Documentation

Every tab, field & setting

A complete reference for Crucial Announcement Bar — how the admin is organized, what every bar type does, and every option on the Content, Design, and Placement tabs.

Start here

Overview

Crucial Announcement Bar lets you create, style, target, and schedule announcement bars for your storefront — no code required.

The admin has four areas:

  • Announcements — create and manage your bars (this is where you spend most of your time).
  • Analytics — impressions, clicks, click-through rate, dismissals, and coupon copies.
  • Plan & billing — your subscription and free trial.
  • Help — quick start, troubleshooting, and support contact.
One-time setup

Bars only render on the storefront once the Crucial Announcer app embed is switched on in your theme. See Getting started below.

Setup

Getting started

  1. Activate the app embed. From the Announcements list, use the "Activate embed" prompt (or open Theme editor → App embeds) and switch on "Crucial Announcer", then Save in the theme editor.
  2. Create or pick a template. Open Announcements → Create announcement. Start from a preset (Sale promo, Free shipping, Trust badges) or choose Blank.
  3. Publish. Set the bar's status to Published — it appears on the storefront within seconds.
  4. Use the live preview. The preview at the top of the editor updates as you type and restyle, so you don't need to save just to see how it looks.
Announcements

The announcements list

The list shows every bar you've created with these columns: Name, Kind (Simple / Running line / Rotating), Surface, Status, Updated, and row Actions.

Status

A bar is either Published (live on the storefront) or Draft (saved but not showing).

Row actions

  • Publish / Unpublish — toggles whether the bar shows on the storefront.
  • Duplicate — creates an editable copy.
  • Delete — permanent; you'll be asked to confirm ("This action can't be undone").

Click a bar's name to open the editor. New to the app? The empty state offers "Try a demo banner", which creates a pre-filled "Sale promo with countdown" bar you can edit and publish in seconds.

New announcement

Creating a bar

Step 1 — Start from a template (or Blank)

TemplateWhat it is
Sale promo with countdownA 7-day countdown with a button CTA — great for limited-time offers.
Free shipping barA utility bar showing how much more a shopper needs to add to qualify for free shipping.
Trust badges (rotating)A rotating carousel of trust signals (security, returns, support, sustainability).
BlankStart from scratch and choose your own bar type.

Step 2 — Choose a bar type

TypeDescription
SimpleA single panel with a title, subheading, and an optional call to action.
Running lineMarquee-style scrolling text. Best for short messages and ticker bars.
Multiple rotatingCycle through a list of slides horizontally or vertically on a timer.
Editor

The editor

The editor has a live preview at the top (with Desktop / Mobile views and a collapse toggle), three tabs — Content, Design, Placement — and a right-hand sidebar. Each tab has its own Save / Discard bar that appears once you make a change.

Sidebar

  • Status — the Publish / Unpublish control. Unpublishing asks for confirmation; publishing is immediate.
  • Overview — read-only summary of Type, Surface, Where it shows, and Position.
  • Schedule — a summary of the active window (or "Always active").
  • Banner details — the Banner ID with a Copy button (needed for custom-block placement) and the "Last saved" time.
  • Danger zone — delete the bar (analytics events are kept 7 days, then dropped).
Tab 1

Content tab

Defines what the bar says. Available fields depend on the bar type.

Name

Banner nameAll types
Internal label — only you see it. Used to find the bar in the list. Required.

Message

TitleSimple · Running line
The main line of text. Required (unless the free-shipping bar is on, which supplies its own title).
SubheadingSimple only
A secondary line under the title. Hidden for Running line (which is single-line).
Call to action
Choose No CTA, Button, or Text link.
Button label
The clickable text. Shown when the CTA is a Button or Text link.
Link URL
Where the CTA points. Must start with http(s)://, / (a store path), or #.

Coupon

Coupon codeSimple · Running line
Shown as a dashed pill; shoppers click to copy it. Leave blank for none.

Close button

Let visitors dismiss this banner
Adds an × on the right. A dismissed bar stays hidden for that visitor (remembered in their browser).

Countdown timer

Show a countdown timer
Turns the countdown on. When on, configure the fields below.
Ends on / Ends at (24h)
The target date and time (HH:MM) the timer counts down to, in your shop’s timezone.
Format
Days, hours, minutes, seconds or Hours, minutes, seconds.
Text when expired
Shown after the countdown ends. Leave blank to hide the timer instead.
Hide the entire banner once the countdown ends
Removes the whole bar when time runs out.

