Dynamic timelines
Table of Contents
We're constantly exploring new ways to enhance personalisation and customisation in Bolt, ensuring your users can effortlessly access the content they want. Our goal is not only to make navigation seamless but also to help users discover even more relevant content once they're there.
What Are Dynamic Timelines?
Unlike standard timelines, which display a list of editorially selected articles, dynamic timelines pull content from across various timelines when a user taps on a particular author, topic or other taxonomy. All powered in real time by Bolt Search.
For example, if a user frequently reads articles by a particular author, dynamic timelines can be enabled so that, by tapping on the author’s name, the user is instantly shown a timeline consisting solely of that author’s content.
To the end user, dynamic timelines look just like standard timelines, but they deliver more of what the user wants to see.
Dynamic timelines can be accessed via an array of buttons at the bottom of an article, or taxonomies displayed on article cards and in article header groups can be made tappable.
Dynamic timelines are not available offline as search requires a working internet connection.
Term cards
In order to indicate to users that they're in a different type of timeline. - and to provide context - we've added a new card type which can be displayed at the top of each dynamic timeline. These ‘taxonomy cards’ present the user with a bit more info about the timeline they're on, whether it's an author, topic or something else, in an unobtrusive way.
You can decide if these cards have a title, image or description and we'll be adding even more to them in the future.
Note that the follow feature is in progress and will be available soon.
Who can use them?
Absolutely anyone can take advantage of our dynamic timelines as long as you use any taxonomy in your app content. The most common are sections and contributors both of which are supported out of the box. But if you have any custom taxonomies those can take advantage of dynamic timelines just as easily.
What is needed to get them live?
Dynamic timelines are a content feature, meaning no app update and no config update is required.
Let us know which of the aforementioned implementations you'd like, and if you'd like to display taxonomy cards and we'll set it up for you.
You are also able to add dynamic timelines to the timeline picker, similarly to how standard timelines are added.