Stella Announcement Bar helps you publish sticky notification bars for promotions, offers, announcements, and important updates. This guide covers both the Free plugin and the standalone Pro plugin, with detailed field-level explanations and feature behavior.

1) Installation

Free Version

You can install the Free plugin using either method below:

Method 1: Install from WordPress Plugin Directory

In WordPress Admin, go to Plugins > Add New.
Search for Stella Announcement Bar.
Click Install Now and then Activate.

Method 2: Upload ZIP File Manually

Go to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin.
Upload your Stella Announcement Bar ZIP file.
Click Install Now and then Activate.

After Activation

Open the plugin menu.
Configure your first announcement bar.

Pro Version (Standalone)

Go to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin.
Upload your Stella Announcement Bar Pro ZIP file.
Click Install Now and then Activate.
Pro runs as a standalone plugin. If Free is active, Pro deactivates it to prevent conflicts.

2) Quick Start

Quick Start (Free)

Open Stella Bar settings.
Enable Bar Globally.
Add your message in Announcement Message.
(Optional) Add button text and URL.
Choose placement (Top/Bottom) and visibility (All/Homepage).
Set your colors, close button, shadow, and font size.
Save.

Quick Start (Pro)

Go to Stella Bars > Add New.
Enter a title (for admin use).
Enable the bar in Bar Settings.
Set message, CTA, design, targeting, triggers, and optional countdown.
Publish.

3) Free Plugin Features (Detailed)

Global Bar Enable: Turns the main announcement bar on/off for your site.
Announcement Message: Primary text shown in the bar. Keep this short and action-focused.
CTA Button (Optional): Add button label and URL. If both are empty, the button is hidden.
Top/Bottom Placement: Displays as sticky top or sticky bottom.
Visibility Control: Show on entire website or only homepage.
Color Controls: Customize background/text/button colors to match branding.
Font Size: Adjust text size for readability and visual hierarchy.
Close Button: Optional dismiss button to improve user control.
Box Shadow: Adds depth to improve visibility over page content.

4) Pro Plugin Features (Detailed)

Standalone Pro Architecture: Install and run Pro without needing Free active.
Unlimited Bars: Create multiple bars for different campaigns simultaneously.
Per-Bar Status: Enable/disable each bar independently.
Advanced Targeting: Device, visitor type, and page-level targeting rules.
Advanced Triggers: Show bars immediately, on scroll, delay, exit intent, or inactivity.
Countdown Campaigns: Add urgency with end date/time and expiry actions.
Auto Disable on Expiry: Optionally disable entire bar when countdown ends.
A/B Split Testing: Compare Variant A and Variant B message/CTA performance.
Built-in Analytics: Track views, clicks, CTR globally and per bar.
Enhanced UX Controls: Styles, animation, social proof text cycling, and dismiss duration settings.

5) Field-by-Field Settings Guide

A) Core Content Fields

Enable Bar: If disabled, the bar is not shown on frontend.
Announcement Text: Main message. Recommended: 1 short sentence.
Button Label: CTA text (example: “Shop Now”).
Button URL: Destination link for CTA click.
Open link in new window (Pro): Adds new tab behavior for CTA.

B) Appearance Fields

Placement: Sticky Top or Sticky Bottom.
Background Color: Main bar background.
Text Color: Message text color.
Button BG / Button Text Color: CTA styling.
Font Size: Message size in pixels.
Show Close Button: Displays dismiss control.
Show Box Shadow: Adds visual separation from page content.
Bar Style (Pro): Standard / Glass / Gradient visual mode.
Gradient Secondary Color (Pro): Used when Gradient style is selected.
Button Animation (Pro): Pulse / Shake / Float to attract attention.

C) Visibility & Targeting Fields (Pro)

Page Visibility Rule:
- Entire Website: Show on all pages.
- Homepage Only: Show only front page/home.
- Specific Pages (Include): Show only on listed IDs/slugs.
- Specific Pages (Exclude): Hide on listed IDs/slugs.
Visibility Pages: Comma-separated page IDs or slugs.
Device Targeting: All / Mobile only / Desktop only.
Visitor Targeting: All / New visitors / Returning visitors.
Custom Tracking Cookie: Optional custom cookie key for visitor tracking logic per bar.
Cookie Expiry (Days): How long visitor tracking cookie remains valid.

D) Trigger Fields (Pro)

Trigger Type:
- Immediate: Show instantly.
- Scroll: Show after user scrolls configured percentage.
- Delay: Show after configured seconds.
- Exit Intent: Show when user indicates intent to leave.
- Inactivity: Show after inactivity timeout.
Scroll Percentage: Used when trigger = Scroll.
Delay Seconds: Used when trigger = Delay.
Inactivity Seconds: Used when trigger = Inactivity.

E) Countdown Fields (Pro)

Display Countdown Timer: Toggles countdown element in bar.
End Date: Date/time when countdown reaches zero.
Expiry Action:
- Hide timer only: Countdown disappears but bar remains.
- Disable entire bar: Bar is disabled when countdown ends.

F) Dismissal & Behavior Fields (Pro)

Allow user to dismiss: Shows close control for user-initiated hide.
Hide for how many days: Dismiss cookie duration before bar can reappear.
Cycle Speed: Interval for social proof text rotation.
Social Proof / Text Cycling: Multiple texts separated by |.

G) Split Testing Fields (Pro)

Enable A/B Test: Activates Variant B logic.
Message B: Alternative message for testing.
Button Text B / URL B: Alternative CTA configuration.
Open link in new window (Variant B): Per-variant CTA behavior.

H) Analytics & Security Fields (Pro)

Views: Number of bar impressions.
Clicks: Number of CTA clicks.
CTR: Click-through rate based on views and clicks.
Max Analytics Hits per IP: Prevents excessive/bot-like event spam per IP per hour.

6) Shortcode & Manual Placement

If theme auto-injection is unavailable, use one of these:

Shortcode: [stella_announcement_bar]
Theme hook: <?php do_action( 'stella_announcement_bar' ); ?>

7) Troubleshooting

Bar not visible

Confirm bar is enabled.
Verify targeting, visibility, and trigger conditions.
Check countdown expiry action.
Clear cache (WordPress cache, plugin cache, CDN, browser).

Bar appears in unexpected place or style

Check per-bar placement field.
Review theme CSS/custom CSS overrides.
Ensure only expected bars are active.

A/B testing appears biased

Run enough traffic volume before evaluation.
Check both variants have valid message/CTA setup.

8) Data & Uninstall

Both versions include a Delete data on uninstall option.

If enabled: settings, bars, and analytics are permanently deleted on uninstall.
If disabled: data remains for future reactivation.

9) Recommended Workflow

Create campaign goal (sales, lead, alert, event).
Write a short message + one clear CTA.
Apply targeting rules to relevant audience.
Add trigger and countdown only when needed.
Publish and monitor views/clicks/CTR.
Use A/B testing to improve conversion over time.