Description
Murls Smart Popups is the cleanest, most store-owner-friendly popup plugin on WordPress.org. Create stunning announcement popups, flash sale banners, and promotional overlays in minutes — directly from your WordPress dashboard. No page builders, no shortcodes, no monthly fees.
Built from the ground up for WooCommerce store owners who want results without complexity.
⭐ Zero external requests. Zero tracking. Zero subscriptions. 100% free.
Why Murls Smart Popups Is Different
Most popup plugins are built for developers. Murls Smart Popups is built for you — the store owner who needs to launch a Black Friday popup at 11pm without calling a developer.
Every detail has been thought through. The admin is clean and fast. The popups look professional on every screen. And the smart cookie system means you never have to worry about showing outdated offers to your visitors.
Key Features
🚀 Quick Setup Wizard
Your first popup is live in under 60 seconds. A guided 3-step wizard walks you through choosing a goal, crafting your content, and going live — with animated previews at every step. No learning curve, no documentation needed.
🎨 Live Popup Preview
See exactly how your popup will look as you type — badge, heading, message, image, and button update in real time inside the editor. What you see is what your visitors get.
🎯 Page-Level Targeting
Control exactly where each popup appears. Show on all pages, only on specific pages, or everywhere except chosen pages. Includes automatic WooCommerce page detection — Shop, Cart, Checkout, and My Account pages are built right in.
📍 Desktop & Mobile Position Control
Place your popup anywhere on screen using an intuitive visual grid — 9 positions on desktop, 3 on mobile. Set a separate position for each device. All without touching CSS.
🏷️ Badge, Heading, Message & Button
Build fully structured popups with an optional badge pill (e.g. “🔥 Flash Sale”), a bold heading, your message body, and a call-to-action button with a custom URL. Every element is optional — use what you need.
🖼️ Clickable Popup Images
Add images to your popups directly from your WordPress Media Library. Optionally link images to any URL — perfect for linking product photos directly to product pages.
🍪 Smart Cookie Management
You control how often each popup appears — every visit, once per hour, once per day, once per week, once per month, or once per browser forever. Each popup has its own independent cookie.
🔄 Automatic Cookie Reset on Content Update
Change your offer or update your image? Every visitor automatically sees the new version — even if they already dismissed the previous one. No manual cache clearing, no developer needed.
💾 Save & Stay Editing
Save your popup and keep editing — no more losing your place. Use “Save & Close” when you’re done, or just hit Save to stay on the edit screen. Enterprise-grade editing workflow.
⚡ Zero Performance Impact
No scripts. No stylesheets. Zero frontend overhead — unless you have at least one active popup. Your Core Web Vitals score is completely untouched when popups are inactive.
🔒 Privacy First — No Data Collection
No visitor tracking. No analytics sent to external servers. No third-party requests of any kind. The only browser storage used is a small dismissal cookie on your own domain. Fully GDPR-friendly.
♿ Accessibility Ready
ARIA roles, aria-modal, aria-label, and keyboard navigation (Escape to close) built in from day one. Works with screen readers out of the box.
🌍 Translation Ready
Every visible string uses WordPress translation functions with the murls-smart-popups text domain. Translate using Loco Translate, WPML, or any standard WordPress workflow.
🗑️ Clean Uninstall
Delete the plugin and every trace is removed from your database automatically — on single sites and across every site in a Multisite network.
Perfect For
- WooCommerce store owners running flash sales, seasonal campaigns, and promotional offers
- Ecommerce managers managing popup campaigns across product launches and restocks
- Shop founders announcing free shipping thresholds, limited-time discounts, or new arrivals
- Small business websites sharing important announcements, opening hours, or event details
- Bloggers & content creators driving traffic to featured content or growing their email list
- Agencies & freelancers managing multiple client sites on WordPress Multisite
How the Smart Cookie Reset Works
Every popup in Murls Smart Popups carries an internal content version number. When you save a popup, the plugin computes a hash of your badge, heading, message, image, and button. If anything changed, the version increments — say from v2 to v3.
The visitor’s browser cookie is tied to the version number. So a cookie for “v2” is simply ignored when the popup becomes “v3.” Your visitors always see your latest offer — automatically, with zero effort on your part.
