The Homepage is where all Users' learning journeys begin. It enables discovery of an array of content that makes team members become well-rounded and confident in their delivery.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the various sections of the Homepage (also simply known as 'Home'), and what they mean.
Home
Spotlight
Your Spotlight top banner gives an immediate overview of key learning and actions that need to be undertaken, often as a priority. A maximum of 7 cards will be shown in the banner. If an action is not needed, the card will be removed and the remaining cards will resize themselves, to fit the space. These banner cards include…
Announcements - Important content that will be promoted by your organisation. This will be the first large card shown.
Skills - If you have at least one Focus Skill placed on your Skills Profile page, then you will see this card. It’s a reminder to keep track of your latest Skills, and to keep going with your personal development. Clicking this leads to the Skills Profile page.
Must-Do/Deadlines - Never worry about missing deadlines for compliance or other vital learning. If it’s due today or in the next 7 days, it will appear here with the time left, as a label (e.g., “Due in 9 hours”).
Live Classes/Webinars/Events - See which of your booked content types are happening for the day.
Tasks - From verifying content, to responding to a Learning Budget request, Managers and Admins can access their Tasks page, to get these jobs done. This keeps the learning-ball rolling for your Users.
Pending Tasks will be shown as a maximum of “10+”
Top Pick - you can view any content your Managers may have created and assigned to you, as a key piece of learning for you to get started on. Top Picks will remain in the Spotlight until completed, with presence based on recency and time sensitivity.
Order of content shown - if no content qualifies for the day, then the next option will be shown:
Yesterday's
Most recent - once the above doesn’t qualify.
Note✨: If less than 5 content items make it into Top Picks, then content will be shown, based on the following order:
Latest Announcements
Must Do & Upcoming Booked Sessions
Must do - will be All assigned Must do content in Chronological order of Assignment date
Upcoming session - It should be upcoming booked sessions, order by the one that soonest first
Last content to be set as In Progress (in line with the 'Continue' section).
Note✨: Other points to remember include:
Only content that is Not Started or In Progress, will appear as Spotlight banner cards.
Cards can appear as a combination of large, medium or small. There is a maximum of 6 large cards, 2 medium and 6 small.
Once you complete a Task shown in the Spotlight banner, the cards will automatically refresh to show only the latest actionable content.
Let’s take a further look at each of the card rules for the banner…
Top Picks, Announcements & No Content
Some Users may not have any Top Picks, sessions, or Tasks to action, therefore the Spotlight banner will instead suggest content that is relevant to the User, following one of two criteria…
Focus Skills: content that matches the Focus Skills set by the User.
Job-based Skills: content that matches the Role held by the User.
For example: A User with a Job Role of Financial Controller, will see content based on finance, money management, etc. This is based on the matches set by the HowNow AI algorithm.
If multiple relevant content items are published for the User, a hierarchy of importance is used, which includes:
1. Assigned HowNow and HowNow+ content
2. Learning Library content
3. Third-party content (articles, podcasts, etc.) from publishers
Note✨: Content tagged as a Top Pick, will always be prioritised over content tagged with Must Do, or that are not tagged at all.
For example…
Monthly Update is tagged as a Top Pick
Monthly Feedback is tagged as Announcement
Of these two content items, the Monthly Update will be shown primarily in the banner
If content has Top Pick tagged along with Announcements or Must Do, the Top Pick tag will be prioritised and appear on the card.
Tip: Top Picks, Announcements & Must Dos can be very powerful, whether used for general messaging, essential learning or 'you may like' content. So remember to...
Deadlines & Bookings
You’ll never miss content Deadlines, nor Bookings as these will appear in the Spotlight banner.
Deadline: Remember, if content has a Deadline due as today or within the next 7 days, it will show as a banner card.
Events, Live Class, Webinar bookings: Sessions/events occurring as today (the current day) - where you are set as “Attending” - will appear as a banner card.
