What is Popup Maker?
Popup Maker is the most widely installed free popup plugin for WordPress, with over 700,000 active installations. Its core value proposition is flexibility: the free version supports unlimited popups with customizable sizing, positioning, animations, and display conditions, without campaign limits or mandatory paid upgrades. It functions as a popup framework rather than a lead generation-specific tool — popups can contain any WordPress content including forms, videos, images, shortcodes, and Gutenberg blocks.
Popup Maker integrates directly with major WordPress form plugins — WPForms, Gravity Forms, Ninja Forms, Contact Form 7, Formidable Forms — making it a clean solution for displaying any form as a popup without building the form inside the popup tool itself. This separation of concerns (form logic in a form plugin, popup display in Popup Maker) is particularly valuable for complex multi-field forms or conditional logic scenarios.
The free version does not include exit intent, A/B testing, or advanced behavioral targeting. These are available via paid extensions starting at $49.50/year (Plus plan) or through the $247/year Marketer plan. For agencies or developers who need a reliable popup framework for client sites without recurring per-site SaaS costs, Popup Maker free plus specific extensions is a cost-effective path. For sites where exit intent and A/B testing are the priority from the start, OptinMonster or Convert Pro provide a more integrated solution.
Popup Maker Key Features
- Unlimited popups in free version
- Custom sizing, positioning, and animations
- Display any WordPress content inside popups (forms, videos, HTML, shortcodes)
- Native integration with WPForms, Gravity Forms, Ninja Forms, Contact Form 7, Formidable Forms
- Trigger options: click, time delay, scroll, page load
Popup Maker Pros & Cons
Pros
- Most flexible free popup framework for WordPress — unlimited popups with full content flexibility
- Direct form plugin integration enables complex popup forms without rebuilding forms
- No campaign limits or mandatory paid tiers for core functionality
Cons
- Exit intent requires paid extension
- A/B testing not available without third-party integration
Popup Maker Free vs Premium
Free: unlimited popups, basic triggers, page targeting. Plus ($49.50/year): exit intent, advanced targeting. Marketer ($247/year): analytics, A/B testing, advanced integrations. Agency plans available for unlimited sites.
Common Popup Maker Problems & Fixes
Popup Maker popup is appearing multiple times per session — how do I limit display frequency?
Popup Maker uses cookies to track how many times a visitor has seen a popup. In the popup’s settings → Cookies tab, add a cookie: set the cookie to trigger on popup close or on conversion, with an expiration time (e.g., 30 days). The cookie prevents the popup from showing again during that period. If visitors are still seeing the popup repeatedly, their browser may be blocking cookies (uncommon but possible with strict privacy settings) or caching is bypassing the cookie check.
A Gravity Forms form inside a Popup Maker popup is not submitting correctly — the form does nothing on submit. How do I fix this?
Gravity Forms loaded inside a popup requires AJAX form submission rather than the default page-reload submission. In the Popup Maker extension for Gravity Forms (or in the popup content), ensure AJAX submission is enabled — Popup Maker has a specific Gravity Forms compatibility mode in its admin settings. Also check that the Gravity Forms scripts are loading on the page where the popup appears — Gravity Forms conditionally loads scripts only on pages with embedded forms, which may not include pages where the form is in a popup.
Popup Maker is causing slow page loads — how do I optimize its performance?
Popup Maker loads its JavaScript on every page where popups are configured to potentially display. Reduce performance impact by: (1) limiting popup display conditions to specific pages/posts rather than site-wide — this reduces JavaScript initialization on pages without popups; (2) enable async loading for Popup Maker scripts if supported by your version; (3) use a performance plugin like WP Rocket to defer non-critical JavaScript; (4) ensure popup content (especially video embeds) uses lazy loading.
Popup Maker Customization
How do I create a click-triggered popup that opens when a button is clicked in Elementor?
Popup Maker assigns each popup a unique CSS class (e.g., popmake-123). Add this class to any button, link, or element in Elementor to make it trigger the popup on click. In Elementor, select your button → Advanced → CSS Classes and enter the Popup Maker trigger class. Popup Maker also supports trigger by href — add #popmake-123 as the link URL on any anchor element to trigger the popup. No JavaScript knowledge required.
Can I use Popup Maker to display WooCommerce product quick views?
Yes. Create a Popup Maker popup containing WooCommerce product content via shortcode (e.g., the WooCommerce product shortcode with a specific product ID). Link to the popup from a product listing button using the Popup Maker click trigger CSS class. For dynamic product quick views that load different products per popup, you need either a dedicated WooCommerce quick view plugin or custom JavaScript that dynamically loads product content into Popup Maker’s container.
Frequently Asked Questions about Popup Maker
Is Popup Maker free suitable for a WooCommerce store?
Popup Maker free is suitable for WooCommerce stores that need popups for content like announcements, cookie notices, or form-based contact popups. For WooCommerce-specific popups (cart abandonment, product quick view, age verification), the WooCommerce-specific extensions add proper event hooks. Many WooCommerce stores use Popup Maker free for general popups alongside a dedicated tool like OptinMonster for cart-abandonment campaigns.
Unlike most popup plugins, OptinMonster runs in the cloud. The WordPress plugin simply connects your website to your OptinMonster account, while campaigns and analytics are managed externally.
How does Popup Maker compare to Elementor Popup Builder?
Elementor Popup Builder (Pro feature) is designed for visual popups within Elementor-built pages with access to all Elementor widgets. Popup Maker is a standalone popup framework that works with any theme or page builder. For Elementor Pro users who want design-integrated popups built with Elementor widgets, Elementor Popup Builder is more seamless. For non-Elementor sites or sites that need form-plugin integration and click triggers without a page builder, Popup Maker is the better general-purpose choice.
Can Popup Maker break after updates?
Yes, that can happen, especially on older sites with many plugins. This usually happens when the plugin, theme, and add-ons are updated out of sequence. In most cases, testing on staging catches the issue before it reaches the live site. From experience, backups and changelog reviews save a lot of cleanup time.
What should I check before installing Popup Maker?
Start by checking whether another plugin already does the same job. In most cases, overlap is what creates avoidable conflicts and performance issues. A common issue is installing a plugin because it looks convenient without checking the stack first. From experience, a short compatibility review avoids most of the pain later.