What is a Slot?

A slot is a narrow notch, groove, or opening, such as the slit for a coin in a vending machine. A slot can also refer to a position in a group, series, or sequence. For example, “She slips the disc into the dash.” The term is also used in aviation to refer to an authorized time and place for a plane to take off or land. Air traffic controllers use slots to manage extremely busy airports and prevent the repeated delays that occur when too many flights try to take off or land at the same time.

Slots are dynamic placeholders that either wait for content (a passive slot) or call out to it (an active slot). Slots are based on the content repository or targeter, and they work in tandem with scenarios and renderers to deliver the final content to the page. Scenarios and targeters specify the content that slots will contain, while renderers specify how the slot is presented to the user.