Choose the timer’s look — inline text, digit boxes, pills, or flip cards — and its colors, size, and font in the Design tab under Countdown timer.

Free shipping bar

Replace the title with a free-shipping progress message
Turns the bar into a free-shipping goal widget.
Free shipping threshold (cents)
The qualifying amount in cents — e.g. 5000 means $50.00 in your shop currency.
Before-qualified text
Shown while the shopper is under the threshold. Use {{amount}} for the remaining amount (e.g. "Add {{amount}} more for free shipping").
Qualified text
Shown once the cart qualifies (e.g. "You qualify for free shipping!").
Progress bar & amountSimple
Simple bars also show a progress bar filling toward the goal and a “current / goal” amount. Style them (colors, thickness, corner, and show/hide) in the Design tab under Free shipping bar.
Free shipping takes over the title

When on, the widget rewrites the title on the storefront to show live cart progress. On a Running line bar it also owns the scrolling text, so a countdown won't show at the same time — use a Simple bar if you want both.

Slides

Slide 1, Slide 2, …Rotating only
Each slide has its own Title, Subheading, Call to action, Coupon code, and close-button option. Use Add slide / Remove slide to manage them (at least one slide is required).

Translations

Add translationSimple · Running line
Override the text per locale: Locale (a BCP-47 tag like en, fr, or en-US), plus Title, Subheading, CTA text, and Coupon code. The storefront picks the row matching the visitor's shop locale (Markets-aware), falling back to the language prefix (so fr-CA uses an fr row). Not available for Rotating bars.
Tab 2

Design tab

Template

A preset color palette. Pick one to fill the color fields instantly; editing any color afterward switches the selection back to Custom. Templates only change colors — your sizes, corners, and font are preserved.

CustomDaybreakElectricForestGraphiteVibrantNeonLatteLoveEarthValentineCotton CandyBumblebeeBlack TieFireFrostGolden HourGarnetMidnightMinimalMint

Card

Background
Single color (one Background color) or Gradient(Gradient start, Gradient end, and a Gradient angle from 0–360°).
Corner radius (px)
Rounds the bar's corners. 0–80.
Border size (px) & Border color
An optional outline. Width 0–20, plus a color.

Typography

Font
Pick from the stacks below. "Use your theme fonts" inherits your storefront's fonts.
OptionRenders as
Use your theme fontsYour storefront's own fonts (default)
SystemThe visitor's native system UI font
Helvetica / SansHelvetica, Arial, sans-serif
Georgia / SerifGeorgia, Times New Roman, serif
TimesTimes New Roman, Times, serif
MonospaceSF Mono, Menlo, Consolas, monospace
RoundedTrebuchet MS, Segoe UI, Verdana
Title size (px) & Title color
Title is 10–48 px, plus a color.
Subheading size (px) & Subheading color
Subheading is 8–32 px, plus a color.
Theme fonts and the preview

"Use your theme fonts" can't be shown in the admin preview — publish the bar to see your theme's fonts on the storefront.

Discount code

Outline color · Icon color · Text color
Colors for the dashed coupon pill.
Text size (px) & Corner radius (px)
Coupon text 8–40 px; corner 0–60.

Button

Button color · Text color
Background and text colors for the CTA button.
Text size (px) & Corner radius (px)
Button text 8–40 px; corner 0–60.

Icons

Close icon color
The color of the × dismiss icon.

Countdown timer Simple

Timer style
Pick the layout: Inline text (e.g. 2d 14:05:30), Digit boxes (labelled tiles), Pills (rounded capsules), or Flip cards (dark high-contrast cards). Running line bars always show the timer as inline text in the scrolling message.
Number size (px) & Font
Digit size 10–48 px; font defaults to Same as banner, or pick a built-in stack.
Number / Label / Box color
Colors for the digits, the unit labels (or pill unit letters), and each cell’s background. Label and box colors apply to the Digit boxes, Pills, and Flip cards styles.

Free shipping bar Simple

Show the progress bar / Show the amount
Toggle the progress track and the “current / goal” amount label independently.
Fill / Track color
The filled portion (themed to the template accent) and the empty track behind it.
Bar thickness (px) & Corner radius (px)
Bar thickness 2–24 px; corner 0–999 (999 = a fully rounded pill).

