How to Create and Add Popups on WordPress

Widgets are among the top 10 tactics and technologies that increase the effectiveness of email marketing, so it’s no wonder you’re interested in how to create a pop up in WordPress. Spoiler alert: it's very simple.

In this guide, we will walk you through the step-by-step process for creating custom widgets in our popup builder for WordPress and show you exactly how to add a popup on WordPress sites. We’ll also share tips that will help you boost conversions (WordPress newsletter signups, registrations, sales, etc.) by 110%, as evidenced by our client's results. So, let's get to work!

Benefits of Using WordPress Popup Message Plugin

Creating website subscription forms, notifications, or sales alerts with a popup form WordPress plugin offers several benefits that can enhance your website's user experience, engagement, and conversion rates. Here’s a breakdown of the key advantages.

Native approach. A contact form plugin is designed specifically for WP, ensuring it integrates seamlessly with your existing WordPress website structure, theme, and other plugins. Besides, it can be effectively used alongside a WP popup form for improved functionality and engagement. This native compatibility reduces the risk of conflicts or issues that might occur when using third-party tools to add popups.

Centralized management. By using a popup plugin, all your website’s functionalities, including pop-ups, are managed from within the WordPress dashboard. 

Reduced page load times. A pop up form plugin that is optimized for WordPress is less likely to negatively impact your site’s performance. 

Dedicated support. WordPress plugins usually come with a support team from the developers, and you can also find help in the WP community. This support can be more responsive and knowledgeable about WordPress-specific issues.

By the way, we have a detailed review of the best WordPress popup plugins of 2024. The article will help you navigate the pros and cons of popular popup form plugins for WordPress.

Regular updates. Popup maker plugins are frequently updated to ensure compatibility with the latest version of WordPress, offering you ongoing technical improvements and security patches.

How to Create and Add a Popup Form in WordPress (6 Simple Steps with Claspo)

If you're wondering how to create a popup page in WordPress without headaches and high costs, you've come to the right place! With Claspo, it’s super easy and even fun to create a popup form in WordPress and add it to your site in just a few clicks. 

With our ready-made templates and a user-friendly drag-and-drop editor, you can create a popup form for WordPress in just a few clicks — no developers or designers needed. Whether you want to build a lead capture form, display a promotion, or grow your newsletter list, Claspo makes it fast and intuitive. In fact, you can have your WordPress pop-up forms up and running in under five minutes.

Want proof? Let's create a WordPress popup form in a few steps. 

Step 1: Pick a Template — Save Time and Budget

Our library contains more than 1000 ready-to-use widget templates for various tasks — from simple tools to advanced pop up form WordPress layouts with attention-grabbing buttons, including use cases triggered by WordPress button click actions. For your convenience, we have divided them into 36 use cases. In addition, you can filter designs by layout, industry, and theme. This allows you to quickly find the best popup for WordPress based on your specific goals and customize the template using our WordPress popup maker.

Customizing a ready-made template saves you money on designer work when creating a newsletter WordPress popup. The location of the form fields and elements, their number, size, and fonts — everything is preset to get the best results from your messaging. Need some inspiration or ideas for your WordPress popups? Check out these examples of engaging copywriting.

Step 2: Customize Any Widget Detail

Next, let’s explore how to create a popup page in WordPress by changing various elements of the widget template. With advanced tools, crafting an awesome custom popup contact form is a snap — even if you're using a free popup WordPress solution like Claspo.

Select Colors and Style

According to a study, users are more positive about popups that visually follow the site's overall design. Some of our templates' main color schemes can be customized right from the start, even before you go to the editor to create a popup. 

However, in Claspo’s editor, you can easily customize the color and style of:

• CTA buttons,
• headings,
• body text,
• close icon,
• background, and so on.

Also note the radio buttons, which allow you to perform primary segmentation of subscribers directly in a popup window in WordPress. In our example, users are offered two options for receiving personalized email content. You can also use the checkbox and the dropdown list for this purpose.

Our newsletter subscription templates also have additional screens that display the signup status: Success, Already subscribed, and Error. This is the first point of direct communication with your subscriber, which removes any doubts about the success of the action. Our WordPress popup builder allows you to quickly customize them, too.

