Frequently Asked Questions

Personalization with Hygraph

What is personalization in the context of Hygraph?

Personalization in Hygraph refers to delivering tailored experiences to users by matching content to the right audience segment at the right time. This approach increases user engagement, influences purchasing decisions, boosts conversions, and drives customer loyalty and revenue growth. Hygraph enables consistent personalization across all digital channels by centralizing content variants and segment management. [Source]

How does Hygraph enable personalization for digital experiences?

Hygraph enables personalization by allowing you to create multiple content variants (WHAT you deliver), define audience segments (WHO you deliver to), and set up personalization rules (HOW and WHEN content is delivered). These components work together with a Customer Data Platform (CDP) and a personalization engine to deliver relevant content to users in real time, across all channels. [Source]

What are Variants, Segments, and Personalization Rules in Hygraph?

Variants define the different versions of a main content entry (WHAT you deliver). Segments define the audience groups based on user attributes, behavior, or context (WHO you deliver to). Personalization rules determine HOW and WHEN content is delivered to each segment, using either custom logic or a personalization engine. [Source]

How does the personalization workflow with Hygraph, a CDP, and a personalization engine work?

The workflow typically involves: 1) Identifying the user's segment using a CDP based on their attributes and context; 2) The personalization engine determines which content variant to deliver; 3) Hygraph provides the relevant content variant for the segment; 4) The frontend combines the personalized content with presentation templates and displays it to the user. This ensures consistent, omnichannel personalized experiences. [Source]

Can you provide a real-world example of personalization using Hygraph?

Yes. For example, when a returning customer visits your website, their browser sends a cookie with a unique ID. The server uses this ID to fetch the user's profile from a CDP, which includes segments, browsing and purchase history, and location. The personalization engine uses this data to decide which content variants to show (e.g., a banner for waterproof running shoes for a 'Running enthusiasts' segment). Hygraph returns the relevant content variants, which are then displayed to the user. This process works across web, mobile, and in-store channels. [Source]

How can I get started with personalization in Hygraph?

You can start by using Hygraph's Variants and Segments to create basic customer matching logic. As your needs grow, you can integrate a personalization engine and a Customer Data Platform (CDP) for automation and omnichannel coverage. Analytics and A/B testing can be integrated to measure the impact of personalization on conversions and revenue. [Source]

Features & Capabilities

What are the key features of Hygraph for personalization?

Key features include content variants for different audience segments, segment management, integration with CDPs and personalization engines, omnichannel content delivery, and support for analytics and A/B testing. Hygraph also offers a user-friendly interface, Smart Edge Cache for performance, and enterprise-grade security and compliance. [Source]

Does Hygraph support omnichannel personalization?

Yes. Hygraph's headless CMS architecture ensures that personalized content remains consistent and up-to-date across all channels, including web, mobile apps, and in-store kiosks. This enables seamless digital experiences regardless of how customers interact with your products. [Source]

How does Hygraph integrate with Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) and personalization engines?

Hygraph centralizes content variants and segment creation, while the CDP maintains real-time user profiles and generates user lists mapped to Hygraph segments. The personalization engine applies business logic to deliver relevant experiences across touchpoints. Hygraph's API-based architecture allows seamless integration with these systems. [Source]

Use Cases & Benefits

What types of businesses or teams can benefit from Hygraph's personalization features?

Hygraph's personalization features are ideal for businesses aiming to deliver tailored digital experiences across multiple channels. This includes ecommerce, technology, automotive, food and beverage, and manufacturing companies, as well as marketing teams, product managers, and developers seeking to modernize content management and improve engagement. [Source]

What are the main benefits of using Hygraph for personalization?

Main benefits include increased user engagement, higher conversion rates, improved customer loyalty, and revenue growth. Hygraph also streamlines content management, reduces operational costs, and ensures content consistency across all channels. [Source]

Technical Requirements & Implementation

What are the solution components required for personalization with Hygraph?

The main components are: 1) Hygraph (for content variants and segment management), 2) a Customer Data Platform (CDP) for unified user profiles, and 3) a personalization engine for business logic and content delivery. These work together to deliver personalized experiences across all touchpoints. [Source]

Do I need a CDP or personalization engine to start with Hygraph personalization?

No. You can begin with Hygraph's Variants and Segments and use basic customer matching logic. As your personalization needs grow, you can integrate a CDP and personalization engine for more advanced automation and omnichannel coverage. [Source]

Pain Points & Solutions

What common challenges in personalization does Hygraph help solve?

Hygraph addresses challenges such as inconsistent content delivery across channels, dependency on developers for content updates, integration difficulties with third-party systems, and the need for scalable, efficient personalization workflows. Its user-friendly interface, content federation, and API-first approach help overcome these obstacles. [Source]

How does Hygraph's approach to personalization differ from traditional CMS platforms?

