Contact Us

If you still have questions or prefer to get help directly from an agent, please submit a request.
We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Please fill out the contact form below and we will reply as soon as possible.

  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • Installation & Developers
  • Installing Appcues Web

How Appcues is Overlaid

Learn how to change z-index to ensure Appcues is the top-most element on the page.

Written by Sofia Domingues

Updated at June 11th, 2025

Contact Us

If you still have questions or prefer to get help directly from an agent, please submit a request.
We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Please fill out the contact form below and we will reply as soon as possible.

  • Installation & Developers
    Installing Appcues Web Installing Appcues Mobile API & Data Troubleshooting Extras
  • Installation & Developers
    Installing Appcues Web Installing Appcues Mobile API & Data Troubleshooting Extras
  • Web Experiences
    Building Web Experiences Targeting Studio Customization & Styling Use Cases Troubleshooting FAQ
  • Mobile Experiences
    Installation & Overview Building Mobile Experiences Mobile Analytics & Integrations Troubleshooting
  • Workflows
    Building & Configuration Use Cases Workflow Analytics and Integrations
  • Account Management
    Subscription Users & Data
  • Analytics
    Experience and Event Analytics Data
  • Best Practices
    Best Practices Use Cases Pro Tips Product-led Growth
  • Integrations
    Integration Documents Use Cases Extras
+ More
  • Home

  • Installation & Developers

    • Installation & Developers

      • Web Experiences

        • Mobile Experiences

          • Workflows

            • Account Management

              • Analytics

                • Best Practices

                  • Integrations

                    Appcues uses the CSS z-index property to overlay flows (hotspots, modals, etc.) on your web application. The CSS varies depending on the element it is attached to, but generally, we strive to be the top-most element on the page. In order to do that, we set a very high z-index value, like 999999999.

                    Change the Z-Index

                    Sometimes our high z-index value will conflict with the existing elements on your page and you may need to adjust the Appcues z-index down a bit so the page looks as it should.

                    Tooltips/hotspots

                    You can override the above high z-index value for each step inside of our Chrome Editor. To do so, select the gear icon in the editor to open up the sidebar. Under 'Individual Tooltip' select 'Placement' and scroll until the 'z-index  Override' field is displayed (black box in lower right of screen below). 

                    Type in a number that is one below the z-index of the conflicting element in your application and your changes will be automatically saved.

                    The maximum z-index for most browsers is 2147483647.

                    Note that currently, this z-index override must be done with the z-index field in the Appcues builder and cannot be changed with custom CSS in a theme. The hotspot and tooltip patterns are contained within iframes and CSS in themes cannot affect these containing frames.

                    Modals/Slideouts

                    The only way to modify the z-index for a modal or slideout is to add the below snippet to the code in your application.

                    Here's the snippet to add to your application. Feel free to modify the number to suit your needs.

                    appcues-container { z-index: 100; }

                    Was this article helpful?

                    Yes
                    No
                    Give feedback about this article

                    Related Articles

                    • Appcues Installation Overview
                    • User Properties Overview
                    • Installation Guide for Developers
                    • FAQ for Developers
                    • Calling Appcues.page() vs Appcues.identify()
                    DON'T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT

                    Start building with Appcues for free

                    Try before you buy
                    No credit card required
                    Support included
                    Start building for freeBook a demo
                    or take an interactive tour
                    Appcues logo

                    Product

                    In-app messaging
                    Email
                    Push notifications
                    Workflows
                    Data
                    How it works
                    Pricing
                    What's new

                    Use cases

                    Onboarding
                    Free-trial conversion
                    Feature adoption
                    Feedback
                    Support

                    Integrations

                    Why connect
                    All integrations
                    All workflows

                    Company

                    About
                    Careers
                    HIRING
                    Why Appcues
                    Teams
                    Customers

                    Support

                    Request a demo
                    Start free trial
                    Developer Docs
                    Help Center
                    Customer Success
                    Contact

                    Resources

                    Product Adoption Academy
                    Courses
                    Workshops
                    Templates
                    Examples
                    Made with Appcues
                    The Appcues Blog
                    PLG Collective
                    Product-led Experience Report
                    The Product Experience Playbook
                    The Product-Led Growth Flywheel
                    © 2025 Appcues. All rights reserved.
                    SecurityTerms of ServiceWebsite Terms of UsePrivacy PolicyCookie Preferences
                    Expand