MobiCart
The app download prompt is a small banner or pop-up on your Shopify online store that invites shoppers who browse on a phone to install your app, and its button opens the right store for their phone: the App Store on iPhone and iPad, Google Play on Android. You set it up in the MobiCart dashboard, with no code.
In short: once your app is live in a store, open App download prompt in MobiCart, click Activate in theme and Save in Shopify’s theme editor, then switch on Show the prompt on my online store, pick a style, write the text and click Save.
What the app download prompt does #
Most shoppers find your store on the web first. The prompt turns some of those visits into app installs: it appears on your online store a few seconds after the page loads, names your app, and its button goes straight to your app’s page in the App Store or Google Play.
It is part of your online store, not of the app. So it saves on its own, with its own Save button, and it never needs the App Builder’s Publish.
What you need first #
| You need | Why | Where |
|---|---|---|
| A live app with an App Store or Google Play link | The button has to open your app’s store page | Your app goes live after you submit it on the Publish app page. MobiCart adds the store links once it’s live; you don’t paste them |
| The MobiCart app embed switched on in your theme | Your theme draws the prompt through this embed | Activate in theme opens it for you (Step 1) |
| An app icon (optional) | Shown next to the text | Added on the Publish app page |
Until your app has a live store link, the page says: “You can set up the prompt after you submit your app and get your live App Store / Google Play link.”
Settings at a glance #
| Setting | Section | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Show the prompt on my online store | Prompt | Turns the prompt on or off | Off |
| Style | Prompt | Banner at the bottom, Banner at the top or Pop-up | Banner at the bottom |
| Title | Text | The first line, up to 60 characters | Get our app |
| Message | Text | The line under it, up to 160 characters | Shop faster and get exclusive offers in our app. |
| Button | Text | The button’s label, up to 24 characters | Open |
| Dismiss link | Text | The close link, up to 24 characters | Not now |
| Show my app icon | Text | Your app icon beside the text | On |
| Background, Text, Button, Button text | Appearance | The four colors | Your app’s color scheme |
| Corners | Appearance | Square, Slightly rounded, Rounded or Very rounded | Rounded |
| Show after (seconds) | Timing | The wait before it appears, 0 to 30 | 3 |
| Hide after dismissal (days) | Timing | How long it stays away after a shopper closes it, 0 to 90 | 7 |
| Hide on these page types | Shopify theme editor | Page types where it never shows | None |
Part 1: Set up the prompt in the MobiCart dashboard #
Step 1: Turn on the app embed in your theme #
In your Shopify admin, open MobiCart and go to the App Builder. In the left rail, click App download prompt (the phone icon).
The top of the page shows whether the embed is on in your published theme:
- Turn it on in your theme, with the settings blurred and “Turn it on to edit”: the embed is off. Click Activate in theme.
- Active and “The prompt is on in your theme.”: you are set.
- Couldn’t check your theme: MobiCart couldn’t tell. The settings stay open, and Activate in theme is there if you need it.
Activate in theme opens Shopify’s theme editor on your live theme, in App embeds, with App download prompt by MobiCart already switched on. Click Save in the theme editor. You only do this once. When you come back to the MobiCart tab, it checks again and shows Active.
While you’re in the theme editor, the embed has one setting of its own, Hide on these page types. Type page types separated by commas, for example `cart, product, password`, and the prompt won’t show on those pages.
Step 2: Switch it on and pick a style #
Under Prompt, turn on Show the prompt on my online store. Its note says it best: “Only shoppers on a phone see it.”
Then pick a Style:
| Style | What shoppers see |
|---|---|
| Banner at the bottom | A bar that slides up from the bottom of the screen |
| Banner at the top | A bar that slides down from the top |
| Pop-up | A card in the middle of the screen, over a dimmed page |
The phone on the right previews each change before you save. Your theme’s fonts may differ from the preview.
Step 3: Write the text #
Under Text, fill in:
- Title, up to 60 characters.
- Message, up to 160 characters.
- Button, up to 24 characters: the button that opens the store.
- Dismiss link, up to 24 characters: the link that closes the prompt.
Shoppers see this exactly as you type it, so write it in your store’s language.
Keep Show my app icon ticked to show your app icon beside the text. If your app has no icon yet, the box is greyed out with “Add an app icon on the Publish app page to show it here.”
Step 4: Set the colors and corners #
Under Appearance, the four colors (Background, Text, Button, Button text) start from your app’s color scheme, and keep following it when you switch schemes, until you change a color. From then on all four are yours. Reset to app colors puts them back on the scheme.
