications
How to open publications when clicked
Thumbnail design features like the cover drop shadow
While you adjust the details, you’ll be able to see the changes in real time directly in the preview window. Once you’re happy with the appearance, just copy the embed code. And that’s it—everything you need to create your own virtual library!
Watch our video tutorial on how to create a virtual library below:
💡 TIP: Prefer to view the tutorial in a different language? Use the Settings icon in the video player to select your subtitles.
How to display a virtual library
Congratulations—your library widget is all set up and ready to go! Meanwhile, the next step is to consider how you would like to share your virtual library. For example, you might want to display your publications on your website or blog. Or perhaps you’d rather have a link to email to friends, contacts or customers.
Libraries on your own website
Sharing your virtual library on your own blog or website is a piece of cake. After you have finished customizing the design of your bookshelves, copy the HTML embed code.
If your site is built with WordPress or Joomla, you can install our plug-in and paste the code right into a blog post or page. For example, this code:
However, other websites may require you to specify a container for your virtual library. Consult your CMS’s specifications or check with your webmaster for more information.
To display all of the publications in your virtual library on Calaméo, you can share a link to a Folder or Favorites list. Although the bookshelf interface is not available on Folder or Favorites pages, your audience will be able to view and explore the entire collection.
Linking to a Favorites list
To share a Favorites list, start by going to the Favorites tab of your account. Then select the list that you want to share from the left-hand menu. Finally, click the Share icon. In the window that opens, copy the URL and start sharing!
Linking to a Folder
To share a Folder, head to the Publications tab of your account. Choose the Folder whose publications you want to share from the left-hand menu, then click the Share icon. Grab the link to your Folder and you’re set to share.
Why make a virtual library
There are lots of great reasons to create your own virtual library. In fact, we reviewed 10 of the best for anyone who needs convincing! But to keep things simple, here are the top three benefits of a library widget.
Perfect presentation
The biggest advantage of a virtual library is the easy, interactive way it lets you showcase different publications. Whether the shelves are filled with every issue of your magazine or a variety of materials, a library widget can boost your publications’ visual impact.
Plus, browsing your publications in a virtual library is a breeze thanks to its intuitive navigation. Visitors can click any cover to open the publication in full screen or a new window, then return to your library when they’ve finished reading.
Painless updates
Another great feature solves a major headache for many publishers: the content in your virtual library updates automatically. Whenever you add a new publication to your library’s Folder on Calaméo, it also appears on your embedded bookshelf. As a result, you never need to worry about manually importing content to maintain your site.
Likewise, removing publications from your virtual library only takes a minute. Set them to private, move to a different Folder or deactivate out-of-date materials.
Extra insights
You’ll benefit from useful viewership analytics when you create your own virtual library on Calaméo, too. Because it’s important to know where your audience comes from and how they interact with your content, your account statistics show library details. You’ll see what percentage of your publications’ views happen in your virtual library, as well as other advanced statistics like link clicks and downloads.
In conclusion, setting up a digital bookshelf couldn’t be simpler. All you need to start is a free Calaméo account! Join today and create your own virtual library.
