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New Home Page: Categories & Customization

Brian Dollen avatar
Written by Brian Dollen
Updated this week

Welcome to your new SmartSuite Home experience! We’ve introduced a comprehensive update to make navigating and managing your workspace easier, more organized, and fully customizable.


📌 Overview

The redesigned SmartSuite Home Page empowers users to organize Solutions into Categories, choose from multiple layout views, and personalize their workspace appearance — all while giving administrators full control over branding, layout defaults, and access settings.

Whether you’re managing dozens of workflows or just getting started, the new Home Page helps you stay focused and move faster.


✨ Key Features

🗂️ Solution Categories (Groupings)

  • Organize Solutions into customizable groups (called Categories).

  • A default "All Solutions" view is always available.

  • Categories help declutter your workspace and improve discoverability.

  • Future enhancements will include permissions inheritance at the Category level.

👁️ Multiple Layout Views

Choose from four layout styles:

  1. Grouped View – Default view organized by Category.

  2. Card View – Visual tiles with clean, minimal presentation.

  3. Pill View – Compact for faster scanning and better scrolling.

  4. Admin View – Includes table/member info and last accessed dates (Admin/Solution Managers only).

Admins can set the default view for all new users. Each user can override and persist their own preferred view.

🎨 Custom Home Page Branding

Admins can now:

  • Upload logos and set workspace colors.

  • Configure avatars (initials, icons, images).

  • Choose banner type (default, large, compact, or fully custom).

  • Add dynamic greetings using variables like user name or workspace name.

  • Add optional welcome messages or onboarding guidance.

🧭 Simplified Navigation & Menu Enhancements

  • Top tabs: All Solutions, Favorites, Recently Accessed.

  • Collapsible side menu for space-saving navigation.

  • Redesigned User Menu and new Workspace Menu for Admin access and workspace switching.

🆕 Solution Creation UI

Easily create Solutions from:

  • Templates

  • Scratch

  • AI Assist (Beta) – Describe your workflow and SmartSuite will build tables, views, and sample data for you.

🔧 Footer Customization (Signature Plan Only)

Admins on Signature plans can customize the Home Page footer with organization-specific details and links.


🛠️ How It Works

1. Managing Solution Categories

  • Navigate to Manage Categories from the Home Page or when creating a Solution.

  • Admins can:

    • Add new Categories with a name, description, and icon.

    • Set a default Category for uncategorized Solutions.

    • Rename or delete existing Categories (deletion blocked if Solutions exist inside).

  • Solution Managers can:

    • Assign existing Solutions to Categories using the "Move to Category" option.

    • Cannot create or modify Categories.

2. Moving Solutions Between Categories

  • Click the “…” menu on a Solution card.

  • Select "Move to Category".

  • Choose from available Categories or click “Add Category” (Admins only).

  • Solutions can remain uncategorized and will always appear in All Solutions.

3. Choosing and Saving Layout Views

  • Access layout options via the top-right view selector on the Home Page.

  • Admins can set the default layout for all new users.

  • Individual users can change and save their preferred layout (Grouped, Card, Pill, Admin) — SmartSuite remembers your selection for future visits.

4. Creating New Solutions

  • From the Home Page, click “+ Create Solution”.

  • Choose to:

    • Start with a template

    • Build from scratch

    • Create with AI (describe your workflow to auto-generate a schema, views, and sample data)

5. Customizing Branding & Banner Settings

Admins can access all branding settings from the Workspace Menu > Branding Settings.

Available branding options include:

🎨 Banner Layout Options

  • Default – Minimal, lightweight header.

  • Large / Compact – Adjust height based on visual preference.

  • Custom Banner – Upload a background image using:

    • SmartSuite’s Image Library

    • Unsplash (built-in search)

    • Upload your own file

👤 Avatar Options

  • Show user initials

  • Use member profile photo

  • Choose a static icon

  • Upload a custom avatar or logo image

🖋️ Dynamic Greeting & Messaging

  • Create personalized welcome messages using merge fields:

    • Member first name

    • Workspace name

    • Department, company name, and more

  • Add an optional custom message for onboarding, instructions, or announcements

🧱 Workspace Color Palette & Logo

  • Pick a workspace-wide color scheme from curated palettes

  • Upload a logo that appears in the banner

  • Set a color or image background for better visual consistency

📆 Optional Banner Widgets

  • Display current date and time (toggle option)

  • Show or hide logos and additional interface elements

These settings apply globally and help create a cohesive, on-brand experience for all users.


🔐 Permissions Summary

Action

Admins

Solution Managers

Regular Users

Add/Edit/Delete Categories

Assign Solution to Category

Set Default View

Personalize View

Customize Banner/Footer


❓ FAQs

Q: Will all my Solutions be grouped automatically?
A: Upon rollout, all Solutions will appear in a default "General" Category. Admins can reorganize them afterward.

Q: Can users create their own Categories?
A: No. Only Workspace Admins can create or manage Categories.

Q: What happens to existing banners or branding?
A: The redesign includes backward-compatible defaults. You’ll see a clean Home Page unless custom branding is applied.

Q: What if I don’t change anything?
A: Your Home Page will work as usual using the new default settings. Customization is optional but recommended for better control.

Q: Is this available to all SmartSuite plans?
A: Yes! All features (except footer customization) are available across all plans. Footer editing is available on the Signature plan.

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