Keep visitors updated with website announcement bars

Such a sticky bar is a standard format for displaying information about an ongoing promo, flash sale, shipping terms, cookie consent message, and more.

A slide-in notification banner, on the other hand, provides more space for content and will be a better choice for promoting new articles, product collections, upgrades, or other important notices.

Make a click on these templates to see them in action and feel free to scroll through the gallery on the right-hand side 👉

Then move on to the instructions below to find out how to add a notification bar to your website.

How to create a website announcement bar using Getsitecontrol

If you’ve never heard of Getsitecontrol, it’s a popup builder that works on any website platform and requires zero coding. To those using WordPress, we recommend installing the official plugin; for those using Shopify, there’s a dedicated app as well; for those using any other platform, the process is straightforward. All you need is to paste a tiny code snippet before the closing </body> tag.

Step 1. Select a template

When you pick a template, follow the prompts to add it to the Getsitecontrol dashboard.

From there, you’ll be able to change the copy, add a link, and adjust the style of the notification bar before adding it to your website.

Step 2. Type your copy

To change the text on the sticky bar, just click on it and start typing your copy.

Using the same tab, you can change the text on the button and the button URL, or remove it entirely. To do that, click on the button text and fill out the required fields.

Step 3. Customize the appearance

In terms of appearance, there are a few things you can change. First, if you want, you can shift the bar higher on the webpage using the Position control. Second, you can change the color and font using the Theme menu.

But most importantly, you can switch to the Mobile tab to see how your website announcement will look on mobile screens and decide whether you want to adjust it.

For instance, some templates, like the one above, exclude the image by default when they adapt to mobile screens. Keep in mind that it doesn’t affect the desktop version of the banner in any way.

Once you’re ready, hit Save & close in the top right corner of the screen and activate the notification on your website. It will go live instantly.

💡 By default, your announcement bar will be displayed sitewide. If you want to display it on selected pages only, use the Targeting tab and type the URLs of those pages.

We’ll talk about targeting controls a bit more when reviewing the examples below 👇

Website announcement bar examples

Now that we’ve gone through the basics, let’s look at three common website announcement bar examples. In addition to the templates, we’ll pinpoint their key settings to help you select the correct displaying rules.

1. Cookie consent message

Starting the year 2018, displaying a cookie consent message has been one of the most popular use cases for Getsitecontrol notification bars.

From a user’s standpoint, one of the key points of a cookie policy is not having to acknowledge it each time they visit the same website.

Here are three tips to help you maintain great user experience when displaying a cookie message:

• Using the Targeting settings, make sure you display it to first-time visitors only
• Place “I agree” on the button to indicate user consent and select to close the notification upon click
• Make sure you stop showing the message after a visitor has clicked on the button

We’ve published a detailed article on how to create a cookie banner backed up by real-life examples. Check it out if you haven’t got one for your website yet.

2. Website announcement for selected audience

Some notifications are meant to be displayed to a selected audience only, and Getsitecontrol helps you configure that.

Suppose you’ve launched a browser extension for Chrome users. In this case, you’d have to set the following targeting rules:

• Target only website visitors using Chrome
• Stop displaying the notification after a visitor clicks on the button
• Drive visitors to the extension page upon button click

Similarly, you’ll be able to display your call to action to the visitors from selected countries, or those coming to your website from a specific URL.

3. Scheduled website announcement bars

If you’re planning a promo campaign, website maintenance, or any other event in advance, it’s convenient to prepare the notification message early and schedule it to pop up on your website when the time comes. With the Getsitecontrol targeting settings, you can do just that.

Here are the Targeting tab settings to keep in mind:

• If you’re placing a location-specific message, make sure to target visitors from that location
• Using the scheduling controls, select when to start and when to stop displaying the message
• Close the notification bar upon the button click

Seemingly an insignificant detail, a visitor’s location featured on a popup like this one, adds personalization and increases the chances that your message will resonate with them.

Wrapping up

Keeping your audience engaged and informed is crucial for business. Whether you have an announcement for all your visitors or a selected group, a simple notification bar will help you achieve that. With Getsitecontrol, you’ll be able to create one even if you’re a complete non-techie. Go ahead and try it for yourself!