--- title: Dynamic text (personalization variables) slug: dynamic-text description: How Personizely dynamic text works: every {visitor}, {geo}, {company}, {data}, {query}, {variable} and {datetime} value, fallback syntax, and where it works. docTags: createdAt: 2026-10-17T09:44:57.443Z --- Dynamic text inserts visitor-specific values into widgets and campaigns, such as the visitor's first name, their city, the UTM campaign they came from, or today's day of the week. You write a variable in curly braces, for example `{visitor.firstName or 'there'}`, and Personizely replaces it with the value for each visitor when the content is shown. Dynamic text was previously called "placeholders"; it's different from [Embedded widgets and placeholders](docId\:jRubqMsuzAHPTOBPLwFSW), which mark where an embedded widget appears. **Available on:** all platforms. Company values need the Clearbit or Albacross integration. ## Syntax ```javascript {namespace.key} {namespace.key or 'fallback text'} ``` - Use **single** curly braces and a dot between the namespace and the key: `{geo.city}`. - The fallback goes after `or`, in **single quotes**. It's shown when the value is missing, empty, `0` or `false`. - The fallback can't contain a single quote (`'`). Write "you are" instead of "you're", or use a typographic apostrophe. - Without a fallback, a missing value renders as nothing, so write the surrounding text so it still reads well. - `{datetime.*}` values always exist and take no fallback. Examples: | You write | Visitor | Result | | ------------------------------------ | ------------------ | ----------------------- | | `Hi {visitor.firstName or 'there'}!` | Identified as Jane | Hi Jane! | | `Hi {visitor.firstName or 'there'}!` | Anonymous | Hi there! | | `Free shipping to {geo.countryName}` | In France | Free shipping to France | | `Happy {datetime.dayOfWeek}!` | Any, on a Friday | Happy Friday! | ## Inserting dynamic text - **Widgets:** in the text editor toolbar, click **Placeholder** (the `{ }` icon). Choose a **Type**, then the **Value** and an optional **Fallback**, and confirm. Selected text becomes the default fallback. You can also type the syntax directly. - **Campaigns:** type the syntax into text you edit in the visual editor, or into HTML, links and image sources. ## Namespaces and values ### visitor: profile fields | Variable | Value | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `{visitor.email}`, `{visitor.firstName}`, `{visitor.lastName}`, `{visitor.phone}` | Profile fields, once the visitor is [Identifying visitors](docId\:Q2m71k4qe54obA5WmAvBT) | | `{visitor.companyName}`, `{visitor.companyTitle}`, `{visitor.address}`, `{visitor.bio}` | Profile fields | | `{visitor.utmSource}`, `{visitor.utmMedium}`, `{visitor.utmCampaign}`, `{visitor.utmTerm}`, `{visitor.utmContent}` | The visitor's stored UTM values | | `{visitor.referrer}`, `{visitor.firstVisitPage}` | First external referrer URL, first page path | | `{visitor.customField[ID]}` | A [Custom fields](docId\:km7iOXZLplGl8qZlK582W) by its numeric ID, for example `{visitor.customField[42]}` | Any [Visitor fields reference](docId\:imIYkGl2lTiSb6EhnikmB) works by its ID, except location fields, which use `geo`. Visitor values **update live**: if the visitor submits a form or is identified while the content is on screen, it re-renders with the new value. ### geo: the visitor's location | Variable | Value | Example | | ------------------- | ------------------------------ | --------- | | `{geo.country}` | Two-letter ISO country code | `DE` | | `{geo.countryName}` | Country name in English | `Germany` | | `{geo.region}` | Region, state or province name | `Bavaria` | | `{geo.city}` | City name in English | `Munich` | Location comes from the visitor's IP address and is available once Personizely has looked it up during the session. On the very first page of a session it may not be available yet, so content rendered right at page load can show the fallback there. Always add a fallback to `geo` values. ### company: the visitor's company Needs the Clearbit or Albacross integration. Values are available once the visitor's company has been identified from their IP address, which only happens for business networks. | Variable | Value | | ------------------ | ---------------------- | | `{company.name}` | Company name | | `{company.domain}` | Company website domain | ### data: website data `{data.key}` shows a [Website data (ply.setData and plyData)](docId\:F8Z6F1Bhw44oDyzHQoPE_) value set with `ply.setData`, `window.plyData` or