An announcement bar is the strip at the top or bottom of a site that displays an offer, news or important information. It is one of the most visible elements of your site, so the plugin you choose should make it easy to manage and pleasant for visitors. Here is what to compare.
1. Scheduling
The most useful feature: start and end dates in your time zone, so a Black Friday message appears and disappears on time without you remembering. See announcement bar best practices.
2. Several messages
Rotating messages let you show shipping information, a promotion and a news item in turn. Each message should have its own button.
3. Countdown
A live countdown to the end date of an offer, built into the bar, avoids installing a separate timer.
4. Targeting
Show a message only on certain pages, or only on desktop or mobile. A shipping deadline may belong on shop pages only; a restaurant event on the home page.
5. Dismiss memory
Visitors should be able to close the bar, and it should stay closed, until you publish a new message.
6. Design
Colours or gradients, sticky at the top or floating at the bottom, and a live preview in the settings.
7. Performance
A bar should not delay your page. Avoid plugins that load external libraries or fonts for a single line of text.
Checklist
- Start/end scheduling with time zone
- Rotating messages with buttons
- Built-in countdown
- Page and device targeting
- Dismiss memory
- Live preview
- Lightweight
Common uses through the year
- January sales and new year opening hours.
- Spring collection or new menu.
- Summer closures and annual leave.
- Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers, see Black Friday marketing ideas.
- Christmas shipping deadlines and holiday hours.
Test before you decide
- Schedule a message to start in five minutes and check it appears on time.
- Close the bar and reload: it should stay closed.
- Publish a new message: it should appear again.
- Check on a phone with the menu open.
- Compare page speed with and without the bar.
Our option
TopBar offers all of the above with a one-time price. See it on the announcement bar demo, and use it for holiday hours or Christmas shipping deadlines.
Frequently asked questions
Top or bottom?
Top is the most common and most visible. A floating bottom bar can be less intrusive on mobile.
How many messages should rotate?
Two or three at most, with a slow rotation.
Can I show different bars on different pages?
Yes, with page targeting.