7 Fresh Ideas to Spice Up Your Shopify Promo Banner
Promo banners are one of the simplest yet most effective tools for capturing customer attention and driving conversions on your Shopify store. Whether you’re highlighting a sale, promoting free shipping, or showcasing a special offer, the design and placement of your banners can make a huge difference in how customers engage with them.
In this guide, we’ll share 7 creative ways to level up your Shopify promo banners. From simple tweaks like reserving space for better performance to eye-catching animations and strategic placement, we’ve got you covered. We’ll even recommend some awesome Shopify apps to make your life easier.
1. Use a Bright Color Bar & Icons On Promo Banner to Attract Attention 😍
Think about it – when you walk into a store, vibrant sale signs scream “look at me!” for a reason. Colors have a powerful psychological impact, and using them strategically can significantly increase engagement with your promo messages.
Bright colors, especially those that contrast with the site’s background, can significantly increase engagement, as proven by various A/B tests.
Look at Kylie Cosmetics‘s cool promo bar! They effectively use bright, brand-aligned colors (pink and black) to grab attention. Adding icons like 🎁 and ❄️ enhances visual appeal and reinforces the promo message. Their rotating banners highlight multiple offers—Black Friday, free shipping, and holiday gifts—keeping content fresh and engaging.
How to add a promo/announcement bar on Shopify stores?
🙌 Shopify provides a built-in announcements bar. You just need to head to Online > Themes > Customize > Announcement Bar. But if you want an advanced promo bar like a carousel or a moving line like Kylie Cosmetics, you should leverage Shopify apps. Please read our article on 6 Steps to Add an Announcement Bar in Shopify Stores (With & Without Apps) to get full insights into Shopify promo banners.
2. Reserve Space for Your Banner (For Web Performance)
Have you ever scrolled down a website, only to be jolted by a sudden jump in the layout as a hidden banner loads? It’s jarring, right? These layout shifts can hurt your conversion rate by creating a frustrating user experience.
When banners load after the rest of the page, they can cause a layout shift—a sudden movement of content that frustrates users and harms your site’s Core Web Vitals. This negatively affects both the user experience and SEO rankings, as Google prioritizes stable, fast-loading pages.
American Eagle Outfitters effectively addresses this issue by reserving a dedicated space for its late-loading promo strip. This prevents page elements from shifting unexpectedly as the banner appears.
How to reserve space preventing layout shift?
You can achieve this stability through CSS techniques like setting a min-height or using the aspect-ratio property.
1. Using min-height: This method ensures that the banner always occupies a fixed height, even if the content takes a moment to load.
.promo-banner {
min-height: 60px; /* Adjust based on your design needs */
background-color: #f4f4f4; /* Placeholder background to avoid a blank space */
}
2. Using aspect-ratio: The aspect-ratio property ensures that the banner maintains its proportional dimensions regardless of screen size. This approach is particularly useful for responsive designs.
.promo-banner {
aspect-ratio: 4 / 1; /* Width-to-height ratio for a typical banner */
background-color: #f4f4f4; /* Optional placeholder background */
}
Both methods allow you to display a placeholder background or colour until the actual content loads, giving users a polished experience from the outset.
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3. Use an Animated Gradient Matching with Brand Colors
Animated gradients add a sense of movement and visual interest to your promo banners, making them more engaging. By shifting between colors, like Magic Spoon’s pink-to-blue-to-purple strip, you capture user attention in a subtle but effective way. This dynamic effect helps your banner stand out, encouraging users to interact with it rather than scrolling past.
Magic Spoon’s banner is a great example of how color transitions can create a modern, playful vibe, which aligns with the brand’s identity.
App Recommendations for Animated Promo Banners on Shopify
We explored two Shopify apps that can help implement dynamic and engaging promo banners similar to the examples discussed, with specific features that stand out and also affordable.
- For stores aiming to boost conversions with dynamic promo banners, Profy Banner & Countdown Timer is a robust choice with diverse functionality and targeting options.
- For quick, event-driven promotions and testing, Banner Animated offers convenience and flexibility. Both apps integrate seamlessly with Shopify and offer customization to match your store’s branding.
4. Test a Scrolling/Moving Promo Banner - It Makes Your Shopify Stores Cool as Ever
A scrolling value proposition bar highlights your brand’s core benefits rather than just promotions. For D2C brands like Notorious Nooch, this strategy emphasizes product quality, values, and unique selling points—building trust and engagement. Instead of bombarding customers with sales offers, it focuses on what sets your brand apart, which can be especially effective if you sell a single product line or niche items.
Notorious Nooch uses this approach to feature benefits like “vegan-friendly,” “sustainably sourced,” and “packed with essential vitamins” in a scrolling format. This method keeps the user engaged without adding clutter to the page.
