Banners play an important role in running a Shopify store. Properly placed banners are an effective tool for communicating with customers — introducing new products, announcing campaigns, sharing important notices, and more. This article covers a wide range of topics: how to display banners on your Shopify store, recommended banner apps, and even banner creation tools. Use this information to make your Shopify store more appealing and effective.
What Is a Banner?
Translated literally into Japanese, "banner" means "nobori" (a flag banner) or "flag."
On a Shopify store, banners are most often used for promotion and information purposes — "introducing new products," "announcing free shipping over a certain amount," "highlighting a discount coupon," "prompting customers to add your official LINE account as a friend," and so on.
Types of Banners
Site Banners (In-Site Banners)
A site banner's main role is to "make it easy to navigate to other pages within the same site" and "inform customers of site information." They're used for a variety of purposes, such as "introducing new products," "highlighting a discount coupon," and "announcing year-end/New Year business hours."
Below, we introduce the main types of site banners used on Shopify stores.
Free Shipping Bar (Free Shipping Banner)
A banner at the top of your Shopify store that tells customers how much they need to spend in a single order for shipping to be free — like "Free shipping on orders over XX yen" or "XX yen more for free shipping."
It's one of the banner tactics that requires little work but can raise average order value.
Many Shopify apps let you display a free shipping bar, so try searching "free shipping bar" on the Shopify App Store.
The blog article below introduces several Shopify apps that let you display a free shipping bar. Please use it as a reference.
Announcement Bar (Announcement Banner)
Like the free shipping bar, this banner is shown at the top of your Shopify store, and is used for various purposes such as "announcing year-end/New Year business hours," "notifying customers of shipping delays due to snow," and "announcing new products." Many Shopify themes, including the free "Dawn" theme, offer this as a default feature, so if you have something you want to announce to customers, it's worth trying out.
Embedded Banner
The most common type of banner — one that's displayed anywhere within a page.
On a Shopify store, you can display a banner anywhere using blocks (widgets) provided by your Shopify theme.
Floating Banner (Sticky Banner)
Unlike the banners introduced above, this type follows along a specific position on your Shopify store as the customer scrolls. On Shopify stores, this is often used for things like "add friend on official LINE," "newsletter subscription," "first-purchase discount coupon," or "web chat consultation."
Because it's highly likely to catch a store visitor's eye, it can be very effective, but it can also feel intrusive — so it's important to include a dismiss button and avoid re-showing it for a while after it's dismissed.
Pop-up Banner
A pop-up banner is a small screen or window that suddenly appears while browsing a website. It opens in a new window or tab separate from the main web page, and is usually intended for advertising or promotion.
The blog article below introduces the benefits of displaying pop-up banners on your Shopify store and recommended apps. Please use it as a reference.
Slide Banner (Slideshow/Carousel)
A slide banner displays multiple images or messages in a slideshow format, used to grab users' attention or highlight specific content or campaigns. Slide banners are often set to advance automatically, and clicking one takes the user to a related page.
The blog article below introduces the benefits of displaying a slideshow on your Shopify store and slideshow apps. Please use it as a reference.
Advertising Banners (Ad Banners)
An advertising banner (ad banner) is a banner placed in an ad slot to promote your store or products. It's primarily used to grow traffic and awareness for your own store or products.
Advertising banners are placed in ad slots on external media, such as outside websites, blogs, social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.), and video sites (like YouTube).
Below, we introduce the main types of ad banners.
Rectangle
The rectangle is the most common banner type.
It's specified at sizes like 350×250 px, and is often placed in the side column of a website.
Square
This is also a frequently used banner size.
As the name suggests, it's square — Google uses 250×250 px, Yahoo uses 300×300 px, and other platforms have their own size requirements, so check in advance.
Banner (Leaderboard)
Wide and highly visible, this format stands out easily and tends to drive a high click-through rate.
728×90 px is the common size, and because it uses a lot of space, it's not suited to smartphone screens — it's typically a desktop-only banner. It's often used with text alongside the image.
Skyscraper
The skyscraper is a tall, vertical-style ad banner, typically 120×600 px. Since it also has some width, it stands out effectively.
How to Display Banners on Your Shopify Store
Use a Shopify Theme Block
Many Shopify themes provide blocks (widgets) that can display things like announcement bars and embedded banners by default. First, check what your current Shopify theme supports.