If no Live Class or Webinar is available for the current day, the upcoming Live Class/Webinar will be shown, or a Must Do due in the next 7 days.
Booked sessions will always be shown as priority over Must Do content, if both are due on the same day.
Cards for Live Classes and Webinars will always show the appropriate duration, alongside the booked time for the session. If you change your booking time, this will show the updated time, after refreshing the Homepage.
Learning Reminders
Read Only Users don’t have Tasks to complete, instead they’ll be shown a nudge message, encouraging them to get back on track with their Focus Skills. This message will appear if no learning activity has occurred for a Focus Skill after 1 month.
For an overview explanation of the Spotlight banner, watch here...
Homepage learning rows (tabs)
Scrolling down past the Spotlight, reveals four important tabs ready to reveal your learning content. From what others are learning, to recommendations based on your skillset, here is where you’ll find new and existing content that’s relevant to your Job Role.
The four tabs include:
All
*Must Do
*Announcements
Events
Note✨: * These tabs’ buttons will show the number of new content items available to access.
All
This tab is home to four rows, each with their own distinct set of content types and themes. This will give you a nice range of learning materials to dive into. Let’s look at the rows…
Focus Skills - content that’s been assigned Skills that you’ve chosen to prioritise. For example…
Kenny has a Level 2 in Communication, so sets this Skill as one of his Focus Skills (via the Skills Profile page).
The Nugget, “Communicating in a business environment”, is created and the Communication Skill is assigned to it.
Kenny now sees this Nugget - and all other content with Communication assigned to it - within the Focus Skills row.
The order of the content - from left to right - is displayed based on the Skill with the highest Skill Gap.
For example…
You have “Product Management” as a Skill at a Level 1.
Your Manager has set Level 4 as the required minimum for your Job Role.
Therefore, the first content card will be for learning associated with the Skill of “Product Management”.
Skill Gaps You Can Fill - this row will only appear once you have Skill Gaps, as part of your Skill Profile. You'll receive content recommendations for the subjects where your Skills can and need significant improvement.
More Like This - you’ll be shown content that’s associated with the Skills you most frequently learned in the past.
For example…
3 months ago, you completed a significant amount of content associated with your Marketing Skill.
Other content items that are also associated, will surface here.
New & Noteworthy - freshly published content will be shown here, based on the publish date. This includes all content types, from third-party, to internally created content.
Peer Favourites - learn the same content as those who have the same Job Role as you (aka your Peers). These content items will be shown here.
Note✨: If you don’t have a Job Role, this section will be hidden.
Upcoming Deadlines - In published date order, find the content you have upcoming Deadlines for.
Recommended Channels - these are the Channels created by your Peers. You can access the Channels to see the content inside, and view the number of followers.
Suggested Experts - connect with Peers across your organisation, who can use their expertise to help you improve your weakest Skills. Based on your highest Skill Gaps, the relevant Experts will be shown.
For example…
You have a Level 1 in “Presenting”
Your Job Role requires Level 5 in “Presenting”
Adam is an Expert (holds a Level 3 or higher) in “Presenting”
Adam will appear as an Expert in this section for you
Each Expert will have their own card. Here you can click the Skill name to open their slide screen, where the following information regarding the Skill will be shown:
Expert in - a list of all of the Skills this User holds, at a Level 3 or higher. These are known as ‘Competent Skills’.
Contributes to Channels - all the Channels where they have created content and assigned it to aid Channels.
Achievements - the Certificates and Badges held by this Expert User.
You can email your Expert via the Email button visible on their card or the slide screen.
Continue Learning - all your content that remains In Progress will be presented here, encouraging you to return to finish content.
Must Do
Must Do content is any content that has been assigned with the “@Must Do” tag, by its Author. This content will automatically be displayed within this section on your Homepage.
Content shown here will have a status of either Not Started, or In Progress. Once you open the content, it will no longer be displayed here (as you’ve opened/interacted with it).
The button for this section will show a number-count bubble. This shows the number of newly assigned content items that are Must Dos. It will disappear once you’ve clicked on the button to view the section.
