How to add an email popup to Shopify (and what to offer)

The short answer: To add an email popup to Shopify, install a form app such as Shopify's free Shopify Forms, switch on its app embed in your theme editor, then create a popup form, choose when it appears and activate it. Many email apps, including tinyAlbert, switch on their popups the same way. Then give visitors a clear reason to sign up.

Adding the popup takes minutes. Deciding what it says and offers is what makes people fill it in. This guide shows how to add an email popup on Shopify step by step, the settings that keep it from annoying shoppers, and how to choose an offer you can afford.

Three ways to collect emails on Shopify

Option	What it is	Cost	Best for
Shopify Forms	Shopify's own app for popup and inline forms	Free	Stores sending with Shopify Messaging, or anyone who wants a simple popup
Your email app's popup	Signup forms built into your email marketing app, such as tinyAlbert's	Often included in the app's plan	Stores whose emails go out from that app, so signups reach the welcome email directly
Theme newsletter section	A signup block in your footer or on a page, built into Online Store 2.0 themes	Free	A permanent, non-popup signup alongside your popup

You don't need custom code for any of these. Pick one popup tool, though: Shopify Forms lets you show several popups at the same time, and two tools each showing a popup gives shoppers two boxes to close.

How to add an email popup to Shopify with Shopify Forms

Shopify Forms is free and made by Shopify. It creates popup and inline forms, can show a discount, and saves signups to your Shopify customer list. These steps follow Shopify's help page on creating forms.

Step 1: Turn on the Forms app embed

1. Install Shopify Forms from the Shopify App Store.
2. In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store and click Edit theme on your active theme.
3. In the theme editor sidebar, click the App embeds icon.
4. Switch on Forms and click Save.

You only do this once per theme. While the embed is on, every active popup form shows on your store.

Step 2: Create the popup form

1. Go to Apps > Forms and click Create form.
2. Select Popup form, name it and click Create.
3. Choose Floating (a box in a position you choose, with a small teaser tab) or Overlay (centred, with the page dimmed behind it).
4. Write the title (up to 50 characters), the content line (up to 100) and the button label (up to 25), for example "Get my discount".

Step 3: Set marketing consent

Under the form's Marketing consent setting, choose whether submitting the form signs people up for email marketing, or whether they must tick a box first (Shopify Help Center). Add the optional consent disclaimer that explains people will receive marketing email, with a link to your privacy policy. Check which option the email rules in your customers' countries require.

Step 4: Add the offer and success message

In the Success section, choose Show message and, if you're offering one, pick the discount code to display once someone signs up. Write a short success title such as "Here's your code" and a line on what to expect next.

Step 5: Set when it appears, then activate

Under the behaviour settings, choose devices, pages and the trigger, then preview the form and activate it. The next section covers what to pick.

Popup settings that stop shoppers closing it

Shopify Forms gives you these controls (popup form settings), and most email apps have similar ones:

Setting	Options in Shopify Forms	A sensible starting point
Trigger	First, second or third page view; immediately or after a delay	First or second page view, after a short delay, so people see your products first
Exit intent	Show when a visitor moves towards the address bar (desktop only)	On, as a second chance for desktop visitors
Devices	All, desktop only or mobile only	All, with a floating form on mobile so it doesn't cover the page
Pages	All pages, or page types such as product or collection pages	All pages except where it gets in the way, such as contact pages
Teaser	Before the form, after it's closed, both, or never	Show it after the form is closed, so people can come back to the offer

Be careful on mobile. Google's Search guidance says intrusive interstitials that cover the page can frustrate users and make your content harder for search engines to understand, and suggests banners that take up a small part of the screen instead (Google Search Central). A floating form or teaser on mobile keeps your products visible.

