Show your own website on your digital signage screens

In this article, you will learn how to display your website via our CMS on your digital signage screens.

Would you like to enrich your website with dynamic and engaging content? Our website widget offers a simple and effective way to add interactivity to your platform.

This guide walks you through the process of integrating and configuring the widget for a seamless experience.

Widget Installation Guide: Displaying a Website in the CMS

To display a website using the "Website" widget in our CMS, follow these steps:

Choose the Website Widget:

• Website (Native Browser):
  This widget loads the website using the screen’s built-in browser. Ideal for websites with complex scripts or advanced features.

• Website (Embedded):
  This option embeds the website directly into the screen. Suitable for simpler websites that support embedding.

Note: The choice between these two widgets depends on the complexity and compatibility of the website.

Enter the Website URL:

• Copy the URL of the website you want to display.

• Paste it into the appropriate field in the widget settings.

Set the Display Duration:

• Specify how long the website should be displayed by entering the duration in seconds.

Save and Publish:

• Once the URL and duration have been set, save your changes.

• Publish the widget to display the website on your screen.

This ensures that the website is displayed correctly, depending on how it is built and its compatibility with the CMS.

Testing and Troubleshooting

• Preview the widget in a creation station to ensure it looks good and behaves as expected.

• Check the performance and loading times of the widget to guarantee a smooth experience.

Important Notes for Using the Website Widget in the CMS

When using the "Website" widget to display websites on media players, please consider the following important points:

1. Browser or WebView Version Incompatibility

   • Android 7.1 Compatibility:
     Media players use WebView to render web content, which may not support the latest Chrome version. This can cause compatibility issues with modern websites.

   Recommendation: Thoroughly test the website to ensure it displays correctly in the media player’s browser version.

2. Responsive Content

   • Screen Resolution:
     Media players require an input of 1920 x 1080 for optimal display. Websites with responsive designs may not always render correctly at this fixed resolution.

   Recommendation: Ensure that the website’s responsive design adapts properly to a fixed resolution of 1920 x 1080.

   Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) Problemen:

3. Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) Issues

   • External Resources:
     If your website communicates with APIs or external resources hosted on other domains, CORS policies may block the interaction.

   Recommendation: Configure your server’s CORS settings to allow cross-origin requests from the media player.

   Content Loading and Timing

   • Performance:
     Websites that rely on external resources may experience slow loading times, leading to a poor user experience.

   Recommendation: Optimize your website’s loading speed by minimizing external dependencies and improving load times.

4. Network Connectivity

   • Connection Stability:
     Unstable or slow internet connections on the media player may prevent websites from loading properly.

   Recommendation: Check the media player’s network connection and implement caching strategies where possible to ensure smooth content delivery.

5. Security Policies

   • Content Security Policies:
     Security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP) or X-Content-Type-Options may restrict how website content is loaded.

   Recommendation: Ensure your website’s security policies are configured to allow proper content loading on the media player.

6. Testing and Support

   • Troubleshooting:
     If issues arise during testing, consult our support documentation or contact our support team for further assistance.

7. SSL Certificates

   Media players display the website using a technique called WebView. This technology allows our software to render content on the screen. This means the player handles websites differently than a standard browser — especially regarding website certificates.

   Some certificates may be too new or incomplete for use within WebView. If this is the case, the website will not display on the screen and may close immediately.

   An example of an unsupported certificate is:
   Sectigo’s R36 Certificate

   Solution:

   Try displaying the website via http (without the certificate).
   If the website works over http, the issue is likely related to the certificate, and a different SSL certificate should be installed on the website.