Announcements
This section is home to content that Admins and Managers want to share as big news, or crucial interactions. Similar to the Must Do section, you can see a number count of new content items assigned to you, as Announcements.
A content item can be both an Announcement and a Must Do, at the same time, however, such content will only be visible under the Announcements section.
Events
All events (Live Class/Webinar/Events) you’ve been assigned to - regardless of whether you’ve booked or not - are shown here, making it easier to find your sessions and keep abreast of what’s upcoming.
For more on events and integrating your calendar, check out our articles: How to book an Event, Live Class or Webinar and How to add an Event, Live Class or Webinar to your calendar.
Learning
The Learning page is where you’ll find all of the content you’re engaging with, whether Not Started, In Progress or Completed. The content types you’ll receive include: Nuggets, Pathways, SCORM, Live Class, Event and Webinar.
Each tab featured on the Learning page can also be found under the Homepage rows section, except that you’ll find an additional tab…
Must Do - content assigned to you that still has either a Not Started or In Progress status.
Announcements - all content assigned as an Announcement.
Upcoming Events - Live Classes, Webinars and Events you’re assigned to, whether you’ve booked or not.
History - once you’ve completed a content item, it will appear under this section. You can always re-open your completed content or visit its landing page.
You will have access to filters on the Learning page that will enable you to display specific content - perfect for focusing on upskilling in your chosen subject or area of work. The filters include…
Duration - this will display content based on the minutes or hours it’s expected to take, to complete it (this is set by the Author).
Source - if your organisation has integrated a Content Library (Udemy for Business, Circuit Street, etc.), you’ll be able to filter content by publisher. You can always filter by Team to see just internally created content.
Type - get started on just Nuggets, or perhaps focus your learning on SCORM Courses.
Language - content will be shown based on what language was set by its Author. This makes finding relevant content easier, for global Users.
Status - find content that’s Not Started, In Progress, Completed or Overdue.
Date Range - filter by the date the content was published. Great for finding time-sensitive learning.
Skills
Your Skills-profile page is home to all of your essential Skills data and progression history. Helping you to keep track of your weaknesses and push forward with your strengths, this page will allow you to manage which Skills you can focus on and request a Review for.
Flourish in your Job Role and boost confidence in your performance by managing and tracking your Skills. Learn how in our article: The Skills Profile page.
Saved
This page on your Homepage side panel, is all about returning to content that you’d like to study later, or may be inspired to use as content ideas. It includes two tabs…
Bookmarks - When hovering over a content card, the option to save it as a Bookmark, will appear in the form of a tag icon. Once saved it will stay in the Bookmarks tab until it’s removed.
Highlights - Any notes you make on content that you’re learning (for Nuggets and Courses), will appear here. Great for leaving future content ideas (Authors) or as a reminder to discuss a topic with your Manager.
Learn more about Bookmarks and Highlights in our article: How to Bookmark and Highlight Content
Dashboard
Your workspace Dashboard will always be accessible from your Homepage panel. This will be the home of all your organisation’s teams’ learning data and engagement habits. Admins, Managers and Contributors will have access to their own version of the Dashboard pages, with the ability to filter and export as needed.
Get a quick overview of the Dashboard page, in the article: How to understand your Dashboard.
Studio
Creating internal content is about having the right resources to bring learning to life. With the HowNow Studio, Authors (Admins, Managers or Contributors) can produce a range of content items from Webinars and offline Events, to Pathways that upskill new starters or company veterans.
Learn the essentials of the Studio, in the article: Finding your way around the Studio.
Pathways / Channels / Apps
Towards the bottom half of your Homepage side panel, you’ll find three main sections, each designed to get you to your content in an instant. These include the following:
Pathways - your 10 most recently opened Pathways will appear here, but only those that have an In Progress status. This is to encourage a return to the content, with the aim of completion.
Selecting the (+) icon will take Authors/Collaborators directly to the Pathways Editor, to create a fresh learning experience for their Users.
