How to Add a Pop Up on Shopify That Hooks & Converts [+Tips]

If you want to convert your site visitors into email subscribers or customers, knowing how to add a pop up on Shopify can help you drive impactful results. That’s why today, our eCommerce gurus will walk you through a step-by-step guide on adding Shopify pop up message to your eCommerce store.

Bonus: We’ll share best practices for optimizing your pop-up for user experience (UX) and provide some inspiring examples to learn from.

Let’s dive in!

1. What are pop-ups and what are some common types?

Simply put, pop-ups are advertising banners that appear on a visitor’s screen while they browse a web page. As of writing this article, here are some common pop-up types which you have probably come across at least once:

• Exit intent: An exit intent pop-up will appear when a user shows signs of leaving a page, such as moving their cursor towards the browser’s navigation bar or closing the tab. They usually come with a pop up discount to encourage your potential shoppers to stay.
• Cart abandonment: Cart abandonment popups are technically exit-intent popups, but they are designed to appear to visitors who have items in their shopping cart but are unlikely to make it to the checkout page.
• Lead magnet pop-up: Lead magnet pop-ups (aka email collection pop-ups) are pop-up windows that prompt your visitors to leave their email and contact info in exchange for free incentives, discounts, ebooks, etc.

2. How to add a pop up on Shopify?

Now that you know what pop-ups are and their benefits, let’s learn how to add a pop up banner on Shopify. Basically, there are two methods to do so– using Shopify Forms or another third-party pop-up app.

2.1. Use Shopify Forms 

If you are on a budget and want nothing more than a functional pop-up with basic customization, we’d suggest using Shopify Forms– a popup app developed by Shopify themselves. First, sign up to Shopify:

Follow the steps below on how to add pop up on Shopify website using Shopify’s native solution:

Step 1: Install Shopify Forms to your online store

Step 2: Click Create form to get started.

Step 3: Choose a pop-up style and set a name for your pop-up.

Step 4: Then, you can configure your pop-up’s settings and customize its appearance.

Step 5: Click Save once you’ve done.

And that’s how easy-peasy it is to add a pop-up on using Shopify Forms. Nevertheless, if you are looking for a more customizable solution, you can learn how to add a pop up on Shopify using a third-party Shopify app– which we’ll show you next.

2.2. Use other third-party Shopify apps 

Another way to add pop-ups to your store is by using a third-party pop-up app. Here are the best Shopify popup apps that provide the best value for your money: 

After testing them all, we believe Pop Convert – Pop Ups, Banners would make the optimal choice since it has lots of templates and is packed with diverse features. This means you can fully control how your pop-up looks and works. 

Not to mention that this app also has integrated email and discount code creation functionalities. This means you can manage different aspects of your pop-up campaign without switching back and forth.

Anyway, back to the main topic– let us show you how to add a pop up on Shopify using this app. 

Step 1: First, install the app on your store.

Step 2: Afterward, navigate to the Popups tab > Click Create Campaign

Step 3: Select your conversion goal and click Create. You can then set up your pop-up’s appearance and logic.

Step 4: After you’ve finished setting up your pop-up, click Publish to live it on your Shopify store.

💡Tips: If you don’t want to create a pop-up from scratch, you can navigate to the Templates tab to choose a template to get started.

If you want to focus on selling and marketing instead of setting pop-ups and other aspects of your Shopify store, use our Shopify store setup services to speed up your time to market.  

3. Why should you add popups on Shopify store? 

Merchants who have used our prebuilt Shopify stores with pop-up function told us they have seen positive impacts in their marketing initiatives, such as:

• Improve conversion rate: You’d be surprised to know that high-quality pop-ups can result in a conversion rate as high as 42.35%.
• Expand mailing list: Even with no discount code attached, simple email collection pop-ups have a 5.10% conversion rate.
• Reduce cart abandonment: Exit-intent pop-ups can help recover more than 10% of abandoned visitors.

Don’t have a Shopify account yet? Then make the best use of Shopify 1 dollar so you can start selling with minimal upfront costs.

