Squarespace Popup: How to Set One Up

To set up a Squarespace popup, go to Website in the left sidebar, open Website Tools, then click Promotional Pop-Up. Design the content, set your trigger timing, and click Save to make it live.

Where the Squarespace popup settings live

The popup isn't part of any page, which is why people hunt for it in the editor and come up empty. It's a sitewide tool.

From your dashboard, click Website in the left sidebar, then Website Tools, then Promotional Pop-Up. Everything for building and scheduling it is in that one panel.

Because it's sitewide, one popup runs across your whole site. There's no native way to show a different message on different pages, which matters if you were planning one offer on your shop and another on your blog.

Designing it

Inside the editor you're setting four things: layout and animation, your text, colors and imagery, and the trigger.

Keep the copy short. A popup gets about two seconds of attention, so one clear offer and one action beats a paragraph explaining your business. "Get 10% off your first order" works. "Welcome to our website, we are a family-run business since 2009" does not.

Match your site's fonts and colors so it reads as part of the site rather than an ad someone bolted on. If you've set your site colors properly, the popup should already be close.

And ask for one thing. An email address is fine. An email, a name, a phone number and a preference dropdown will halve your completion rate.

Getting the trigger timing right

This is the setting that decides whether a popup converts or annoys. You can trigger on arrival, after a delay, after a scroll depth, or on exit intent.

Firing on arrival is the most common mistake. The visitor hasn't seen anything yet, so they have no reason to want what you're offering, and they dismiss it reflexively.

A delay of five to ten seconds, or a scroll trigger at around 50%, works far better. By then they've read something and the offer has context.

Exit intent is the least intrusive of the lot, since it only fires when the cursor heads for the browser bar. It doesn't work on mobile, where there's no cursor to track.

The mobile problem worth knowing about

Google treats intrusive popups on mobile as a ranking issue. A popup that covers the main content immediately after someone arrives from search is exactly the pattern they call out.

You can keep a popup and stay clear of that. Delay it rather than firing on arrival, keep it small enough that content is still visible behind it, and make the close button genuinely easy to hit with a thumb.

Preview on mobile before you publish. A popup that looks like a tidy card on desktop often fills the entire screen on a phone, with the close button somewhere off the edge.

What the built-in popup can't do

Squarespace's popup is one message, sitewide, on one trigger. That covers a launch, a discount or a mailing list signup perfectly well.

What it won't do is show different offers on different pages, target returning visitors differently, or run two campaigns at once. It also can't be triggered by a button click, which is what people usually want when they ask for a popup contact form.

For a click-triggered overlay, a lightbox is closer to what you need. Anything conditional or multi-campaign is custom code or a third-party tool.

Frequently asked questions

Can I show different popups on different pages in Squarespace?

Not natively. The promotional popup is one sitewide message. Page-specific popups need custom code or a third-party tool.

Why isn't my popup showing up?

Most often it's already been dismissed in your browser, since Squarespace won't show it again to the same visitor for a while. Test in a private window. Also check it's toggled on and that any schedule you set has actually started.

Do popups hurt SEO?

They can on mobile, where Google treats intrusive interstitials as a ranking issue. Delay the trigger, keep it small, and make the close button easy to tap and you'll be fine.

Can I trigger a Squarespace popup from a button?

Not with the built-in tool, which is timing and scroll based only. A lightbox handles click-triggered overlays, or custom code if you need a form in it.

Want a popup that behaves properly on mobile and matches the rest of the site? Book a free call.

I'm Dylan, the designer behind Highr Labs and a Squarespace Circle Platinum Partner. I build custom Squarespace sites for businesses in Utah and across the US. More about me, or book a free call if you want to talk through a project.