Premium Add-ons (Coming Soon)
Extend Murls Smart Popups with purpose-built extensions for serious store owners:
- 🚪 Exit Intent Trigger — Catch visitors the moment before they leave and show a last-chance offer
- 📧 Email Capture & Mailchimp — Grow your list directly inside popups with Mailchimp, Klaviyo, or webhook sync
- ⏰ Time Delay & Scroll Trigger — Show popups after a set time or scroll depth for better engagement
- 🛒 WooCommerce Cart Booster — Trigger popups based on cart value, item count, or specific products
- 📊 Analytics & Conversion Tracking — See impressions, dismissals, and click-through rates per popup
- 🧪 A/B Testing — Run split tests between popup variants and auto-promote the winner
- ⏳ Countdown Timer — Create urgency with live countdown clocks inside your popups
- 🌐 Geo-Location Targeting — Target visitors by country or region for location-specific promotions
- 👤 User Role Targeting — Different offers for logged-in customers vs new visitors
- 🎁 Unique Coupon Generator — Auto-generate unique WooCommerce coupon codes per visitor
- 🔁 Multi-Step Popup Flows — Chain multiple popup screens into guided flows
- 📱 Mobile Visibility Control — Show popups on desktop only, mobile only, or both
Screenshots
Quick Setup Wizard — create your first popup in 3 guided steps with live preview and animated progress. 
All Popups screen — manage all your popups at a glance with status, page targeting, cookie timing, and quick actions. 
Edit Popup screen — Popup Content, CTA Button, Image with link, Live Preview, Settings, Where to Show, Cookie Visibility, and Position all in one place. 
Where to Show — page-level targeting with automatic WooCommerce page detection.
Installation
Quick Setup Wizard (Recommended)
- Go to Plugins Add New in your WordPress dashboard.
- Search for Murls Smart Popups.
- Click Install Now, then Activate.
- The Quick Setup Wizard opens automatically — follow the 3 steps to create your first popup in under 60 seconds.
Manual Setup
- Go to Murls Smart Popups + Add New in your sidebar.
- Enter a Popup Name (internal only — visitors never see this).
- Optionally add a Badge, Heading, and your Message.
- Optionally add a Call to Action button with a label and URL.
- Optionally pick an image from your Media Library and link it to a URL.
- Choose where to show it — all pages, specific pages, or everywhere except certain pages.
- Set Status to Active and choose your cookie timing.
- Select your Desktop and Mobile popup position.
- Click Save Popup — your popup is live instantly.
Upload Method
- Download the plugin
.zipfrom WordPress.org. - Go to Plugins Add New Upload Plugin.
- Upload the zip and click Install Now, then Activate.
- Go to Murls Smart Popups in your sidebar to get started.
FAQ
-
Completely free. No premium core, no feature unlocks, no nag screens, no usage limits. The plugin is GPL-licensed and hosted on WordPress.org. Optional paid add-ons are in development for advanced features, but the core plugin will always be 100% free.
-
Does it include a setup wizard?
-
Yes. The Quick Setup Wizard guides you through creating your first popup in 3 simple steps — pick a goal, craft your content, and go live. Your popup is active in under 60 seconds with zero configuration needed.
-
Can I control which pages show my popup?
-
Yes. Every popup has a “Where to Show” setting with three options: show on all pages, show only on specific pages you choose, or show everywhere except pages you choose. WooCommerce pages (Shop, Cart, Checkout, My Account) are automatically detected.
-
Will visitors see the same popup every time they visit?
-
No — you’re in full control. Each popup has a “Show popup again after” setting with options including: every visit, once per hour, once per day, once per week, once per month, or once per browser forever.
-
I updated my popup offer. Will visitors who dismissed it see the new version?
-
Yes, automatically. When you change the badge, heading, message, image, or button, the plugin increments the popup’s internal version. The visitor’s old cookie becomes invalid and they see the updated popup on their next visit — no manual action needed.
-
Can I add clickable images to my popup?
-
Yes. Pick any image from your WordPress Media Library and optionally add a link URL. When visitors click the image, they are taken to the URL you set — perfect for linking product images directly to product pages.
-
Does this plugin work with WooCommerce?
-
Absolutely. Murls Smart Popups works on any WordPress site and integrates naturally with WooCommerce stores. It was designed with shop owners as the primary audience. The page targeting feature automatically detects WooCommerce pages. Upcoming add-ons will add deep WooCommerce integration including cart-based triggers and coupon generation.
