Ever since we joined the social media universe back in 2008, we’ve loved seeing all of the publications our users have shared. You’ve tweeted us @calameo, chatted with us on Facebook, showed us your best on Instagram and curated with us on Pinterest.
Today we are announcing a whole new way for our users to share their publications with us—and with the millions of readers who visit our platform.
That’s right, from now on every publisher on Calaméo can nominate his or her publication to be featured on our homepage!
It’s easy to let us know you’d like your publication to be considered. Just use the hashtag #CalameoCoversClub when you share your publication on Twitter or Instagram!
Our Content Management Team reviews all of the publications posted with the #CalameoCoversClub hashtag and chooses their favorites to appear on the Calaméo homepage. While all selections are up to the Content Management Team, here are a few tips to keep in mind:
Belonging to the #CalameoCoversClub means having a striking cover! Beautiful photography, bold colors and eye-catching graphics on the cover can help your publication stand out.
We love seeing our users’ creativity with digital publishing. If your publication makes great use of Calaméo’s features, it may be a good candidate for the #CalameoCoversClub.
Readers from all over the world visit Calaméo and our platform is available in seven languages. Try using the #CalameoCoversClub hashtag with your publications that would benefit from the widest possible audience!
We can’t wait to see which of your publications will be part of the #CalameoCoversClub this year!
Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Instagram so you can keep up with all of the #CalameoCoversClub entries and see which publications are chosen for the homepage!
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.
In the digital age, virtual libraries have become essential tools for organizing, sharing and accessing online resources. Thanks to technological advances and new solutions such as the Library Widget from Calaméo, it’s easier than ever to create a virtual library that meets users’ modern needs. In this article, we’ll explore the key steps to creating your own virtual library and show you how to make the most of the tools available.
A virtual library is an organized collection of digital documents, accessible online. Unlike ordinary libraries, virtual libraries offer unlimited accessibility, simplified content management and the ability to adapt to the needs of their users.
Here’s an example of a virtual library created with Calaméo:
Why you should create a virtual library: the major advantages
Optimized visual display
One of the greatest advantages of creating a virtual library is the simple, interactive way of showcasing your publications. Whether you want to display every issue of your magazine or a varied collection of documents, the virtual library enhances the visual impact of your content. Thanks to intuitive navigation, visitors can easily browse your virtual shelves and click on a cover to open the publication in full screen or in a new window. They can then easily return to your virtual library once they’ve finished reading.
Automatic updates
Automatic updates make it easy to manage your virtual library. Every time you add a new publication to your Library Folder on Calaméo, it instantly appears on your virtual shelves. By choosing to create a virtual library, you’re freed from repetitive manual management tasks. Removing publications is just as easy: mark them as private or move them to another Folder to adjust their accessibility with a few clicks.
In-depth analytics
When you create a virtual library, you also benefit from detailed analytics on how your audience interacts with your publications. You can track views, link clicks, downloads and traffic origin. These analyses enable you to adapt your content to better meet your audience’s expectations and improve engagement with your virtual library.
Why choose Calaméo to create your virtual library?
To create an effective virtual library, it’s essential to choose a platform tailored to your needs. Several solutions are available on the market, but the Library Widget from Calaméo stands out for its ease of use, intuitive interface and numerous advanced features. This solution is ideal for those who want to create a virtual library quickly and without any particular technical skills.
By using this feature, you benefit from :
Easy embeding on your website: Calaméo enables effortless embeding of your virtual library on your website, which means you can showcase your digital resources in a harmonious, professional way.
Visual customization to match your brand: Thanks to a variety of customization options, you can adapt the appearance of your library to reflect your brand identity and blend seamlessly into the pages of your website.
Numerous options for sharing and distributing your publications: With Calaméo, you can easily share your publications on social networks or by e-mail. This enables you to reach a wider audience and increase the visibility of your resources.
Step 1: Publish and organize your documents on Calaméo
Organizing your documents is a key step in ensuring an optimal user experience and smooth navigation in your virtual library. To ensure that your publications are easily accessible and well structured, it’s important to prepare them well before publishing them on Calaméo.
Start by publishing your digital documents on Calaméo. Each publication should be accompanied by a catchy, descriptive title, incorporating relevant keywords linked to your content. Don’t forget to fill in the description of each publication with clear, engaging summaries that will encourage users to discover your content.
Next, organize your publications by placing them in Folders or adding them to a Favorites list. For these documents to be visible in your virtual library, it is essential that Folders and publications are defined as public.
NOTE: Private publications will not be displayed in the Library Widget, giving you total control over what is visible to your users.
All you have to do is select the Folder (or favorites list) whose contents you wish to display in your virtual library. All public publications in this folder will automatically appear in your library, making it easy to manage your documents without any extra effort.
Step 2: Customize the appearance of your Library Widget
Personalizing your virtual library is essential to ensuring a user experience that reflects your brand identity. Thanks to the many customization options offered by the Calaméo Library Widget, you can adjust the appearance of your library so that it blends seamlessly with your website while reinforcing your brand image.
You can adjust the following elements of your Library Widget:
The texture or background color of the library to match the style of your website.
The number of shelves to display to visually organize your publications.
The size of your publication thumbnails for optimized display.
The information to be displayed for each publication (such as title or description).
The order in which your publications appear, allowing you to highlight certain strategic documents.
The way publications open (in a new window or full screen).
You can also adjust the appearance of thumbnails by choosing, for example, a shadow or other visual effects that enhance the impact of your publications. These subtle details play a key role in enhancing the aesthetics and navigation of your virtual library.
TIP: While you’re customizing the look and feel of your Calaméo Library Widget, you can see the changes in real time thanks to the preview function. This allows you to test different configurations and ensure that each modification fits perfectly into your overall site before finalizing the upload.
By customizing your virtual library with these options, you offer your users a fluid, visually appealing experience, while reinforcing your brand identity at every stage.
Step 3: Embed the Calaméo Library Widget into your website
Once you’ve carefully customized the look and feel of your virtual library, the next step is to embed it directly into your website. This step is crucial to making your virtual library accessible to your users and enabling smooth navigation between your content and the other pages of your site.
Embeding the Calaméo Library Widget is quick and easy, and you have several options for doing so. Once you’re happy with the configuration and design of your virtual library, simply copy the embed code provided by Calaméo. This code can be inserted on any page of your website, whether on a page dedicated to your publications or another section of your site.
This intuitive process makes it easy to present your digital document collections in a professional, interactive way.
READ MORE: If you need help with embedding, resources such as the tutorial or the support pagein the Calaméo Help Center are available to guide you step by step.
By embedding a Calaméo library on your site, you enable your visitors to easily explore your digital publications directly from your platform, without having to navigate to another site. This not only enhances the user experience, but also reinforces the consistency of your brand image by providing seamless access to your documents in a controlled environment.
Embeding requires no advanced technical skills and, once the code has been inserted, your virtual library will be automatically updated every time you publish new documents or modify existing ones. So you don’t have to worry about manually keeping your library up to date, which saves you and your team valuable time.
With just a few clicks, you can create a dynamic, scalable virtual library that blends seamlessly with your website, while enriching your users’ experience and facilitating access to your digital content.
Conclusion
Creating a virtual library represents a unique opportunity to modernize your content management and improve access to your digital resources. With the Calaméo Library Widget, you have a powerful and flexible tool at your disposal to set up a virtual library perfectly adapted to your needs.
Don’t wait any longer, transform the way you share information by starting to build your virtual library with Calaméo today!
Here’s an example of a virtual library created with Calaméo:
NOTE: Private publications will not be displayed in the Library Widget, giving you total control over what is visible to your users.
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