What should I call my discount code so shoppers remember it?
Last updated
A figure goes into the name; a perk becomes a word.
Seasonal words make the name easy to link to the sale.
All optional. Twelve characters and the lookalike check unless you change them.
Up to 8 letters or digits; anything else is stripped.
Pick an offer and an occasion, and up to twelve readable code names appear here, each checked against the rules.
- The offerNeeded
- The occasionNeeded
- Brand word and lengthOptional
The naming rules every idea is checked against
A coupon code idea is a short, readable name a shopper can remember from a popup and type at checkout without copying it, so a candle brand called Wick running 20 percent off for Black Friday gets names such as BF20, WICK20 and WICKBF, all in capitals, all starting with a letter and none mixing a zero with the letter O.
Names are built from fixed word lists, not by a language model. For random single-use codes in bulk, use the discount code generator.
Each suggestion is built from three parts you choose, then filtered through a handful of readability rules. A name that fails any rule is dropped rather than shown with a warning.
- Offer
- Percent off or an amount off puts the figure into the name, because a shopper who remembers the number remembers the code. Free shipping and gift offers use a word such as SHIP or GIFT instead.
- Occasion
- The reason for the sale, turned into short tokens: BF or FRIDAY for Black Friday, XMAS or JOLLY for Christmas, HELLO or FIRST for a welcome offer. No occasion leaves the offer and brand to carry the name.
- Brand word
- Optional. Up to eight letters or digits from your store name or a product line. Spaces, accents and punctuation are stripped so the result can be typed on any keyboard.
- Length cap
- Eight, ten or twelve characters. Shorter names are easier to recall and fit on a phone popup button; longer ones leave room for brand plus occasion.
- Lookalike check
- On by default. It rejects a name that places a digit next to its twin letter anywhere in the code: 0 and O, 1 and I or L, 5 and S, 8 and B. Those are the pairs people misread when a code is printed small.
- Starts with a letter
- A name that opens with a figure reads like a price or an order number. Every idea here opens with a letter.
Nudgesmart is available on the Shopify App Store. Browse the template library or see what it costs.
Five stores, five naming briefs
Invented shops and brand words, not real businesses. Each row is produced by the same function as the tool above, so these are exactly the names it would suggest.
| Brief | Brand word | Longest | First suggestions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Candle brand, 20 percent for Black Friday | Wick | 12 | BF20 · WICK20 · SAVE20 · WICKBF · BFSAVE20 · BLACKFRI20 |
| Apparel store, 15 off for Cyber Monday | Juno | 10 | CYBER15 · JUNO15 · JUNOCYBER · CM15 · TAKE15 · JUNOCM |
| Tea shop, free shipping for the holidays | Kettle | 12 | XMASFREESHIP · XMASSHIPFREE · KETTLEXMAS · FREESHIP · XMAS · KETTLE |
| Skincare, free gift for new subscribers | — | 12 | WELCOMEGIFT · GIFT · WELCOME · HELLOBONUS · FREEGIFT · HELLO |
| Pet store, 10 percent flash sale | Paws | 8 | PAWS10 · SAVE10 · TAKE10 · RUSH10 · EXTRA10 · PAWSRUSH |
Before a name goes live
A readable name is also a guessable one
Short public names like SAVE20 end up on coupon sites. That is fine for a store-wide sale you are happy to share. For a large or first-order-only discount, give each shopper a unique code instead, or set a usage limit in Shopify.
Check the name is not already taken
Shopify will not create two discounts with the same code. Search your discount list before you settle on a name, especially one you may have used last season.
Shoppers type in any case
Codes are shown in capitals here because that is easiest to read. Shopify matches codes without regard to letter case, so a shopper who types wick20 still gets the discount.
The name must match the offer
A code called SHIPFREE that gives 10 percent off confuses everyone. Once the discount is set up, read the name back against what it actually does.
Say when it ends
If the offer has a real end date, set it on the discount and state it next to the code. An occasion in the name does not switch the code off when the occasion is over.
Coupon code naming questions
What makes a good coupon code name?
Short, in capitals, easy to say aloud, and tied to the offer or the occasion so the shopper can recall it. BF20 for 20 percent off on Black Friday works; a random string does not stick, which is exactly why random strings suit private one-time codes better.
How long should a discount code be?
Long enough to be distinct, short enough to remember. The tool caps names at eight, ten or twelve characters and never goes below four.
Why leave out letters like O and I?
They are not left out on their own. The check only drops a name that also contains the digit they are confused with, such as HOLIDAY10, where the 1 and 0 sit beside an I, an L and an O. HOLIDAY on its own is fine.
Should I use memorable codes or random ones?
Use memorable names for public offers you want shoppers to share and remember, and random unique codes for anything you want to control, such as a first-order discount. For bulk random codes, use the discount code generator linked below the ideas.
Does this create the codes in my store?
No. It suggests names. Create the discount in your Shopify admin under Discounts, paste the name you picked as the code, and set the value, dates and usage limits there.
Is my brand word saved?
No. The names are built in your browser, nothing is stored, and there is no share link, so your brand word never ends up in a URL.
Naming the code is the easy half. Getting it typed at checkout is the job.
Nudgesmart shows the code inside the popup and reports it as displayed, copied and redeemed, so you can see whether shoppers carry the name through to checkout.