-
Will it slow down my store?
-
No. CSS and JavaScript are only loaded when at least one active popup is set to display on the current page. If all your popups are set to Inactive, zero assets load on the frontend — your site performance is completely unaffected.
-
Does it collect visitor data?
-
No. The plugin uses browser cookies only to remember whether a visitor has seen a popup. Those cookies never leave the visitor’s browser. No data is sent to any external server. No analytics, no tracking, no third-party services of any kind.
-
Is it GDPR compliant?
-
The plugin stores no personal data and makes no external requests. The cookies it sets are functional cookies used solely to control popup display frequency. Always consult a legal professional for definitive GDPR compliance advice specific to your business.
-
Does it work on WordPress Multisite?
-
Yes. Each site in your network has its own independent set of popups. The plugin can be network activated or activated per-site. The uninstall handler removes data from every site in the network cleanly.
-
Can I translate the plugin?
-
Yes. All strings use WordPress translation functions with the
murls-smart-popupstext domain. Translate using Loco Translate, WPML, or any standard WordPress workflow. Community translations on WordPress.org are welcome. -
How many popups can I create?
-
No limit. Create as many as you need. Multiple popups can be active simultaneously — each with its own independent cookie, position, and page targeting settings.
Reviews
There are no reviews for this plugin.
Contributors & Developers
“Murls Smart Popups” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “Murls Smart Popups” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
1.6.0
- Added: Quick Setup Wizard — guided 3-step onboarding that creates your first popup in under 60 seconds. Includes goal presets (Flash Sale, New Product, Announcement, Custom), animated live preview, and warm step-by-step guidance.
- Added: Page-Level Targeting — “Where to Show” card with three display rules: All Pages, Only These Pages, or Everywhere Except. Includes automatic WooCommerce page detection (Shop, Cart, Checkout, My Account) and all published WordPress pages.
- Added: Clickable Popup Images — optional image link URL field. Link product images directly to product pages or any destination.
- Added: Save & Stay editing — “Save Popup” now keeps you on the edit screen with a success notice. “Save & Close” redirects to the popup list. Enterprise-grade editing workflow.
- Added: “Showing On” column in the All Popups table — see each popup’s page targeting at a glance.
- Added: Explainer text below each display rule option for clarity.
- Improved: Position picker with descriptive labels for every position zone.
- Improved: Wizard success screen with styled action cards and animated confirmation.
- Improved: Frontend popup rendering now respects page targeting — assets only load on pages where popups are configured to display.
1.5.0
- Added: Live Preview card — sticky sidebar panel that updates in real time as you type badge, heading, message, and button fields. Collapsible with state saved across page loads.
- Added: Popup Position control — visual 3×3 desktop grid with mini browser wireframe mockups and a 3-option mobile phone grid. Separate position settings for desktop and mobile.
- Added: Badge Label field — optional pill badge displayed above the popup heading.
- Added: Popup Heading field — bold headline shown above the message text.
- Added: Call to Action Button — Button Label and URL fields, rendered as a full-width styled button inside the popup.
- Improved: Form restructured into focused cards — Popup Content (name, badge, heading, message), Call to Action Button (label + URL side by side), Popup Image, Settings, Cookie and Visibility, Popup Position.
- Improved: Frontend popup layout — image, badge, heading, message, and button all centred and properly spaced. Image capped at 260px max-height with object-fit cover so tall images never break the layout.
- Improved: Mobile popup slides up from the bottom for a native app feel. Desktop positions animate from the correct direction (top positions slide down, others slide up).
- Improved: CTA button includes hover, focus-visible, and active states for full accessibility.
- Improved: content_hash now includes all new fields — editing badge, heading, or button automatically invalidates visitor cookies so everyone sees the updated popup.
1.2.0
- Added: WordPress Media Library image picker.
- Added: Configurable cookie expiry — session, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or forever.
- Added: Smart content versioning — updating popup content automatically resets visitor cookies.
- Added: Multisite support in uninstall handler.
- Improved: Full WordPress Coding Standards compliance.
- Improved: All strings translatable.
1.0.0
- Initial release. Popup list, add/edit/delete, and active/inactive status toggle.