The benefit of displaying a banner via your Shopify theme is that it's free; the drawback is limited design customization.
Use a Shopify App
If your Shopify theme doesn't support it, or you can't achieve the exact banner display you want, using a Shopify app is another option.
Compared to a Shopify theme, it may come with a monthly fee, but it tends to offer more design customization.
Customize the Source Code
There may be banner display methods that even a Shopify app can't achieve. In such cases, you'll need to customize your Shopify theme's source code.
The benefit is that you can build it for free and customize the design freely. The drawback is that it requires programming knowledge in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and so on. Beyond development, it also requires ongoing maintenance — testing that it works as intended and swapping in different banners.
5 Recommended Shopify Apps for Banners
Simple Banner｜For Embedded Banners
Simple Banner is a Shopify app that lets you easily add a banner (image only) anywhere on your Shopify store. Its standout feature is the flexibility to display a banner anywhere on your Shopify store. It also lets you show a fixed banner at the bottom of the page, giving you a placement that's easy for users to notice. It also lets you switch the banner layout between PC and mobile, so you can present it optimally for each device and improve the user experience.
Simple Banner Pricing
Free ~
Promolayer｜For Pop-up Banners
Source: Promolayer｜Shopify App Store
Promolayer is a Shopify app from PEAKDIGITAL. It supports Japanese, and lets you easily build pop-ups and slide-ins using templates — useful for capturing new leads and preventing site abandonment. Its A/B testing feature lets you optimize and refine your store's design to grow sales. The free plan lets you show pop-ups up to 1,000 times per month.
The blog article below explains Promolayer's features, recommended functionality, and setup in detail. Please use it as a reference.
Promolayer Pricing Plans
| Plan | Free | Micro | Basic | Standard | Professional | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $0 | $15 | $25 | $70 | $150 | $320 |
| Views | 1,000/mo | 5,000/mo | 15,000/mo | 100,000/mo | 300,000/mo | 1,000,000/mo |
| Pop-ups you can create | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Live chat support | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 |
| Form submissions collected | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Conversions | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Announcements | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Unlimited A/B tests created | - | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 |
| No "Powered By Promolayer" branding | - | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 |
| Auto-reply email setup | - | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 |
Free Shipping Bar｜For Free Shipping Bars
Free Shipping Bar is a Shopify app that shows customers how much more they need to spend to get free shipping. This app is free to use, and its standout feature is a no-code setup that requires no coding knowledge. It can also show different messages based on the cart's total amount, letting you tailor the message to each customer's purchase status. You can also freely change the free shipping bar's color, so it can be customized to match your store's design.
Free Shipping Bar Pricing
Free
Free Shipping Bar .amp｜Free Shipping Bar
Free Shipping Bar .amp is, like the app above, a Shopify app that shows the remaining amount needed for free shipping. This app has a preview feature, so you can check how it will look before implementing it. It also supports showing different messages based on the cart's total amount, enabling communication tailored to each customer's purchase status. You can also freely change the free shipping bar's color, making it easy to match your brand colors and store design.
Free Shipping Bar .amp Pricing
From $4.99/month
Simple Slider｜For Slide Banners
Simple Slider is a Shopify app that lets you easily build a 3-image slideshow. It's free to start using, and supports Japanese. You can customize it with no code, making it easy even for beginners. Fine details like the shape and color of the arrows can also be customized.
The blog article below explains the Shopify app "Simple Slider" in detail — its features, recommended functionality, pricing plans, setup, and the background behind its development. Please use it as a reference.
Simple Slider Pricing Plan
$3.55/month
Recommended Tools for Creating Banners
Canva
Canva is a free online design creation tool.
Not only can you create banners intuitively, but its abundant design templates mean you don't have to design a banner from scratch, letting you significantly cut costs.
Also, a banner isn't something you just create once and forget — it's important to keep testing and refining it through A/B tests and the like, to arrive at a banner that maximizes results. On Canva, you can easily duplicate a banner you've already made and tweak part of it, making it a great design tool for ongoing banner improvement too.
In Closing
Banners don't just improve the look of your Shopify store — they also make a big contribution to communicating with customers and boosting sales. Using the methods and tools introduced in this article, you can build an effective banner strategy.
Finally, beyond apps for adding banners, the blog article below introduces a wide range of recommended apps by category, such as "customer acquisition," "sales growth," and "blog content expansion." Please use it as a reference.
