What is an announcement bar?
An announcement bar is a thin strip of text at the very top (or bottom) of every page of an online store that shows one short message, such as free shipping, a sale, a discount code or a delivery deadline. Because it appears on every page and above the header, it is often the first line of copy a shopper reads, so it should carry your single most useful offer or piece of information.
What to put in your announcement bar
The best announcement bar text answers one question for the shopper: what do I get, and what do I have to do? A simple formula covers most lines:
Offer + condition + (deadline or action), for example "Free shipping over $50" (offer + condition), "20% off sitewide, ends Sunday" (offer + deadline) or "Use code SAVE10 at checkout" (offer + action).
- Lead with the benefit. Put "Free shipping", "20% off" or "Back in stock" first, so the message still works if a shopper only reads the first few words.
- Use exact numbers. "Free shipping over $50" is clearer than "Free shipping on qualifying orders".
- One message per line. If you have three things to say, rotate them instead of joining them with dashes.
- Only promise what is true. Deadlines, "back in stock" and "free returns" must match your real offer and policy, or the bar costs you trust.
- Make codes easy to copy. Short, upper-case codes with no spaces are easier to read and type on a phone.
How long should announcement bar text be?
Short enough to fit on one line on a phone. As a rule of thumb, a bar about 360px wide with 13-14px text fits roughly 45 to 55 characters on one line, so this generator flags anything over 50 characters (you can change the limit). Longer lines wrap onto a second line, which pushes the page down and is easy to skim past. Desktop screens fit far more, so always check the phone view first. Your theme's font, size and padding change the exact number, so preview the real bar on your own phone.
Rotating vs single message announcement bars
A single message bar shows one line all the time. It is the clearest choice when you have one offer that matters most, such as a free shipping threshold, because every shopper sees the same message on every page.
A rotating bar cycles through two or more messages, and a scrolling ticker (marquee) moves text across the screen. They let you show, for example, free shipping, a returns policy and a discount code in turn. The trade-off is that each shopper sees each message for less time, so:
- Keep rotations to two or three messages, each one short enough to read before it changes.
- Put the most important message first.
- Use one tone across the set, so the bar reads as one voice.
- Switch back to a single message for a short, high-stakes event such as a final sale day or a holiday shipping cut-off.
Announcement bar examples by goal
These examples come straight from the generator's templates, with sample values filled in. Character counts include spaces.
| Goal | Example line | Characters |
|---|---|---|
| Free shipping | Free shipping on orders over $50 | 32 |
| Sale | Ends Sunday: 20% off everything | 31 |
| Discount code | Use code SAVE10 for 10% off | 27 |
| New arrivals | Just landed: the Fall Collection | 32 |
| Holiday deadline | Order by Dec 18 for Christmas delivery | 38 |
| Back in stock | Good news: the Classic Hoodie is back in stock | 46 |
| Returns | Shop with confidence: 30-day returns | 36 |
| Rewards | Join VIP Club and earn points on every order | 44 |
How this generator works
It is template based, not AI: each goal has a fixed set of lines for each tone, and your values are inserted where they belong. A line that needs a value you left empty (such as an end date) is skipped, so every line you see is complete. You get the lines written for your tone first, then lines that work in any tone, up to 10. Each line shows its character count and whether it fits the phone limit, and the copy button puts it on your clipboard, ready to paste into your theme's announcement bar or an announcement bar app.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I put in my announcement bar?
Your single most useful offer or piece of information, such as free shipping over a set amount, a sale with an end date, a discount code or a shipping deadline. Lead with the benefit, use exact numbers and keep one message per line.
How many characters should announcement bar text be?
As a rule of thumb, about 50 characters or fewer fits on one line on most phones at typical bar text sizes. Longer lines wrap onto a second line. Your theme's font and size change the exact number, so preview the bar on a phone.
Should I use a rotating announcement bar or a single message?
Use a single message when one offer matters most. Use a rotating bar for two or three short messages, with the most important one first. More messages means each one is seen for less time.
What are good announcement bar ideas for Shopify?
Common ideas are a free shipping threshold, a sale with a percentage off, a discount code, new arrivals, a holiday shipping cut-off, a back-in-stock product, your returns policy and a loyalty or rewards program. The generator covers all eight.
Does this generator use AI?
No. It fills fixed, hand-written templates with the values you enter. It runs entirely in your browser and nothing you type is sent or stored.
Can I show a discount code shoppers can apply from the bar?
A plain theme bar can only show the code as text. EA Announcement Bar Banner lets you create a discount in the app that shoppers apply to their cart in one click.
