Slide-in popups are one of the most effective ways to capture visitor attention without disrupting their browsing experience. Unlike a full-screen lightbox that blocks all content, a slide-in glides in from the corner of the page and invites interaction without demanding it.
Whether you want to promote a limited-time offer, highlight a blog post, or display a customer testimonial, a well-timed slide-in can meaningfully improve engagement on your WordPress site.
In this guide, you will learn exactly how to create a slide-in popup in WordPress using ConvertForce, a Gutenberg-native popup and notification bar builder for WordPress.
What Is a Slide-in Popup?
A slide-in popup is a small overlay panel that slides into view from the bottom corner of the screen, typically triggered by a time delay, scroll depth, or user inactivity. It sits over the page content without fully obscuring it, making it feel less intrusive than a traditional lightbox popup.
Slide-ins work well for announcements, coupon codes, content upgrades, trust signals, and any message you want to surface at the right moment without forcing a hard interrupt.
Why Use Slide-in Popups on Your WordPress Site?
Engage Visitors Without Disrupting the Experience
Traditional popups that block the entire viewport can frustrate readers. Slide-ins appear at the edge of the screen, allowing visitors to keep reading. Because they do not block the page, visitors are more likely to engage with them rather than immediately dismissing them.
This makes slide-ins particularly effective for content-heavy sites like blogs, documentation pages, and product pages, where you want to surface a message while the visitor is already engaged with your content.
Deliver Messages at the Right Moment
A slide-in shown two seconds after page load carries far less impact than one triggered after a visitor has scrolled 50% down the page. Smart triggers let you match the timing of your message to the visitor’s intent, which increases the relevance and effectiveness of whatever you are promoting.
ConvertForce supports time delay triggers in the free version, and adds Scroll Depth, Exit Intent, and User Inactivity triggers in the Pro version, giving you precise control over when each campaign appears.
Promote Offers, Content, and Trust Signals
Slide-ins are versatile. You can use them to highlight a discount code, link to a related post, showcase a customer testimonial, announce free shipping, or display a trust badge. Because the design is fully built inside the WordPress block editor with ConvertForce, you can drop in any block you need, including images, buttons, headings, and star ratings.
How to Create a Slide-in Popup in WordPress
Step 1: Install and Activate ConvertForce
From your WordPress dashboard:
- Go to Plugins > Add New Plugin and search for ConvertForce.
- Click Install Now and then Activate.
Once activated, you will see a ConvertForce menu item in the left sidebar of your dashboard.
Step 2: Create a New Campaign
- Go to ConvertForce > New Campaign.
Then give your campaign a name that makes it easy to identify later (for example, “Homepage Promo Slide-in” or “Free Shipping Slide-in”). And select Slide-in from the available options.
Step 3: Design Your Slide-in in the Block Editor
ConvertForce opens your campaign directly inside the WordPress block editor. This is the key difference between ConvertForce and most other popup plugins: your slide-in is built with real Gutenberg blocks, not a separate drag-and-drop editor that works outside of WordPress.
You can add any block you need:
- Paragraph or Heading blocks for your message
- Image block for a product photo, badge, or logo
- Buttons block for your call-to-action
- Star Rating or Quote blocks for testimonials
- Spacer blocks to control internal padding
Use the right-hand sidebar to adjust colors, typography, and spacing just like you would for any page or post.
Step 4: Configure Display Conditions
Once your design is ready, go to Display Conditions (under the Campaign tab).
Here, you control where the slide-in appears on your site. You can choose to show it on all pages, only specific pages or posts, by post category, by URL match, or on WooCommerce product pages. You can also exclude certain pages, such as the checkout page or the homepage, if the message is not relevant there.
Step 5: Set the Trigger
Below Display Conditions, you will find the Trigger settings. The free version of ConvertForce includes a Time Delay trigger. Set the number of seconds after page load before the slide-in appears.
If you are on ConvertForce Pro, you also have access to:
- Scroll Depth — fires after the visitor scrolls a defined percentage down the page
- Exit Intent — fires when the visitor’s cursor moves toward the browser’s close or back button
- User Inactivity — fires after the visitor has been idle on the page for a set duration
Choose the trigger that best matches your campaign goal. A discount offer works well with Exit Intent. A content upgrade works better with Scroll Depth, since it only makes sense to surface it after the visitor has consumed some of the page.
Step 6: Set Display Frequency
Under Behavior, you can control how often the same visitor sees the slide-in. Options include showing it every page load, once per session, or custom. This prevents the slide-in from appearing on every page load for returning visitors, keeping the experience relevant rather than repetitive.
Step 7: Publish the Campaign
When your design, rules, and trigger are configured, click Publish in the top right corner of the editor. The campaign is now live on your site according to the display rules you set.
You can return to ConvertForce > Campaigns at any time to pause, edit, or delete the campaign.
Slide-in Popup Use Cases for WordPress
Announce a Promotion Without Interrupting Readers
Use a slide-in to surface a coupon code or sale announcement while visitors browse your blog or product pages. Because the slide-in does not block the content, visitors stay engaged with the page and are more likely to act on the offer when they are ready, rather than dismissing it immediately.
Display Customer Testimonials as Social Proof
ConvertForce supports static social proof inside slide-ins. You can add a testimonial with a star rating, a customer name, and a photo directly inside the block editor using standard Gutenberg blocks. Showing a real customer quote at the right moment, such as when a visitor is scrolling through a product page, can meaningfully reduce hesitation and support conversions.
Highlight a Free Shipping Threshold
A slide-in is a natural fit for a free shipping message. Use a Heading block for the threshold amount and a Paragraph block for the supporting copy. Combine it with a Scroll Depth trigger so it appears after the visitor has shown genuine browsing intent, rather than immediately on landing.
Promote a Related Post or Resource
Content sites can use slide-ins to link to related articles or downloadable resources. When a visitor reaches a certain scroll depth, a slide-in with a relevant post title and a “Read more” button gives them a natural next step, reducing bounce rates and increasing pages per session.
Frequently Asked Questions
A slide-in popup is a small overlay that slides onto the screen from the corner of the page, typically triggered by a time delay, scroll depth, or exit intent. Unlike a lightbox popup that blocks the entire screen, a slide-in is non-intrusive and lets visitors continue reading while still surfacing your message.
Yes. Slide-in is one of the three core campaign types in ConvertForce, alongside notification bars and lightbox popups. Slide-in campaigns are available in both the free and Pro versions.
ConvertForce is built natively for the WordPress block editor (Gutenberg). Instead of using a separate editor or a third-party drag-and-drop interface, you design campaigns directly inside the block editor using standard Gutenberg blocks. This means your campaigns are built the same way as the rest of your site content, with no custom syntax, no page builder dependency, and no compatibility workarounds.
ConvertForce is not compatible with the Classic Editor plugin. It requires the WordPress block editor (Gutenberg) to be active. If you have the Classic Editor plugin installed and enabled, ConvertForce will not function as expected.
The free version of ConvertForce includes a Time Delay trigger. The Pro version adds Scroll Depth, Exit Intent, and User Inactivity triggers.
Yes. ConvertForce includes granular display rules that let you show or hide campaigns on specific pages, posts, categories, URLs, or WooCommerce product pages. You can also exclude specific pages from displaying a campaign.
Open your slide-in campaign in the block editor, add a Quote or Paragraph block for the testimonial text, add a Star Rating block if needed, and add an Image block for the customer photo. Because ConvertForce campaigns are built with standard Gutenberg blocks, any block available in the editor can be used inside a slide-in.
