> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.smartico.ai/welcome/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.smartico.ai/welcome/products/crm-automation/communication-channels/pop-up.md).
# Popups
The Smartico system is designed to have an easy but clever marketing flow for your players. To be successful, you will have to decide on many configurations along the way, as well as on the materials you will use.
**The Popup** is one of the most successful channels in our system because it appears on your platform; therefore, the target is only one click away. Click-through rate and, thus, conversion are among the highest across all communication channels.
{% hint style="info" %}
Popup templates are being retired. Make new popups and doodles in **Vibe Studio**, as described below. Popups made from templates keep working.
{% endhint %}
## Create a popup with Vibe Studio
Vibe Studio is the AI editor of the Back Office. It designs the whole popup for you: you start from a ready design and change it by writing in the chat.
1. Go to **Marketing → Assets → Pop-up** and click **Create**.
2. Choose **Popup with Vibe Studio**. For a small game inside a popup, choose **Doodle with Vibe Studio** — see [Doodles](https://help.smartico.ai/welcome/products/crm-automation/communication-channels/doodles).
3. Enter a name and click **Create & Open Vibe Studio**. The popup is saved as a Draft, and Vibe Studio opens.
4. Pick a design in the gallery on the right. There are 42 ready popups in rows: Bonuses & offers, Sports, Gamification, Loyalty & VIP, Lifecycle, Service & safety, and Seasonal & events. In the row **Your own design**, you describe your popup and the AI builds it. Click **Preview** to see a design at desktop or phone size, or **Apply** to load it at once.
5. The chat says what the design is and what you will most likely want to change. Ask for changes in your own words: the texts, the offer, the colours, the links, a new picture, or a translation into your label's languages.
6. Click **Apply & Save**. The design goes into the popup and the popup is saved.
To change the popup later, open it and click **Edit in Vibe Studio** in **Popup design**. Send Preview, Content Variations and statistics work as for any other popup.
### Buttons and campaign branches
Every link in a Vibe Studio popup becomes a branch in the campaign Flow: the Popup step shows an exit for each link, for example **Click 'dp:deposit'**. Use a [deep link](/welcome/products/tools-and-guides/deep-links.md) for each button, and connect each exit to the next step you want.
### Save your design as a template
1. Click **Save as template** in the top bar of Vibe Studio (next to **Cancel**).
2. Enter a name and click **Save template**. Vibe Studio saves the design and makes a picture of it.
Everyone who works on your label sees the template first in the gallery, in the row **Saved by your team**, with **Preview** and **Apply**. **Apply** loads a copy, so the template itself never changes. Popup templates show only in popups, and doodle templates only in doodles.
## **Managing popup assets**
{% hint style="info" %}
This section describes popups made from a template (legacy). In the Create menu, choose **Template (legacy)**. For new popups, use [Vibe Studio](#create-a-popup-with-vibe-studio).
{% endhint %}
1. **Navigate to** Marketing tab -> Assets -> Pop-up
2. **Click** on the Create button and choose **Template (legacy)**
BO: Pop-up list
3. First, choose the Resource name (it’s recommended to assign a name that reflects the pop-up’s most likely usage).
4. Choose the popup template from our predesigned options. All templates are 100% customizable to keep your branding aligned.
BO: Pop-up main customization
5. Set the header image, titles, and buttons for your content. Use [**Label Tags**](/welcome/products/tools-and-guides/label-tags.md) or dynamic tags for personalized content (such as player username or points). For more details on supported dynamic tags, see [Tags, properties, and event data in communication resources](/welcome/products/crm-automation/communication-channels/tags-properties-and-event-data-in-the-communication-resources.md).
6. Set up action items for the buttons you are using in the template. Redirect to a page or use a [deeplink](/welcome/products/tools-and-guides/deep-links.md) to open the cashier or a specific section of your platform.\
**Note**: By default, the pop-up closes on click. If you want it to remain open after redirection, add `&_sm_stay_open=true` to the end of the deeplink.
7. Define text and background colors for buttons, covering both default appearance and hover behavior.
BO: Pop-up text & background color customization
### Testing with Send Preview
Before launching a campaign, use the **Send Preview** button in the pop-up editor to send a live test pop-up to a specific player username or external ID. This displays the pop-up immediately in the player's active browser session, allowing you to verify visual appearance, dynamic tag values, and button actions on real devices.