Pathways assigned to you can be removed from this view, by selecting the “X” icon. This won’t unassign you from the content itself.
Channels - the Channels that you follow (#) or have been assigned to (padlock), by way of a Group being assigned to the Channel, will appear listed under this section in alphabetical order.
Padlocked Channels are those assigned to you, or you have created.
Selecting the (+) icon will open the slide screen to Add Channel.
Apps - a list of all Content Libraries integrated with your organisation’s workspace (e.g., Udemy for Business, LinkedIn, etc.). You can get access to all the content each library provides, by clicking on the provider name.
The (+) sign of the Apps logo will take you to the Integration section of your User Profile, to integrate with any necessary applications you use for work/learning.
Top Navigation Panel
The top-right corner of the Homepage holds access to more of your workspace gems. It’s all about taking action and being informed, to get the most out of your learning experience. In this panel, you will find your…
Profile - this option provides a drop-down list of the following essentials:
Profile - you can see an overview of your Org User Role, what you’re learning and your progress, manage your app integrations and control your personal workspace settings.
Dashboard - Managers and Admins get access to the Dashboard to review User learning data, manage content and more.
Balance - (only if offered by your organisation) your latest Learning Budget balance will be shown in the currency available to you.
Request Learning - you can request to use funds from your Learning Budget, to buy resources to upskill or attend events related to your Job Role.
Settings - Only Admins will have this option to manage the overall workspace settings.
Logout - each time you select to logout, is a Session completed. Logging in again will start a new Session (the record of you logging into your workspace). You can see where, and via which, devices you are logged in, by clicking on the Settings tab on your Profile page.
Notifications - all real-time notifications will appear as a drop-down list. To view all recent and older notifications, click View All to open the full page.
Messages - the Messages page displays all direct one-to-one private discussions you’re having with other workspace Users.
Create - clicking this button will reveal the full list of content types for Contributors, Managers and Admins to start creating learning materials from.
Note✨: Don’t forget, when viewing pages such as your Profile or Notification pages, you can always return to the Homepage, by clicking your workspace logo, in the top-left corner of the said pages.
Watch a walk-through of these other elements of the Homepage in this video...
Want to learn more about Channel Curation? Read our article: HowNow HowNow Channel Curation.
FAQs
What are some common questions you may find yourself asking as an Admin User? These potential queries have been outlined below, to give more clarity on the Homepage.
Q: We use our organisation's workspace strictly for compliance training. How does the Homepage keep this into consideration for our teams?
A: The Homepage is focused on personalising the learning experience for an individual team member, while maintaining the standard HowNow UX expectations, across all Users. Tabs like Must do, Announcements, and Events are designed to provide a quick-access solution to compliance-related training, along with opportunities to upskill.
Q: What happened to the calendar option on the Home page?
A: Enhancing the UX is always the number one result, when improvements are made to a page or feature. Therefore, Live Classes, Events, and Webinars - occurring in the next 7 days - will be shown in the Spotlight top banner. Integrating your Calendar to see all of your events, can still be achieved via your User Profile.
Q: How is content prioritised/ranked in the Spotlight top banner, if no content is assigned as a Top Pick or Announcement? What if there are multiple content items internally created?
A: In this case, the large cards will show content that was created recently, and assigned to Users based on their Skill Gaps. Content types are ranked most priority to lesser priority:
HowNow internal content
HowNow+
3rd-party publications
Q: A User has reported that they see content that they no longer have access to, in their My Learning section?
A: This is no cause to worry, as all Users will see such content as it becomes part of their learning records.
For example...
A User has the Job Role of Finance Manager (FM)
They complete the Course "Financial Auditing for 2025" (only assigned to Finance Managers)
6 months later they're promoted to Regional Finance Auditor
"Financial Auditing for 2025" - although completed when they were a FM - is still relevant to their current role (if not more so).
The content card will make it clear to the user that they no longer have access to the content, without losing the learner record.