Signup Form and Popup Examples That Grow Your Email and Text Lists

The signup forms that work best for online stores make one clear offer, ask for one field, wait a few seconds before appearing and leave mobile pages visible. Common examples are a first-order discount popup, an early-access form and a two-step form that asks for email and then phone number, with its own text consent.

Most people who visit your store leave without buying, and without leaving a way to reach them. A good signup form changes that. It turns a visit into an email address or a phone number you can follow up with, for free, for as long as they want to hear from you. Every customer you can email or text is a sale you don't have to buy an ad for.

Here are signup form and popup examples that work for online stores, with the offer, the timing and the consent wording for each, plus the mistakes that annoy visitors and hurt your search rankings.

• 1. The first-order welcome: Headline: "Get 10% off your first order." Field: email. Button: "Send my code." Best for new visitors on product and collection pages. Keep the field count to one.
• 2. Early access instead of a discount: Headline: "Be first to the next drop." Field: email or phone. Button: "Get early access." Works for brands with limited runs, and doesn't teach people to wait for a code.
• 3. The two-step email then phone form: Step one asks for the email. Step two asks, "Want restock alerts by text too?" with its own consent wording and a "No thanks" link. You keep the email even if they skip the phone.
• 4. The quiz or "help me choose": Headline: "Not sure which roast? Tell us how you brew." A few taps, then email for the results. You learn preferences you can segment on later.
• 5. The exit offer: Shown when a desktop visitor moves to close the tab: "Before you go: free shipping on your first order." Show it once, never on every page.
• 6. The back-in-stock form: On a sold-out product: "Tell me when it's back." Field: email or phone. These are some of the most interested people you'll ever collect.
• 7. The gift guide: Seasonal: "Get our holiday gift guide." Field: email. Good before Black Friday, when people are browsing but not yet buying.

• Under a blog post: "Get one brewing tip a week." Readers who finished a post are already interested.
• Landing page waitlist: "Join the waitlist for the spring collection," with a date if you have one.
• Footer: "New products and the occasional sale, about twice a month." Say how often, so people know what they're joining.

• Packaging insert: "Text REFILL to [number] for reorder reminders." Pair it with a QR code.
• Checkout or account checkbox: An unticked box for text marketing, separate from order updates.
• Popup step two: After the email, offer texts with a clear reason: restock alerts, early access or delivery updates.

More wording is in SMS opt-in examples.

Not legal advice. Check the rules where your customers live, or ask a lawyer.

Email and text permission are separate. For texts, US marketing texts sent with automated systems need prior express written consent under the FCC's rules at 47 CFR 64.1200, and the agreement must say consent isn't a condition of purchase (checked October 19, 2026). Example wording under a phone field:

"By signing up, you agree to receive recurring marketing texts from Acme Goods at this number, about 4 a month. Consent isn't a condition of purchase. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to cancel. Terms and Privacy."

• Never pre-tick a consent box.
• Keep email and text consent as separate choices.
• Say what they will get and roughly how often.
• Link your terms and privacy policy next to the button.
• For texts, a confirmation text with HELP and STOP instructions, and double opt-in if you want proof the number is theirs.

• Wait a few seconds: Let visitors see the page before asking for anything. A popup the instant the page opens gets closed unread.
• Show it on the right pages: Product and collection pages, where people are already interested. Skip checkout and the cart.
• Don't show it twice: If someone closes it, leave them alone for a while. Never show it to people who already signed up.
• Don't cover the page on mobile: Google's guidance on intrusive interstitials (last updated December 10, 2025; checked October 19, 2026) says to avoid interstitials that obscure the entire page and recommends banners that take up a small part of the screen. On phones, use a small banner, a bottom sheet or a floating button.
• Make it easy to close: A clear close button, and tapping outside closes it.

The signup is only the start. Send what you promised right away, while the visitor is still on your site: the code, the guide, the confirmation. Then start a short welcome series that introduces your best-sellers and your story. A form without a welcome flow wastes most of its value. See the flows every Shopify store should run and welcome text message examples.

• Asking for five fields when you need one. Every extra field costs signups.
• A discount so large that you lose money on every first order.
• A popup that blocks the page on mobile.
• Burying text consent in the terms of service.
• No welcome email for days after the signup.
• Showing the same popup on every page view.

SmartyTap forms save every signup, with its consent, to the same customer record your segments and flows use. Form types include:

• Popup and embedded forms: For offers, drops and waitlists, or inside a landing page, account page or blog post.
• Footer and floating button forms: A quiet signup at the bottom of every page, or a button that opens the form when tapped.
• Keyword, QR code and shareable link forms: Text signups from packaging, receipts, shelves, events, bios and email signatures.
• Social opt-in forms: Signups from your social channels.

Email and text consent stay separate, double opt-in for texts is available, and answers you collect become segment conditions. Setup is in forms and popups. Glossary: popup form, double opt-in, SMS list growth and SMS keyword.

Yes, when they are timed well and offer something worth having. Wait a few seconds, show them on product and collection pages, ask for one field, and don't show them again to people who closed them.

Ask for the email first and the phone number in a second step, with its own text consent wording. You keep the email even if they skip the phone number.

No. Early access, restock alerts, a gift guide or a buying quiz also work, and they don't train customers to wait for a code.

Google advises against interstitials that cover the whole page, especially on mobile. Small banners and forms that leave the content visible are safer.