You can use popups for communication of:
1. Deposit alerts
2. Mission unlocked, completed
3. Promotions
4. Invitations
5. Announcements
Suppose your setup includes multiple brands, currencies, or languages, or you want to send different variations for different user types, such as Bronze VIP, Dormant users, etc. You can use variations for various content based on any condition available on the platform. Read more about content variations in this article.
{% content-ref url="/pages/injrKymjK4i3LdupOEwR" %}
[Content Variations](/welcome/products/crm-automation/communication-channels/content-variations.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}
## Creating custom popup templates
{% hint style="warning" %}
Popup templates are being retired: please do not create new ones. Make new popups in Vibe Studio, and keep your own designs for your team with **Save as template** (see [Create a popup with Vibe Studio](#create-a-popup-with-vibe-studio)). The template screens show the same notice.
{% endhint %}
{% hint style="info" %}
Note that creating custom templates requires basic knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JSON.
{% endhint %}
Smartico has a set of built-in popup templates that have different visual presentations and functionality.
BO: Pop-up template picker
If you cannot find the needed template or want to make a custom styling of the existing one, you can do that in the Marketing \ Templates \ Pop-up section.
Pick a template that is the closest by the layout and functionality to your idea and make a "Clone" of this template. Change the template name and description if needed. Once a template is no longer needed, you can delete it to keep your list organized and clutter-free.
{% hint style="info" %}
**Note**: Only templates you have created can be deleted; global or system templates cannot be removed. Additionally, a custom template cannot be deleted while any pop-up or content variation of your label uses it, whatever its status.
{% endhint %}
In most cases, you will focus on the Body and Preview section on the right side.
In the Body section, you can edit the HTML and CSS of the template, and in Preview, you can see the results of your changes.
If you cloned an existing template, you will find details on building dynamic templates in the HTML tab.
We are using the Blueimp JavaScript template engine, which is flexible and easy to learn. You can find the capabilities of the engine on this page -
The template engine takes into context the "o" object that holds configurations of specific resources based on the possible configuration described in the Configuration tab.
For example, the image configuration shown on the screen below is defined by following the configuration block.
{% code expandable="true" %}
```jsonp
{
// name of the logic block in popup builder
"label": "Image",
"options": [
{
"name": "image",
// name of the sub-block
"label": "Image",
"fields": [
{
// name how it will be available in the HTML template, e.g. o.image_url
"name": "image_url",
// type of control, possible are "text", "image", "url", "color", "date", "html", "select", "radio", "number", "duration"
"type": "image",
// optional label
"label": "", //
// default value
"value": "https://static.smartico.ai/f8457add9b8fdef97384fb-PinClipart.com_christmas-tree-with-presents_1245885.png"
}
],
// if the element can be hidden. will affect o.image.checked
"optional": true
}
]
}
```
{% endcode %}
Example of the "Image" control defined by this configuration.
Here is an example of a basic template with inline comments
{% code expandable="true" %}
```html
{% if (o.image.checked) { %}
{% } %}
{% if (o.title_block.checked) { %}
{%#o.title%}
{% } %}
{% if (o.sub_title_block.checked) { %}
{%#o.sub_title%}
{% } %}
{% if (o.sm_close_button?.checked) { %}
{% } %}
```
{% endcode %}
Note that CSS styles and custom attributes for HTML elements are used purely by Smartico templates. You can base your template on them or define your own CSS for the presentation
## Custom popups with HTML / JavaScript / CSS support
You can build a fully custom pop-up that supports HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.
Use a pop-up template called "**Example Popup with HTML/CSS/JS**" as a starting point.
It has examples of basic configuration options and if/else conditions.
```
{% endcode %}
## Making non-modal popups
By default, all popups are modal, meaning they block users from interacting with the main site until they are closed.
If you want to make a non-blocking pop-up, you will need to define in the configuration the style/size of the frame that holds the pop-up. Use this example as the starting point:
```json
{
"label": "Frame style and position",
"options": [
{
"name": "",
"label": "",
"fields": [
{
"name": "frame_style_desktop",
"type": "text",
"label": "Desktop",
"value": "width: 540px; height: 245px; left: 20px;backdrop-filter:none"
},
{
"name": "frame_style_mobile",
"type": "text",
"label": "Mobile",
"value": "width: 100%; height: 245px; backdrop-filter:none"
}
]
}
]
}
```
## Pop-up Queue System
The queue system manages the delivery of pop-ups on the front end. This setting is enabled by default, so pop-ups are queued and delivered sequentially, ensuring each pop-up is displayed only after the previous one is closed. If the pop-up queue system is disabled when a pop-up is already displayed, any additional pop-ups will be ignored and not exposed to the end user.
