Announcement bar section
The Announcement bar section shows short messages above or below the Highlight header, with language, country and social icons.
Applies to: Highlight 4.1.0 and later. Added in: Highlight 1.0.0. Last checked: 2026-10-13 against Highlight 4.1.0.
The Announcement bar section is a thin bar with short messages, such as a sale or a shipping note, above the header. It can also show a language selector, a country selector and your social icons.
Where to find it: select Announcement bar in the Header group of the theme editor sidebar. To add another one, select Add section inside the Header group or the Footer group and choose Announcement bar.
Messages
- Each Content block is one message, with Text, an optional Link and Open link in a new window.
- With one block, the message stays in place. With two or more, the bar shows one message at a time, with arrows on each side to move between them.
- Visibility sets the pages where the bar shows: All pages, Homepage only, Product pages only, or All pages except the homepage.
Language selector
Show language selector adds a language dropdown on the right of the bar. It shows only when your store has more than one published language.
Country/region selector
Show country/region selector adds a country dropdown that also switches the currency. It shows only when your store sells to more than one country or region in Shopify admin → Settings → Markets.
Social icons
Show social icons shows the icons of the profiles in Social theme settings on the left of the bar.
The selectors and the social icons show on desktop only, on screens 1024 px and wider. On smaller screens the bar shows only the messages.
Colors
- Background color and Text color set the colors of the bar, its links, arrows and icons. The defaults are a near-black bar with white text.
- Border adds a 1 px line under the bar. It is transparent by default.
Blocks
Content
- Text: the message, one line of plain text.
- Link: makes the whole message a link, for example to a collection.
- Open link in a new window: opens the link in a new browser tab.
Can I add the announcement bar to a page template?
No. The Announcement bar section can only be added to the Header group and the Footer group, so it shows on every page of the store. To limit it, use Visibility: All pages, Homepage only, Product pages only or All pages except the homepage. For a message inside one page, use a section such as Scrolling text or Rich text.
Do the messages move on their own?
No. When the bar has several Content blocks, customers move between the messages with the arrows. Highlight 4.1.0 has no autoplay setting for the announcement bar. For a moving message, add a Scrolling text section.
All Announcement bar settings
Every setting, with its type and default.
Accepts these blocks: Content.
Visibility (dropdown, default: All pages): Sets the pages where the bar shows: all pages, the home page only, product pages only, or every page except the home page. Options: All pages, Homepage only, Product pages only, All pages except the homepage.
Announcement bar section: Language selector
Where to find it: Announcement bar → Language selector
Show language selector (checkbox, default: on): Shows a language selector on the right of the bar, on desktop only, when the store has more than one published language.
Announcement bar section: Country/region selector
Where to find it: Announcement bar → Country/region selector
Show country/region selector (checkbox, default: on): Shows a country/region selector, which also switches the currency, on desktop only, when the store sells to more than one country or region.
Announcement bar section: Social icons
Where to find it: Announcement bar → Social icons
Show social icons (checkbox, default: on): Shows the icons from Theme settings → Social on the left of the bar, on desktop only.
Announcement bar section: Colors
Where to find it: Announcement bar → Colors
Background color (color, default: #111111): Sets the background color of the bar and its arrows.
Text color (color, default: #ffffff): Sets the color of the messages, links, arrows, selectors and icons.
Border (color, default: transparent): Sets a 1 px line under the bar; transparent hides it.
Content block
Where to find it: Announcement bar → Add block → Content
Text (text field, default: "Write an important announcement here"): Sets the message, one line of plain text. With two or more Content blocks, the bar shows one message at a time with arrows.
Link (link): Makes the whole message a link.
Open link in a new window (checkbox, default: off): Opens the link in a new browser tab.
Related pages
- Header section: the other section of the Header group.
- Footer group: the footer, where a second bar can go.
- Social theme settings: the profiles behind Show social icons.