Add Images to a Popup for WordPress

Are you wondering how to create a popup window in WordPress that will capture visitors' attention? Add an image. 40% of consumers appreciate images most in a website design. In the Claspo popup builder tool, you can add media files in these formats:

• PNG 
• JPEG 
• SVG 
• GIF
• WebP
• AVIF

Don't have a picture? No problem. We have a stock of images and icons built into the editor. Finding the right one is easy by entering a keyword in the search field.

Another creative popup design element you can find in our editor is floating images. With this feature, you can place an image anywhere in the widget, such as on the left side, bottom edge, top right corner, etc. This way you can create a custom popup in WordPress with unique shapes and a more three-dimensional appearance.

Enjoy WordPress Popup Video Player

Want to know how to create a popup page in WordPress that plays videos? With Claspo, you can do it in a couple of clicks. Just add a link to a YouTube video, and it will appear in the pop up.

For video playback, you can choose between user-initiated play (user clicks) or autoplay.

Important note: Autoplay will mute the video by default due to browser restrictions for autoplaying sound. Users can unmute the video at any time.

Turn on Multilingualism: Speak Your Customers' Language

Are you operating in a global market or a country with several major languages, and wondering how to add a popup form in WordPress that supports multilingualism? Claspo has a solution for you. With our multilingual feature, the widget language automatically adapts to your visitors' browsers or pre-selected website language, ensuring a smooth user experience across regions. 

There's no need to create a popup in WordPress with multiple versions; just add another language directly in the editor. Our popup maker automatically translates your text into the language of the added version, so all you have to do is make a few adjustments.

Use High-Converting Elements

Want to boost your conversion rate? A WordPress modal plugin lets you create popups with high-impact elements and smart fields that drive users to take action. Here are some of the most effective components to include.

Relative Countdown Timer

Boost WordPress popup window conversions with FOMO: create a sense of urgency with our personalized countdown timers that start individually for each visitor. This ensures everyone gets a fair shot at your offer, maximizing reach and conversions. Once a user's relative countdown timer expires, the offer disappears just for them, but other website visitors can still view the popup widget WordPress message on your site.

Embedded Promo Code

Add a promo code to a WordPress email pop-up to turn website visitors into subscribers and buyers. Customers can copy the promo code directly from the widget and apply it during checkout. For example, you can offer visitors a one-time promo code and invite them to subscribe to receive personalized offers and discounts afterward. Attract users with a promotional code for a discount or free shipping. By the way, according to research, 81% of consumers consider free shipping to be the most attractive promotion.

Slider Widget

A slider is a type of pop-up with several scrollable displays. Present everything you need in a single window instead of annoying your users with multiple pop-ups. Use the slider to:

• Add unlimited images or videos in one pop-up.
• Promote multiple deals or products.
• Showcase various uses of a single item.
• Demonstrate new features and more.

Exit-Intent Survey 

One of the most common ways to collect subscriptions is through a WordPress exit intent popup, where a visitor leaving is offered discounts, gifts, or other bonuses to motivate them to take the targeted action, in this case, subscribing. 

We also offer an exit-intent survey. By using a WordPress plugin popup message, you can identify why users leave and gather valuable insights to enhance your website and offerings.

You can add both closed-ended and open-ended questions. Use fields like radio buttons, checkboxes, and dropdown lists for closed-ended questions. For open-ended questions, add a Text input field.

Launcher to Start Pop-up 

There's a myth that pop-ups are very annoying, but the same is true for any marketing channel used thoughtlessly. While setting a popup to WordPress site, consider adding a launcher to your chosen template. This is an icon or button that the user can click to open the widget. Since the launcher is small, it occupies minimal screen space without blocking content or annoying the user. However, it can feature a short, catchy offer to intrigue visitors and motivate them to open the full-size WordPress contact form popup or any other widget.

You can choose a launcher from our templates and customize its content and design to match your widget. Next, connect it to the desired popup.

While editing any widget, you can quickly switch between desktop and mobile modes and adjust how the content will appear on different displays. At the final stage of popup editing, click the live preview button to ensure everything looks perfect.

Step 3: Configure Display Rules and Targeting

Another important step when creating your WordPress popup is setting user-friendly widget display rules (or triggers). You can set them up for the launcher or, if you don’t use it, for your pop-up directly.

Claspo widgets have predefined display rules, such as the time and frequency of widget appearance, so you can be sure that they are not intrusive. However, you can customize triggers based on your visitors' behavior and set the widget to activate only when all the set conditions are met.

