How to Set Up Smart Activity Popups - Step by Step Guide Popify Help Center

Overview

This guide walks you through creating a Smart Activity popup from scratch — from choosing a template to going live on your store.

Step 1: Create a New Popup

From your Popify dashboard, click the "Create New Popup" button. This takes you to the template gallery where you can browse all available popup types.

Step 2: Choose "Recent Activity"

In the template gallery, look for the Recent Activity (also called Recent Orders or Customers Activity) category. These are the social proof popup templates that show purchase and cart notifications on your store.

Step 3: Pick a Template

Browse the available Recent Activity templates and choose the design that fits your store's look. Options include:

Default — Clean, classic notification style (available on all plans)
Slate Minimal — Modern minimal design with a subtle bottom accent line (available on all plans)
Bold Starter — Eye-catching design with strong typography
Neon Glow — Dark theme with vibrant neon accents
Pastel Dream — Soft pastel colors for a friendly feel
Earthy Craft — Warm, natural tones for artisan brands
Bohemian Pop — Playful, colorful boho-inspired design
Seasonal templates — Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Year themed designs

Click on your preferred template to select it and enter the editor.

Step 4: Configure Your Activity Source

Once inside the editor, scroll to the Activity Source section. You'll see the option to choose between:

Real Activity — Uses actual orders and cart events from your store
Smart Activity — Generates realistic popups using your products with random names and locations (paid plans)

Select Smart Activity to enable the feature.

Step 5: Choose Your Activity Type

Pick what kind of notifications you want to show:

Orders — Shows purchase notifications (e.g., "Sarah M. from New York just purchased...")
Cart — Shows add-to-cart notifications (e.g., "Someone from London added ... to their cart")
Both — Randomly alternates between purchase and cart notifications

Step 6: Select Countries

You'll see a grid of 36 country pills with flags. Click on the countries you want to appear in your popups. Each country comes with its own set of local names and cities, so the data always looks authentic.

For example, selecting France will show French names with French cities, selecting Japan will show Japanese names with Japanese cities, and so on.

You can select as many or as few countries as you like. A good starting point is to pick countries where your target customers are located.

Step 7: Choose Products

Use the product picker to select which products from your store should appear in the popups. You can search by product name and select multiple products.

If a product has an image in your store, it will show in the popup. If not, Popify displays the product's initials as a fallback.

Step 8: Set the Time Range

Choose how recent the "activity" should appear. Options range from:

1 hour — "5 minutes ago"
6 hours — "2 hours ago"
12 hours — "8 hours ago"
1 day — "14 hours ago"
2 days — "1 day ago"
7 days — "3 days ago"

A shorter time range creates more urgency. For most stores, 6-12 hours works well.

Step 9: Customize the Design

Use the editor to adjust your popup's appearance:

Colors — Change background, text, and accent colors to match your brand
Display timing — Set how long each popup stays visible and the delay between popups
Position — Choose where on the screen the popup appears
Mobile settings — Popups automatically adapt to mobile screens

The live preview on the right side of the editor updates in real time as you make changes.

Step 10: Save and Activate

Once you're happy with your setup:

Click Save to save your popup
Make sure the popup is set to Active
The popup will start showing on your live store immediately

Tips for Best Results

Start with 3-5 countries that match your target audience rather than selecting all 36
Pick your best-selling or most attractive products — these are what visitors will see
Use a 6-12 hour time range for a natural balance between urgency and believability
Check your live store after saving to see how the popups look to your visitors
As your store grows, you can switch to Real Activity to show actual order data — or keep Smart Activity running alongside it

Need Help?

If you run into any issues or have questions about Smart Activity, reach out to our support team from the Popify dashboard.