Coupon Code Ideas: How to Name Discount Codes Shoppers Remember

A code has to survive the trip to checkout

Between the moment a shopper sees a code and the moment they type it, a lot can happen: another tab, a phone call, a scroll through the cart. A good name survives that trip. It is short, it means something, and it can be typed from memory without checking back.

The coupon code ideas generator builds a list of names from your offer, the occasion and a brand word, and drops any that break the readability rules below. Here is the thinking behind those rules.

Four naming patterns that work

• Occasion plus number. BF20 or XMAS15. The shopper remembers the event and the size of the saving, which is exactly what the code encodes.
• Brand plus number. Your store name with the value appended. It reinforces the brand every time the code is typed, and it is less likely to collide with another shop's public code on a coupon site.
• Offer word plus number. SAVE20, TAKE15. Simple and universal, but also the easiest to guess, so better for public sales than private ones.
• Brand plus occasion. A brand word with BF or CYBER attached. Good when the value might change during the campaign but the code should not.

For perks without a number, such as free shipping or a gift, swap the figure for a word: SHIPFREE, WELCOMEGIFT, HELLOBONUS.

Readability rules

• Capitals and digits only. No spaces, dashes or symbols to mistype or forget.
• Start with a letter. A code that begins with a figure reads like a price or an order number.
• Keep it short. Eight to twelve characters is plenty for brand plus occasion or offer plus value.
• Avoid lookalike pairs. The digit 0 beside the letter O, or 1 beside I or L, is where typed codes fail. The problem is the pair in the same code, not the letters on their own.

Case is not worth worrying about. Shopify matches discount codes regardless of letter case, so a shopper typing in lower case still gets the saving. Capitals are simply easier to read on a small screen.

When a memorable code is the wrong choice

A name anyone can remember is also a name anyone can share. That is perfect for a sitewide sale you want passed around. It is a problem for a first-order discount, a large saving, or anything you would rather not see on a coupon site.

For those, use unique single-use codes, one per shopper, or set a usage limit on the discount in Shopify. The discount code generator creates random codes in bulk for exactly that case.

Before a name goes live

• Search your existing discounts. Shopify will not create two with the same code, and last year's BF20 may still exist.
• Read the name against what the discount does. A code called SHIPFREE that gives percent off confuses everyone.
• Set the end date on the discount itself. An occasion in the name does not switch it off when the occasion ends.
• Decide whether it can combine with other discounts, and say so where the code is shown.

Next step: get a shortlist

Pick your offer and occasion in the coupon code ideas generator, add a brand word if you like, and copy the names you want to try. Then create the discount in your Shopify admin with the name you chose.

When the code is shown in a Nudgesmart popup, it is reported as displayed, copied and redeemed, which tells you whether shoppers carry the name through to checkout.