Recommended Shopify Apps to Add Moving and Scrolling Announcement Bars
Here are two tested Shopify apps that can help you create engaging scrolling or rotating announcement bars, similar to Notorious Nooch’s value prop bar.
| Feature/ Aspect | Essential Announcement Bar | Yeps Announcement Bar, Banners |
|---|---|---|
| Bar Types | Scrolling, Rotating, Sticky, Animated. | Marquee, Rotating, Countdown, Free Shipping, Email Form. |
| Targeting | Geolocation, scheduling, translations (paid plans). | Country, device, time-on-site, customer tags. |
| Customization | 20+ styles, custom icons, buttons. | Full design control, integrates with email platforms. |
| Special Features | Multiple bars, animated effects, call-to-action buttons. | Countdown timers, advanced targeting, email capture. |
| Pricing | Free plan, paid plans start at $6.99/month. | Free plan, paid plans start at $5.99/month. |
| Rating | 5.0 (1,402 reviews). | 5.0 (197 reviews). |
5. Try a Vertical Rotating Effect Announcement Bar (With Changing Color Fields)
Caraway, for example, uses a vertical rotating effect on its promo bar, which cycles through different messages with varying colored backgrounds. This type of dynamic animation is far more engaging than a static banner, as it continuously catches the user’s eye with fresh content.
The rotating effect not only adds visual interest but also allows you to display multiple offers or messages in a single, compact space. Although the GIF of Caraway’s banner is sped up, the actual rotation occurs slowly enough to let users absorb each message while maintaining a sense of motion.
Recommended Shopify Announcement Bar Apps:
We suggest using Essential Announcement Bar or Yeps Announcement Bar, as both of these apps allow you to create dynamic rotating banners with changing messages and customizable backgrounds. Just like we recommended in example #4 (the scrolling value prop bar), these apps help you display multiple offers or messages within a single, easy-to-implement banner.
You can customize the timing, colors, and messages to create a visually engaging experience that attracts attention and encourages user interaction. These apps are perfect for brands looking to make the most out of their promo bars without overwhelming the user.
6. Try an Animated Side-Sticky Promo Banner
An animated side-sticky element, like the one Puravida uses with its “Get $10” offer, is a highly effective way to catch users’ attention without being overly intrusive. Unlike static tabs that blend into the background, animated side-sticky elements continuously move or change, making them hard to ignore.
Puravida’s animated sticky tab gently draws users’ eyes to the screen with a simple but noticeable animation that encourages them to take action—like claiming a discount.
Recommended Shopify Sidebar Banner Apps:
These apps allow easy integration of dynamic, animated sidebars that help increase sales and conversions through engaging visuals and customizable content. Let’s see which app is best for you.
| App Name | Pricing | Rating | Developer | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Friday Animated Side Bar | Free to install. $4/mo PREMIUM | 4.9 (44 reviews) | SideMonkey | – Black Friday & Cyber Monday promotions – Animated sidebar for sales events – Increases cart value & product promotion – Customizable design |
| Mega Promotions Side Bar | Free | 5.0 (9 reviews) | Mega Profit Apps | – Customizable floating sidebar – Mobile & desktop support – Promote discounts, sales, announcements – Easy integration & no coding required |
7. Test Placing Your Bar Below Your Navigation Bar
While most eCommerce sites position their promo banners at the very top of the page, ASOS takes a unique approach by placing its scrolling promo strip below the navigation bar. This tactic reduces “banner blindness,” a phenomenon where users automatically skip over top-of-page banners, assuming they’re irrelevant or ads.
However, this placement also presents a challenge: it takes up valuable screen real estate. To counter this, ASOS includes an “x” button, allowing users to dismiss the promo strip if they prefer a cleaner browsing experience. This creates a balance between promoting offers and ensuring a user-friendly design.
How to move announcement bar below navbar in Shopify?
We won’t introduce any more apps since the best ones for creating engaging announcement bars have already been recommended above. All you need to do is choose an app that suits your store and start testing.
In this case, to move the announcement bar below the navigation bar, you’ll need to make a few adjustments to your theme. Simply go to Theme > Customize in the Online Store section of your Shopify dashboard. Then, drag the Announcement Bar below the Header and save the changes. Give it a try and see how effective it is for your store!
Optimize, Test, and Win More Customers!
Small changes can lead to big wins. By optimizing your Shopify promo banners using these creative ideas, you can capture more attention, improve engagement, and boost conversions. Don’t be afraid to experiment—A/B testing can help you discover what resonates most with your audience. With the right Shopify apps, these changes are easy to implement and tweak for ongoing success.
Ready to revamp your banners? Start today and watch your conversions grow!
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Sophia Dao is a content strategist at WizzCommerce, specializing in e-commerce and Shopify solutions. With a passion for digital marketing and a keen eye for detail, Sophia creates engaging content that helps businesses thrive online. When she’s not writing, she enjoys exploring the latest trends in tech and commerce. Follow Sophia for practical e-commerce tips and the latest marketing insights!