a parser. Keys are letters, digits and underscores. Data values **update live** when you call `ply.setData` with a new value. ### query: URL parameters `{query.param}` shows a URL parameter the visitor has arrived with, for example `{query.ref}`. The value is **remembered**: it's the latest value seen for that parameter on any page, not only the current URL. For `{query.utm_source}` and the other `utm_*` names, the visitor's stored UTM value is used. See [Remembered traffic-source values](docId\:pUBcmS1M98xB8Mg8L99D_#remembered-traffic-source-values). ### variable: JavaScript variables `{variable.path}` shows a global JavaScript variable by its path from `window`, for example `{variable.Shopify.currency.active}` or `{variable.storeConfig.freeShippingThreshold}`. It's read when the content is rendered. ### datetime: the visitor's date and time Values use the clock and time zone of the visitor's device, at the moment the content is rendered. They don't tick. | Variable | Value | Example | | ---------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------ | | `{datetime.date}` | Date and time, formatted for the visitor's browser language | `10/16/2026, 3:45:12 PM` | | `{datetime.hour}` | Hour, 0–23 | `15` | | `{datetime.minute}` | Minute, 0–59, without a leading zero | `5` | | `{datetime.day}` | Day of the month, 1–31 | `16` | | `{datetime.month}` | Month number, 1–12 | `10` | | `{datetime.year}` | Four-digit year | `2026` | | `{datetime.dayOfWeek}` | Weekday name in English | `Friday` | | `{datetime.timeOfDay}` | `morning` (6:00–11:59), `afternoon` (12:00–16:59), `evening` (17:00–19:59) or `night` (20:00–5:59) | `afternoon` | | `{datetime.season}` | `winter` (Dec–Feb), `spring` (Mar–May), `summer` (Jun–Aug) or `autumn` (Sep–Nov), northern hemisphere | `autumn` | ## Where dynamic text works | Where | Supported | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Widget text: headlines, text, buttons, form labels | Yes | | Widget links, image sources and button action URLs | Yes. Spaces and accented characters in values are encoded, but characters with a meaning in URLs, such as `&`, `+` and `#`, aren't | | Campaign changes made in the visual editor: text and HTML, inserted elements, image sources, links and other attributes | Yes | | Price, template, theme, shipping and split URL campaigns | No | | Email and SMS sent by your integrations | No: use your email platform's own merge tags | Values are inserted as plain text. HTML or scripts in a value (for example, in a URL parameter) are shown as text, never run. ## Behavior details and limitations - **Visitor and data values update live; others don't.** `geo`, `company`, `query`, `variable` and `datetime` are read when the content is rendered. - **Keys are case-sensitive.** `{visitor.firstname}` renders empty (or its fallback); the field is `firstName`. - **Falsy values use the fallback.** A custom field or data value of `0` or `false` shows the fallback, not `0`. - **Previews in the editor are approximate.** The builder shows sample values. Check real values with a [Preview and QA campaigns](docId\:Sotf7nxCNqIQJUdVasvOz) on your site. - **Unknown namespaces are left as typed.** `{customer.name}` isn't a namespace, so it appears literally. ## Examples - **Ad message match:** a personalization for visitors with UTM campaign `spring-sale` whose headline reads "Your \{query.utm\_campaign or 'spring'} offer is still on". - **Local free-shipping bar:** "Free shipping to \{geo.city or 'your door'} on orders over $50". - **Time-aware popup:** "Good ! Order in the next hour for same-day dispatch." ## Troubleshooting - **The braces show on the page** → a typo in the namespace, a space inside the braces, a missing closing brace, double quotes around the fallback, or a single quote inside it. - **Always shows the fallback** → the visitor isn't identified (`visitor`), the value is empty or `0`, the company couldn't be identified (`company`), or location wasn't available yet on the first page (`geo`). - **Wrong UTM value** → `{query.utm_*}` and `{visitor.utm*}` show the visitor's stored value, which may come from an earlier visit. ## Related - [Website data (ply.setData and plyData)](docId\:F8Z6F1Bhw44oDyzHQoPE_) - [Visitor fields reference](docId\:imIYkGl2lTiSb6EhnikmB) - [Custom fields](docId\:km7iOXZLplGl8qZlK582W) - [Identifying visitors](docId\:Q2m71k4qe54obA5WmAvBT) - [Text element and dynamic text](docId\:waQaq7P2ozN4vtAFLxG40) - [Content A/B testing with the visual editor](docId\:sRIV2YbnueXGJTEWlxZl8)