Keep in mind that the 'Pop-up Queue System' is not related to the 'Delivery timeout' option in the pop-up activity within Campaigns:
* Delivery timeout is to keep it on the server until the next connection
* The pop-up queue handles the case when 2 pop-ups are sent at the same time
{% hint style="info" %}
This feature is enabled by default. You can enable or disable the queue (**Queue popups: show one popup at a time**) and set delays between pop-ups (**Pause before the next popup, ms**) directly in the Back-Office under Label Settings (or contact your Success Manager for assistance).
{% endhint %}
## Advanced display controls
* **Single tab display**: By default, pop-ups appear in all open browser tabs where the player is online. You can enable single-tab mode in Label Settings (**Show a popup in one browser tab only**) to ensure a pop-up displays only in the player's active tab.
* **URL exclusions**: You can define a comma-separated list of URL paths (for example, `/deposit,/checkout`) where pop-ups and inbox messages are automatically suppressed so players are not interrupted during critical actions. Suppression uses substring matching against the current page URL and is configurable in Label Settings (**Don't show popups and inbox messages on pages**).
* **Backdrop appearance**: You can customize background overlay opacity and blur intensity to match your branding. Also available in the Label Settings (**Popups: background darkness** and **Popups: background blur, px**).
## Popups in scheduled campaigns
In a scheduled campaign, a popup step cannot be the first step. It must come after an offline message (such as email, SMS or push) or after the "Something matched" connection of a "Best Channel" step. For example:
1. Send an email.
2. On the "Sent" connection of the email, add "Wait for event" of type "Core: user went online".
3. Show the popup when the player comes online.
To allow popups anywhere in scheduled campaigns, even as the first step, ask your Success manager to turn on the **Allow popups anywhere in scheduled campaigns** setting in **Label settings**.
## Frequently Asked Questions
### Why does my newly created template not appear in the Assets list?
Pop-up templates (under Marketing > Templates > Pop-up) are layout blueprints, whereas pop-up assets (under Marketing > Assets > Pop-up) are specific marketing creatives. To use a custom template, create a new pop-up asset in Marketing > Assets > Pop-up, choose **Template (legacy)**, and select your template from the template picker.
### Where are the popups and doodles my team saved in Vibe Studio?
They are in the Vibe Studio gallery, in the first row **Saved by your team**. Open any popup in Vibe Studio (or create one with **Popup with Vibe Studio** or **Doodle with Vibe Studio**) to see them. They do not appear in Marketing > Templates > Pop-up.
### How can I track whether a player clicked the action button in a pop-up?
Buttons configured with deep links (such as `dp:ok` or a custom URL) automatically trigger an engagement action event when clicked. In CJM Campaigns, the pop-up activity node automatically renders connectors that branch your journey based on button clicks and interactions.
### How do I trigger a pop-up when a player visits a specific page?
Create a CJM Campaign triggered by the page navigation event, filter by the page URL or action parameter, and add a Pop-up activity node to show the message immediately upon navigation.
### What are the recommended image dimensions for pop-ups?
Standard modal pop-ups work best with hero images around 600×300px to 800×400px (or 400×400px for square templates). The Smartico SDK automatically scales the pop-up to fit 90% of the viewport on mobile screens, so keeping image file sizes under 200–300 KB ensures fast loading.
### Can I display different images or layouts for mobile and desktop devices?
Yes. In custom pop-up templates, you can define separate configuration fields for desktop and mobile image URLs (or use CSS media queries `@media (max-width: 768px)`). You can also use custom frame styles (`frame_style_desktop` and `frame_style_mobile`) to adjust dimensions and positioning independently for each device type.
### Can a template dropdown (select field) be dynamically populated with items from the Store or Marketplace?
No. The `select` field in pop-up template configurations only supports static options predefined in the template JSON schema. Dynamic data from the Marketplace, Store, or external APIs cannot be loaded dynamically into the template configuration dropdown.
---
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