For example, you can set the pop-up to only show to new users who have not already subscribed. This ensures that people on your mailing list won't see the offer. Additionally, to enhance the user experience for those who have not yet subscribed, you can configure the widget to stop displaying if the user closes it one or more times.

Unique Claspo’s Features for Unintrusive Displaying

You don’t want to distract your visitors with too many popups in WordPress. For this purpose, we have predefined rules for displaying widgets.

Silence interval. Set a buffer time between widget displays to avoid overwhelming visitors. The default 3-minute interval ensures a smooth browsing experience but is easily customizable. However, in the popup settings, you can adjust this condition based on the average time visitors spend on your site or specific pages.

Overlapping protection. Focus on creating great content, not managing widget-displaying rules. Claspo automatically prevents popups from clashing on visitors' screens, even with duplicate display rules.

Targeting Options

You can personalize visitors' experiences by targeting specific segments. Claspo offers several approaches to this.

Identifying newcomers. Claspo allows you to add a popup to WordPress and display it exclusively to first-time visitors.

Geotargeting. Tailor widgets to specific audiences, from entire countries to regions and cities. 

UTM targeting. If you use UTM tags in different campaigns and advertising messages, add them when setting up the widget. Then, it will appear only for those visitors who have come to the website from a specific traffic source.

Device type. Specify which devices should display the pop-up: desktop, mobile, or both. The last option is set by default.

Step 4: Integrate Claspo Plugin with Your Marketing Software

Data collected by a contact form in a popup in WordPress should be transferred to the contact database for further use in marketing purposes, such as segmentation, sending triggered email notifications or messages, etc. Claspo integrates seamlessly with many popular ESPs, CDPs, and CRMs — just choose the service you need from the drop-down list and quickly integrate.

Integrating Claspo with any marketing system you use through Zapier is just as easy.

Step 5: Easy Integrate Claspo with WordPress

So, you've created a beautiful widget. Now, it’s time to learn how to add a pop-up form in WordPress, and it’s easier than you think.

The simplest way is to use the Claspo WordPress plugin, which automatically installs the script on all pages of your site. Just follow these quick steps:

1. During onboarding, when you're ready to publish the widget, choose Install via WordPress in the Before publishing the widget window.

Skipped that step? No problem. Just go to Script → Install Script in your Claspo account, scroll to WordPress, and click Install.

2. In the slide-in window, click Copy ID to save your unique script ID; you’ll need it in a minute. After, click Go to WordPress to get to the plugin page.

3. Now, you need to Download the Claspo plugin file.

4. In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins → Upload Plugin, then upload the file you just downloaded.

You can drag and drop it into the highlighted area, or manually select it and click Open.

5. After installation is complete, you’ll see Claspo appear in the left-hand side menu.

6. Click Claspo, paste the script ID you copied earlier into the Enter Script ID field, and hit Connect.

7. That’s it! The Claspo script is now active on all pages of your website.

Want to double-check? Go back to the Installing the script using WordPress window in your Claspo account and click Check to confirm everything’s working.

The script will be automatically added to all pages of your site. It's that easy!

Step 6: Test & Publish the Form

Once you have successfully installed the script that adds a popup to WordPress, you can use the test mode to see how the widget works on your site. In this case, only you will see it. If you are completely satisfied with the result and have ensured it’s displaying correctly across different devices and browsers, go ahead and publish the pop-up sign-up form. Then, enjoy the increase in conversions that a popup campaign will bring. 

Overcoming WP Popup Challenges with Ease

Creating and integrating different popups is often a challenge for WordPress-based site owners and email marketers. These challenges include maintaining visual appeal, engaging users without being intrusive, running WordPress modal popups for signup without distracting from the main conversion, dealing with multilingual audiences, and more. We offer the best solutions to all these issues. Moreover, all our users have access to advanced features, such as built-in A/B testing. With it, you can experiment with such parameters as: placement (on the whole site or a specific page), CTA, copywriting, elements design, triggers (time delay, exit intent, click trigger, etc.), and so on.

Creating stunning pop-ups that match your website's branding takes only six steps and a few minutes. So, try Claspo today and witness how creating and managing popups in WordPress has never been easier and more efficient. Especially since our lifetime free version doesn't limit your creativity but rather stimulates lightning-fast success. All templates and advanced capabilities, such as A/B testing or elements common for gamification in eCommerce, which are available only in the premium version in other services, are open to users of our free plan. So, feel free to select a popup template and easily create your popup!