Setting Up Widgets
Embed assistants in external pages with configurable access, theming, and guest mode.
What is a widget?
A widget lets you embed an assistant inside an external web page as an iframe. Learners interact with the assistant on your course portal, LMS, or partner site without visiting SLAN.
Creating a widget
Navigate to your course, open the Widgets tab, and click Create Widget.
Widget fields
| Field | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Widget name | Internal label. Not shown to learners. Example: "Canvas Q&A Helper". | Yes |
| Description | Internal note about where the widget is embedded or what it does. | No |
| Assistant | Which assistant in this course to embed. Must already exist. | Yes |
| Allow guest mode | Lets learners use the widget without logging in. Only available if the linked assistant is public. | No |
| Hide login page | Replaces the login page with a blank state. Use this on public websites where tracking individual users is unnecessary. | No |
| Allowed domains | Up to 10 domains permitted to embed this widget. If empty, any domain can embed it. Enter domains without the protocol, e.g. myuniversity.edu, partner.com. Use *.example.com to allow single-level subdomains (matches courses.example.com, not a.b.example.com). For private or restricted content, always set at least one domain. | No |
| Theme config | default uses SLAN's built-in theme. organisation applies your organization's custom colors, typography, and branding. | No |
| Initial message | Greeting shown when the widget first opens, before the learner types. Example: "Welcome! I'm here to help with course questions." A blank chat with no greeting leaves learners guessing what to ask. | No |
Widget status
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
active | Live. Can be embedded. |
disabled | SLAN stops serving requests. Embedded instances show a "disabled" state. Active conversations pause until you re-enable the widget. |
Toggle status from the widget detail view.
Guest mode and access levels
Guest mode only works if the linked assistant is public. If you change the assistant's access level to restricted or private, SLAN blocks unauthenticated requests to every widget linked to that assistant.
Before the change takes effect, SLAN shows you a warning listing the affected widgets. If you proceed, SLAN disables guest mode on those widgets automatically.
Embedding
Once your widget is active, click View on the widget card to see the embed code. Copy the iframe snippet and paste it into your site. To preview the widget in a new tab, click Test Widget.
When to use widgets
LMS integration. Embed an assistant inside Canvas, Blackboard, or Moodle so learners access it in their existing course interface.
Course portals. Place an assistant on your custom course website.
Partner sites. Give a partner organization an embed code to drop into their platform.
Standalone pages. Build a landing page that embeds one or more assistants without SLAN's platform chrome.
Known pitfalls
Guest mode on a non-public assistant. If you enable guest mode and later restrict the assistant's access level, SLAN blocks unauthenticated users. Plan access levels before you distribute widget links.
No domain whitelist. Without allowed domains, anyone with the widget URL can embed your assistant on any site. You lose visibility into where it appears.
Mismatched access level. If the widget sits on a public website but the assistant requires login, visitors hit a login prompt they have no reason to complete. Enable Hide login page and Allow guest mode together to prevent this.
Before you publish
Test in the target environment. Open the widget inside the actual page where learners will use it. Confirm the domain is whitelisted, guest mode (if enabled) works, and the theme renders correctly on desktop and mobile.