How To Add A Pop-Up On Your Squarespace Website
Last week, I gave you 50 great ideas for subscriber opt-in gifts. Today, I want to show you how to add that opt-in freebie to your website in the form of a pop-up because Squarespace now offers this tool as an integrated feature for the Website Business plan, the Commerce Basic plan, and the Advanced plans.
If you’re like me, you probably feel a little uncomfortable with having a pop-up on your website—mainly because you find the experience of them so interrupting and annoying. For the longest time, I swore I’d never put one on my site.
But I’ve changed my mind because pop-ups can work. We’ve been tracking the effectiveness of our new pop-up since we implemented it less than a month ago and we’ve doubled our conversion rate.
Side note: Our pop-up was part of a larger marketing plan that included strategic SEO to our site and an upgraded content marketing approach. I mention this because I believe it’s important to be practical and realistic. Adding a pop-up won’t drive new traffic to your website. Driving traffic to your site is your job (through your marketing strategy). It’s your pop-up’s job to turn those new visitors into subscribers. That’s called a ‘conversion.’
If you’re still on the fence about adding a pop-up to your website because you’re concerned it will be annoying, keep in mind—a pop up is is like anything else. It’s how you do it that makes all the difference. If you pay attention to the timing, messaging, and process I believe you can embed a pop-up on your Squarespace website and have it be a friendly, helpful, and kind experience for your potential subscribers.
The timing...
Your pop-up shouldn’t display too quickly or follow your visitor around your website like a pest. Once they say “no thanks,” that’s it. Your pop-up should not display again.
The messaging...
Keep the messaging friendly and thoughtful. Imagine you’re talking with a new friend, getting to know one another. In real life, you might excitedly say something like “Oh by the way...before I forget,—in case you’re interested—I teach free classes on Thursdays.” That’s how you want your opt-in to feel. Casual, inclusive, and sincere.
The process...
Because your pop-up is technically an interruption, I think it’s important to keep the sign-up process swift and easy. You don’t want to distract your visitor and send them down a rabbit hole. They came to your website for a reason. Help them sign up quickly and then get back to what they were doing.
What you need to know about pop-ups and SEO:
It’s important to choose a pop-up layout that does not cover the entire screen on desktop. Keep that pop-up contained to only a portion of the screen. Then be sure to double check how your pop-up looks when it displays on mobile. You need to make sure it displays on less than half the page on a mobile device. You can also completely disable your Squarespace pop-up from displaying on mobile and this might be a good solution for you if you are actively working on improving your SEO. Here’s some technical information on that if you’re interested.
Here are a few other FAQ’s regarding the integrated Squarespace pop-up feature:
Can I use more than one pop-up at a time on my website?
No, you cannot. You must use one pop-up at a time. Of course you can add more than one opt-in on your site using tools such as: the ANNOUNCEMENT BAR, the NEWSLETTER BLOCK, and a BUTTON THAT LINKS TO A COVER PAGE.
Can I set the pop-up to display right before someone leaves a page?
This is called “exit intent” and the Squarespace pop-up tool does not offer that functionality. Instead, you can configure the pop-up to display based on the timing you set or the percentage a viewer has scrolled down the page.
Can I add multiple images to my pop-up design?
Yes, you can add several images to display as a slideshow in your pop-up.
Can I add video to my pop-up?
Nope. To create a video effect, you’ll use a .gif file.
Does the integrated Squarespace pop-up integrate with ConvertKit?
No. At this time it works with Mailchimp and Google Drive.
Can I use custom code with my Squarespace pop-up?
No.
Does Squarespace Analytics track pop-up data?
No. You can track your pop-up interaction data in Google Analytics. To do this, you will need to create a Thank You page (specific to your pop-up) where your new subscriber will download the freebie. You’ll set up a goal for that Thank You page in your Google Analytics to track your conversions.
Alright… are you ready to learn how to implement a subscriber opt-in pop-up on your Squarespace website? Download your checklist below (so you don’t forget a single step) and then watch the 12-minute video!
