Don’t confuse it with two other things. The ad windows that opened a new browser tab back in the 2000s are a different beast, and browsers block them today. And a pop-up shop<\/em> is a temporary physical store, nothing to do with your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Turn your website visitors into subscribers<\/p> Build your form in Mailrelay, add it to your pop-up and send up to 80,000 emails a month to your new contacts for free.<\/p>Create a free account<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n What matters most for results is the trigger: the rule that decides when the window appears. These are the most common ones:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beyond timing, you can choose the shape. The best known is the centred modal, which dims the background and asks for a response. But there are subtler options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A sticky bar takes up a thin strip at the top or bottom of the screen. A slide-in enters from a corner without covering the text. At the other extreme there’s the full-screen overlay, or welcome mat<\/em>, which covers the whole page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are also multi-step formats. First you ask a simple question (\u201cWould you like to get our offers?\u201d) and, if the person says yes, you ask for their email. And gamified<\/a> formats such as spin-to-win wheels have become very popular in ecommerce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The data says yes, as long as they’re set up well. Omnisend analysed 1.24 billion pop-up displays during 2025. The average conversion rate<\/a> was 2.1%: out of every 100 people who saw the window, two left their email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The gaps between set-ups are big. Spin-to-win formats reached 3.5%, and time-delayed ones 2.4%. Exit-intent windows stayed at 1.8%. Offering a discount helps too: 2.4% versus 1.7% without one. And, perhaps surprisingly, mobile converted better than desktop (2.2% versus 1.4%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a benchmark, the same study rates anything between 3% and 5% as good. Above 5% is excellent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sounds low? Think of a shop with 20,000 visits a month: at 2%, that’s 400 new subscribers every month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is where you need to be careful. Since 10 January 2017, Google may rank pages lower when they show intrusive interstitials on mobile. That means windows that cover the content as soon as someone arrives from search and force them to close it before they can read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Google recommends banners that take up only a small part of the screen. Legally required notices, such as cookie<\/a> consent or age verification, don’t count as intrusive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In practice, delay your window on mobile, make it smaller or save it for scroll or exit. Otherwise you could lose organic traffic just to capture a few more contacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you collect emails from people in the EU or the UK, your pop-up must comply with GDPR<\/a> like any other form. The consent box can’t be pre-ticked, you must explain who processes the data and why, and you should link to your privacy policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Double opt-in<\/a> is the safest way to prove consent. It also filters out fake addresses and protects your deliverability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Start with the offer. \u201cSubscribe to our newsletter\u201d rarely works. A 10% discount on the first order, a downloadable guide or free shipping gives people a real reason to leave their email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ask for as little as possible. An email address is usually enough, maybe a first name to personalise your campaigns. Every extra field reduces sign-ups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get the timing and frequency right. If someone closes the window, don’t show it again on every page. And never show it to people who are already subscribers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Match the message to the page. A visitor reading about trail running shoes responds better to a trail offer than to a generic discount. Omnisend’s data backs this up: pop-ups targeted by URL converted at 2.4%, compared with 2% for generic ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And make it easy to close. A visible X and the option to click outside the window avoid frustration. Then test<\/a>: two headlines, two offers or two different moments will show you what works with your audience. Keep each test seperate so you know which change made the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The window is just the door. What matters is what happens once someone leaves their email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Mailrelay you build your sign-up form from the dashboard, with double opt-in and the fields you need. Then you copy its HTML code and paste it into the pop-up tool you already use, or into your site with our WordPress<\/a> plugin. You can also connect any other tool through our API.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every new subscriber goes into the group you choose. That way you can segment<\/a> the people who came in through the discount wheel and those who downloaded your guide, and send each of them a different automated welcome email<\/a>. Our real-time reports then show you who opens, clicks and buys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All of this with a free account for up to 20,000 contacts and expert multilingual support whenever you need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Start growing your list today<\/p> Forms with double opt-in, groups, automated welcome emails and real-time reports. All in a free account with expert support.<\/p>Try Mailrelay for free<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n What’s the difference between a pop-up and a sign-up form?<\/strong> The form is the set of fields that collects the data. The pop-up is one way of displaying it, just like a form embedded in your blog or a landing page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do pop-ups hurt SEO?<\/strong> Only if they’re intrusive on mobile and cover the content as soon as someone arrives from Google. Small bars, scroll or exit-intent windows and legal notices don’t have that problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What’s a good pop-up conversion rate?<\/strong> The average in 2025 was 2.1%, according to Omnisend. Anything between 3% and 5% is considered good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When is the best time to show it?<\/strong> After a few seconds of reading or halfway down the page usually works better than straight away. For a last attempt, use exit intent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A pop-up is one of the most effective ways to grow your email list, as long as it respects your visitors. Offer something worthwhile, pick the right moment, look after the mobile experience and connect every sign-up to a good welcome sequence. Your email marketing will do the rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTypes of pop-ups by trigger<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"When](\"https:\/\/mailrelay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/when-to-show-a-pop-up-6-triggers-en-1024x576.png\")
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The most common formats<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Do pop-ups actually work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Pop-ups and SEO: what Google says<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Pop-ups and GDPR<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to create a pop-up that converts without annoying people<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to connect your pop-up to Mailrelay<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Pop-up FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In short<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Related entries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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