4. Best ways to showcase popups on Shopify 

Up to this point, you’ve probably known how to add Shopify pop-ups. However, adding them in a way that elevates your website design is a different story. 

Hence, let us also share some crucial tips to customize your pop-ups for conversion rate optimization (CRO).

4.1. Use contrasting colors

First things first, make sure that you combine contrasting colors for your pop-up text and background so that they are easily readable. That said, your color choices should blend in perfectly with your theme’s overall look and feel. 

4.2. Keep the message short and concise

Your site visitors won’t have all day to look and analyze your pop-up’s message and discount scheme. Hence, just get straight to the point and refine your message copies to the level that they are effortlessly understandable. 

4.3. Good timing and relevance

You might think that immediately showcasing your pop-up will boost its effectiveness. However, the truth is nobody likes a full-screen pop-up thrown in front of their face the moment they land on a website. 

Statistically speaking, delaying popups for more than 5 seconds can result in a 52.02% better conversion rate than delaying them for only 2 to 5 seconds. Hence, remember to set up your pop-up display logic so that it appears at the right time.

4.4. Go beyond basic offers

If you feel like “10% off your first order” or “Free shipping for orders over $200” sound a bit too boring, we highly recommend that you go beyond basic offers. For instance, you could consider offering bundle perks or early access to your new limited collections.

Also, since the conversion rate of spin-to-win pop-ups is 125% higher than traditional ones, an idea for you is to create different deals and let your customers test their luck.

4.5. Get creative with copywriting 

At the end of the day, pop-ups are a type of advertising banner. Therefore, in order to unlock its full potential, you’ll need to be really creative with your copywriting.

For instance, try putting out something like “This deal’s hotter than summer, and it’s cooling off soon!” instead of “Discounts expire soon.”

4.6. Optimize your pop-ups for mobile devices

Since 72.9% of eCommerce transactions are done via mobile rather than desktop devices, optimizing your pop-ups for mobile is a must, not a plus. 

When creating your pop-up, to make sure it’s mobile responsive, don’t forget to turn on pop-up for Shopify mobile when customizing and previewing your pop-up.

4.7. Track and monitor performance

And last but not least, remember to track and monitor your pop-up performance to check how your pop-ups perform in terms of views, clicks and conversion goals. 

Besides that, you should also conduct A/B testing with various headlines, images, call-to-action (CTA) buttons, display timings, etc., to see which drives the highest conversions.

Read our blog on how to launch a Shopify store for more detailed tutorials on launching & optimizing your Shopify store for conversions. 

5. 5 best popup examples to inspire yours

1. Fashion Nova

What clicks about this pop-up:

• The design is super eye-catching and easy to read, so the message stands out right away
• The pop-up lets people choose what they’re interested in (like Women, Men, or Beauty), which helps with personalizing emails later

2. Hiut Denim

What clicks about this pop-up:

• The image of the free manual draws attention and makes the pop-up feel more real and trustworthy
• The “You can’t buy this anywhere” is a great, concise sub-title to emphasize on their resource’s exclusivity 

3. Kirrin Finch

What clicks about this pop-up:

• The visual is simple but very elegant and hooked
• They make it clear that you’ll get a birthday reward 

4. Goodee

What clicks about this pop-up:

• The pop-up slides in from the right corner and doesn’t take up a lot of the customer’s screen space
• The message is simple, clear and easy to understand

5. Bruvi 

What clicks about this pop-up:

• The design is gorgeous and sleek, which adds to the modern vibe that the brand aims for
• The pop-up has an ideal delay of 5 seconds after visitors land on Bruvi’s website

6. Conclusion

With the several benefits that they bring to your lead acquisition and sales enablement, pop-ups are old but gold marketing tactics you should masterfully leverage.

That’s why eComStart team hopes that after reading this article, you can know how to add a pop up on Shopify the right way.

If you like reading this blog, you can explore eComStart.io for more helpful resources like it. 

7. Frequently asked questions