Steady gives you a set of tools to engage visitors and convert them into paying members — directly on your own website. This guide walks you through how to set everything up.
Step 1: Connect Steady to your website
Before any Steady features can appear on your site, you need to connect the two. There are two ways to do this:
Option A: Add the Steady code
Copy the Steady code snippet from your backend and paste it into the <head> of your website. This works with any website or CMS.
How to add the Steady code to your website →
Option B: Use the WordPress plugin
If your site runs on WordPress, you can use the Steady WordPress plugin instead of adding the code manually. The plugin covers all Steady integrations — layers, paywall, checkout, and more — without touching your theme files.
How to use the WordPress plugin →
Step 2: Set up Smart Layers
Once your site is connected, you can activate Smart Layers — Steady's system for automatically showing the right layer to the right visitor at the right time.
Smart Layers analyses visitor behaviour and selects the most relevant layer for each visit. You don't need to configure rules manually — it works out of the box.
If you want more control over which layer appears on a specific page of your own website, you can override Smart Layers by placing a layer directly on that page. Manual placements always take priority over Smart Layers.
You can see how many views each layer has received in the last 7 days on your Layers overview page.
Step 3: Configure your layers
Layers are the pop-ups and overlays that appear on your site. Each layer type has its own settings page where you can customise the copy, design, and behaviour.
Newsletter Layer — invite visitors to sign up for your newsletter
Paywall — gate content for paying members
Adblock Detection — show a message to visitors using an adblocker
Announcement Layer — share a message or promotion with your visitors
Newsletter Embed
In addition to the Newsletter Layer, you can embed a static newsletter sign-up form permanently into any page on your website. Unlike the layer, which appears as an overlay, the Newsletter Embed sits inline in your content — useful for a footer, a dedicated subscribe page, or anywhere you always want the form visible.
To get the embed code, go to your Newsletter settings and copy the HTML snippet. Paste it anywhere on your website where you want the form to appear. No additional Steady code required — the embed works standalone.
Step 4: Add Steady Checkout (optional)
Steady Checkout lets visitors become paying members without leaving your website. To add it, set up Checkout in your Checkout settings, then add the Checkout snippet to any page where you want it to appear.
Note: Checkout and the Paywall cannot be placed on the same page.
More tools for members
Once visitors become members, these tools help you give them the right experience on your site:
Login with Steady — add a login button so members can identify themselves on your site
Steady Switch — show or hide content based on membership status
Audio RSS feed — offer exclusive podcast episodes to members
Other
Steady logos, buttons, and links — official graphics and assets to promote your membership on your site
Steady API — for custom integrations and advanced use cases