What to offer in your email popup

"Sign up for our newsletter" gives nobody a reason to type their email. The offer is the reason. Choose one you can keep giving to every new subscriber:

Offer	Works well when	Watch out for
Percentage off the first order (for example 10%)	Your margins can absorb it and most first orders are small	It costs margin on every first order and can train people to wait for codes
Fixed amount off (for example $5 off $40)	You want a predictable cost per order; pair it with a minimum spend	Too small to motivate on expensive products
Free shipping on the first order	Shipping cost is the main reason people leave at checkout	Check it suits every country you ship to
Early access to launches or restocks	You sell limited runs, drops or products that sell out	You must actually email before a launch, every time
A useful guide (size guide, care guide, recipes)	Buyers need help choosing or using your products	The guide has to exist and arrive in the welcome email
No incentive, just a clear promise	You have a loyal following who wants your news	The promise must be specific: what you send and how often

Work out the cost before you choose. On a $40 first order, 10% off is $4 and free shipping is whatever the parcel costs you. If you use a discount code, set Limit to one per customer under maximum discount uses when you create it in Shopify, so it stays a first-order offer (Shopify Help Center).

Popup copy ideas to adapt

• Discount: "10% off your first order" / "Join our list and we'll send your code straight away."
• Early access: "New collections reach subscribers first" / "Get the restock email before anyone else."
• Guide: "Not sure which size? Get our fit guide" / "We'll email it now, plus new arrivals each week."

Whichever you use, say how often you'll email. Yahoo's sender guidance asks senders to set expectations at signup, including how often email will arrive (Yahoo Sender Hub), and subscribers who know what's coming are less likely to mark you as spam. Our guide to Gmail and Yahoo sender requirements explains why that matters.

What happens after someone signs up

The popup's job ends when the welcome email starts. Before you switch the popup on:

• Set up the welcome email so it sends straight away and delivers exactly what the popup promised. Our welcome email examples show what to put in it.
• Test it yourself. Sign up with your own email on desktop and on a phone, check the code works at checkout, and check the welcome email arrives.
• Turn off duplicate welcome emails. Shopify warns that two welcome automations mean customers get twice as many emails (Shopify Help Center).
• Keep a footer signup too, using your theme's newsletter section, for visitors who closed the popup (Shopify Help Center).

For the rest of the list-building picture, including the marketing checkbox at checkout, see the Shopify email marketing guide.

Adding an email popup with tinyAlbert

If tinyAlbert sends your email, its popups are already written. You get four pre-written forms: Newsletter Subscription, 10% Off Your First Order, Exclusive Deals and Stay in touch. You switch them on once through the tinyAlbert app embed in the Shopify theme editor, with no code, then choose which forms visitors see.

New subscribers join your tinyAlbert list, and you can pair the 10% Off Your First Order form with the Welcome Series 10% Discount automation so the code arrives in your brand's voice. Form submissions show in your dashboard's customer activity, alongside opens, clicks and orders. Popup forms are included in every plan, from $3 a month for up to 100 contacts after a 7-day free trial. See the forms on the tinyAlbert signup forms page.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free email popup for Shopify?

Yes. Shopify Forms is a free app made by Shopify that adds popup and inline signup forms, can display a discount code after signup, and saves subscribers to your Shopify customer list. Many email marketing apps also include popups in their plans, so check what your email app offers before adding a separate popup app.

Why is my Shopify popup not showing?

The most common cause is the app embed being switched off: open your theme editor, click App embeds and check the toggle is on for your form app, then save. Also check the form is active, its device and page settings include what you're viewing, and its trigger, such as a second page view or a delay, has been reached.

Do email popups hurt SEO?

They can if they cover the page. Google's guidance says intrusive interstitials make content harder for search engines to understand and frustrate users, and recommends banners that use a small part of the screen. A floating form, a short delay and an easy close button keep a popup useful without blocking your products, especially on mobile.

What discount should I offer in my Shopify popup?

Offer the smallest incentive that gives people a real reason to join, and one you can afford on every first order. 10% off is common, a fixed amount with a minimum spend gives a predictable cost, and free shipping suits stores where delivery costs put people off. Early access or a useful guide can work without any discount.

Where do popup signups go in Shopify?

With Shopify Forms, people who sign up are saved as customers in your Shopify admin, with their email marketing consent recorded according to the form's consent setting, and you can tag them automatically. If you use an email app's popup instead, subscribers join that app's list, so check how it syncs them with your Shopify customers.