Corners rounds the button, and the banner’s or pop-up’s edges: Square, Slightly rounded, Rounded or Very rounded.
Step 5: Set the timing #
Under Timing:
- Show after (seconds), 0 to 30: how long a page is open before the prompt appears. 0 shows it as soon as the page loads.
- Hide after dismissal (days), 0 to 90: how long the prompt stays away after a shopper closes it. With 0, the shopper sees it again on the next page they open.
Step 6: Save #
Click Save at the top. You’ll see “App download prompt saved”. It applies right away, no publish needed: your store shows the new prompt within moments.
Unsaved changes at the top means you have edits that aren’t saved. They stay while you visit other parts of the Builder, but a page reload drops them. Save stays greyed out while the embed is off or still being checked.
Part 2: What visitors to your online store see #
On a phone or tablet #
- When it appears: after the Show after delay, on every page except the page types you hid.
- Which store it opens: iPhone and iPad shoppers go to the App Store, Android shoppers to Google Play. A platform without a live link gets no prompt at all, so if your app is only on Google Play, iPhone shoppers never see it.
- Closing it: tapping the Dismiss link, tapping the button, pressing Escape, or tapping outside a pop-up closes it. It then stays away for the Hide after dismissal days, in that browser.
- Inside your app: shoppers browsing in your MobiCart app, or in a store they added to their home screen, never see it.
- On wider screens: the banners stay centered at a comfortable width instead of stretching across a tablet.
On a computer #
Visitors on a computer never see the prompt: there is no app to install there. Only Shopify’s theme editor shows it on a desktop, as a preview, with a note such as “Preview only: this prompt is turned off in MobiCart.” when it’s off.
Recommended setups #
| Store | Style | Show after | Hide after dismissal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fashion, beauty and other repeat-purchase stores | Banner at the bottom | 3 to 5 seconds | 7 days |
| Stores running an app-only offer | Pop-up, with the offer in the Message | 5 to 10 seconds | 14 days |
| Stores with a busy header or announcement bar | Banner at the bottom | 3 seconds | 7 days |
| Stores with a sticky add-to-cart bar at the bottom | Banner at the top | 3 seconds | 7 days |
Whatever you pick, hide it on `cart` so it never sits over the checkout button.
Troubleshooting #
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The page says I can set it up after my app is live | Your app has no live App Store or Google Play link yet | Submit your app on the Publish app page; the prompt opens up once it’s live |
| The settings are blurred with “Turn it on to edit” | The MobiCart app embed is off in your published theme | Click Activate in theme, then Save in the theme editor |
| Save is greyed out | The embed is off, or MobiCart is still checking your theme | Turn the embed on, or wait a moment for the check |
| I don’t see the prompt on my computer | It only shows on phones and tablets | Open your store on a phone |
| I don’t see it on my phone | You closed it before, the platform has no live link, or the page type is hidden | Wait out Hide after dismissal, open a private tab, or check Hide on these page types |
| It shows on Android but not on iPhone | Your app has no App Store link yet | It appears on iPhone once your app is live on the App Store |
| Show my app icon is greyed out | Your app has no icon | Add one on the Publish app page |
| I switched color schemes and the prompt kept its colors | You changed a color, so the colors are yours | Click Reset to app colors and Save |
| I switched to a new theme and the prompt is gone | App embeds are turned on per theme | Click Activate in theme again and Save |
Frequently asked questions #
Do visitors on a computer see the prompt? #
No. It only shows on iPhone, iPad and Android, where there’s an app to install.
Do I need to paste my App Store and Google Play links? #
No. MobiCart adds them once your app is live, and the button uses the right one for each shopper’s phone.
Does the prompt need the App Builder’s Publish? #
No. It saves on its own with Save and applies right away. Publish is only for your app.
Can I write the prompt in another language? #
Yes. Shoppers see the text exactly as you type it, in any language.
How do I turn the prompt off? #
Switch off Show the prompt on my online store and click Save. You can also switch off the embed in your theme editor’s App embeds.
Can I hide it on some pages? #
Yes. In the theme editor, open App embeds, then App download prompt, and list page types in Hide on these page types, for example `cart, product`.
Do shoppers who already have my app see it? #
Not while they shop inside your app. In a phone browser, the prompt can’t tell whether the app is installed, which is why the dismiss setting matters.
How often does a shopper see it? #
Until they close it. Then it stays away for the Hide after dismissal days, 7 by default, in that browser.
Need a hand? #
Book a free 30-minute demo and we will set up your app download prompt with you.