Animation

Speed (seconds per full loop)Running line
How long one full scroll takes. Lower is faster; 5–120 (default 30).
DirectionRunning line
Scroll left or Scroll right.
Time per item (seconds)Rotating
How long each slide shows before advancing. 2–30 (default 5).
DirectionRotating
Horizontal slider or Vertical ticker.
Tab 3

Placement tab

Surface — where the bar lives

SurfaceBehavior
Top or bottom of every pageSite-wide. Choose which pages and a vertical position (the options below appear).
Inside a specific sectionYou drop the bar into a chosen theme section via the theme editor (see custom placement).
Next to the cart formAppears alongside the cart form. Hidden when the cart is empty.

Pages Site-wide surface

Show on
Where the bar appears: Every page, Home page only, All product pages, Specific products, All collection pages, Specific collections, or Cart page only.
Product handles / Collection handles
Shown when you pick "Specific products" or "Specific collections". Enter comma-separated URL slugs — the part after /products/ or /collections/ (e.g. black-friday-tee, summer-bundle). At least one is required.

Position Site-wide surface

Vertical position
Top of page or Bottom of page.
Stay visible while the visitor scrolls
Makes the bar sticky so it follows the viewport.

Exclude pages Site-wide surface

Hide on these page types
Tick any page templates to hide on: Home, Products, Collections, Blogs, Posts, Cart, Search, 404.
Hide on URLs containing
Comma-separated substrings, e.g. /policies, /account/login.
Hide on URLs with these keywords
Comma-separated path segments — e.g. sale, clearance hides /collections/sale and /products/clearance-tee.

Custom placement Specific-section surface

  1. Open your theme editor (Online Store → Themes → Customize).
  2. Choose the page and section where the bar should appear.
  3. Add the "Custom Announcement Bar" app block to that section.
  4. Paste the Banner ID (copy it from the editor sidebar) into the block's settings and save.
Extend to full width
Block setting (off by default). By default the bar fills the section it sits in; tick this to break it out of the theme's content width so it spans the whole page. Has no effect in themes that clip sections with hidden overflow.

Audience

Show only to visitors from
Limit the bar to specific countries. Search and tick countries; leave everything unchecked to show to everyone. Selected countries appear as removable chips.

Country is resolved from Shopify Markets first, falling back to IP geolocation when Markets isn't configured. Country targeting is ignored in the theme-editor preview.

Schedule

Start date / Start time · End date / End time
Set a window for the bar. Times are in your shop’s timezone (Shopify admin → Settings → General) — no conversion needed. Leave either side blank to remove it (e.g. a start with no end runs indefinitely). The end must be on or after the start.
Reporting

Analytics

Pick a date range with the From / To fields and Apply (the default is the last 30 days; you can't query future dates).

Totals

Five metrics across your store: Impressions, Clicks, CTR (click-through rate), Dismissals, and Coupon copies.

By announcement

The same metrics broken down per bar (Name, Kind, Impressions, Clicks, CTR, Dismissals, Coupon copies).

First 24 hours

After you start using the app you'll see "Analytics is warming up" — data appears within 24 hours. Raw events are kept for 7 days and then rolled into daily totals.

Subscription

Plan & billing

The app starts with a 7-day free trial, then a single subscription billed securely by Shopify. Your subscription status shows as Active, Cancelled, Paused, Pending, or Not subscribed.

Publishing requires an active plan

You can build and edit bars as drafts anytime. Publishing to the storefront requires an active trial or subscription. If you cancel, published bars stay live through a short grace period, then unpublish automatically until you resubscribe.

Use Subscribe / Manage subscription to open Shopify's hosted pricing page, where you can also cancel.

Help

Troubleshooting

The bar doesn't appear on the storefront

Two common causes: the app embed isn't activated in your theme (use the "Activate embed" prompt on the Announcements list), or the bar is still a Draft (set its status to Published).

I see a "new version available" banner in the admin

A newer extension version was deployed but your theme still references the older one. Open the theme editor, toggle the embed off and back on, then Save — it resolves within a minute.

The countdown is frozen or never starts

Check that the end date and time are in the future. Times are entered in your shop's timezone (Shopify admin → Settings → General) and count down the same everywhere in the world.

The free-shipping bar doesn't update after a cart change

Most themes fire cart events the widget listens to. If yours doesn't, it polls the cart every few seconds as a fallback — updates still happen, just slightly delayed.

Translations don't appear

Translations apply when the visitor's storefront locale matches a locale you saved (e.g. fr, or fr-CA). Stores without Markets localization only use the default copy.

Still stuck?

Email support@vizua.sk with screenshots and your shop URL and we'll help.