Hygraph's GraphQL-native, headless architecture allows for flexible, scalable, and omnichannel personalization, unlike traditional CMS platforms that often limit content delivery to specific channels and require more developer involvement. Hygraph's content federation and integration capabilities further differentiate it by enabling seamless data management and delivery. [Source]

Resources & Next Steps

Where can I find step-by-step guides for setting up personalization in Hygraph?

You can find detailed guides and tutorials in the Hygraph documentation, including a step-by-step approach to personalization with Variants and frontend logic. Start here: Set up personalization with Hygraph's Variants and frontend logic.

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When was this page last updated?

This page wast last updated on 12/12/2025 .

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#Achieve Personalization with Hygraph's Variants

Personalization delivers tailored experiences to your users by matching content to the right audience segment at the right time. Nowadays, users are more likely to engage with your brand if you personalize their journey. Providing this level of personalization influences purchasing decisions, conversions, customer loyalty, and ultimately drives revenue and growth for your brand.

With Hygraph, you can implement personalization consistently across all channels.

#Key terms

  • Variants - These define WHAT you deliver. You can create multiple variants of a main content entry.
  • Segments - These define WHO you deliver the content to. Define segments based on user attributes, behavior, or context, via a Customer Data Platform (CDP).
  • Personalization rules - These define HOW and WHEN you deliver the content. Set up your own logic or use a personalization engine to decide which content should be delivered to which segment in real time.

#Solution components

  • Hygraph (Headless CMS) – Centralizes content variants and segment creation, as well as tagging for omnichannel delivery.
  • Customer Data Platform (CDP) – Maintains unified, real-time user profiles and generates user lists that map to the segments created in Hygraph.
  • Personalization engine – Applies business logic to deliver relevant experiences across different touchpoints.

#How it works

Personalization - How it worksPersonalization - How it works

  1. To deliver a personalized experience to a user, some internal logic determines the applicable segment for a user by evaluating attributes and context data of the user. In this example, the user matches Segment 2.
  2. The personalization engine looks up content to be delivered, and, if available, finds the content variant. In this example, Variant 2 was assigned to Segment 2 by the editor.
  3. The user sees the variant as the personalized experience. If no matching variant exists, the default content is delivered to the user.

#Example: Personalization with Hygraph

Let's make the following assumptions:

  • The content team created content entries, such as the main content entry and its variants in Hygraph.
  • The Customer Data Platform (CDP) contains real-time behavioral and contextual user data.
  • The personalization engine decides the content, products, offers, or UI that a user sees based on their data and context.

The following example illustrates a headless personalization workflow for a returning customer to your website.

  1. A customer returns to your website. The HTTP request from their browser to your server includes a cookie from their last visit. This cookie contains a unique, anonymous ID.

  2. Your web server receives the incoming request, and recognizes a unique ID in the request. Instead of fetching the default, static page, it launches server-to-server API calls to other personalization components.

  3. The server sends the customer's anonymous ID to the Customer Data Platform (CDP). The CDP immediately returns her unified customer profile to the web server in its API response, which includes the following data points:

    • Segments - High-value customers, Running enthusiasts
    • Browsing history - Recently viewed Running shoes model X
    • Purchase history - Running socks
    • Location - Cold weather region
  4. The web server sends this customer profile to the personalization engine. The engine's AI model processes the inputs in real-time, and makes the following decisions:

    • Show a banner featuring waterproof running shoes Z
    • Recommendations for gear frequently bought with running shoes
    • Highlight offer - Free Shipping This personalization engine returns a structured list of specific content components required to build this experience for your customer, in its API response to the web server.
  5. Now, the web server requests the following from Hygraph:

    • Variant HeroBanner with information for waterproof running shoes Z linked to the Running enthusiasts Segment
    • Variant RecommendationSection with information for trail gear linked to Running enthusiasts Segment
    • Variant OfferText with information for VIP shipping linked to the High-value customers Segment

    In its API response, Hygraph returns raw JSON objects for content entries, including fields such as image URLs, product IDs, and text, which are passed to the web server.

  6. The server combines the frontend presentation template and the personalized content from Hygraph, and displays it in your customer's browser.

If the customer is using your mobile app instead of a web browser, they would see the same personalized content there. Likewise, if they were shopping in-store on a kiosk, the same experience would be displayed. By using a headless CMS like Hygraph, you can ensure that content remains consistent and up-to-date across all channels, delivering a seamless digital experience regardless of how customers choose to interact with your products.

#Next steps

Learn how to set up personalization step by step, beginning with a simple approach that does not require a CDP or a personalization engine. You can use existing customer data and rules to deliver tailored experiences, without any additional, dedicated tools.

Example - Set up personalization with Hygraph's Variants and frontend logic