10 FAQ’s About Web Push Notifications

1. 10 FAQ’s About Web Push Notifications Web Push notifications is a resourceful tool in e-commerce, it is widely popular because of the positive results it generates but if you are new in this field you might need some guidance on the same. Here we have answered some frequently asked questions about web push notifications that will help you in your journey. Q1. What is a web push notification? Web Push Notifications are clickable messages that visitors of your website allow to receive updates and latest information without the assistance of an extra app. These active messages are rich robust content that can be sent to users’ devices by a website or app via a browser. They are personalised, they deliver real-time information and are direct crisp and attractive messages generally used to drive traffic for a website and increase conversion rate. It doesn’t matter if the user is active or not on your site the message still can be delivered to their device -phone, laptop, computer etc. But only those users who opt-in to receive the update will get these messages. Web push notifications are a dominant marketing tool, they have gained immense popularity among e-marketers due to their effective functioning and promising results. Q2. How do I send push notifications to my website? Step 1. Register a service provider To implement push notifications for your site you should register a service worker so that the browser without opening page wakes up the service provider that is running in the background to handle the notification by dispatching an event. https://engageasap.com/

2. Step 2. Set the initial state. Once you have registered as a service worker, the next step is to set-up an easy user interface for users. The first pop-up message that users receive to enable notifications is what you need to take care of here. Make sure when users enable notification they should remain updated until they unsubscribe. But before that you should check Step 3. Setup a cloud manager Chrome uses Firebase Cloud Manager (FCM) formerly known as GCM to manage the sending and delivery of push messages. To activate FCM you need to start a project on the Firebase Developer console. Step 4. Activate API key for push messaging After you have created your project on FCM, click on settings and on settings page click on cloud messaging. The cloud messaging page contains the API key for push messaging, which will be used later. Step 5. Add a web app manifest Push notifications for your website need to add a manifest file with a sender id, to get the successful push subscription. FCM needs a sender id to identify and match id while relating the API key and the user to send them notifications if they have allowed. Step 6. Subscribe to push notifications After a successful web app manifest you will have to return to your site and call subscribe() method on push manager on the JavaScript of your site. which you can access through service work registration. Step 7. Push service Event Listener When a push message is received, a push event is dispatched to your service worker, a push event listener displays a notification with a clear title, body text, icon and a notification tag. The role of notification tag is to identify unique notifications and replace new notification with the previous ones. Step 8. Send push notifications Now that you have subscribed to the push notifications service and enabled push message for your site you are now ready to send push notifications through FCM/GCM. Q3. How does Web push notification work? Web push notifications are browser-based notifications and thus require permission of the user. This is the first step in executing a push notification. you need to seek permission of the user to send him/her a push message. As soon as the user opens up your application or website a dialogue box that seeks the permission appears on the screen that is sent by your chosen push notification service provider. https://engageasap.com/

3. Once the user opts-in, the push API that gives websites the capacity to receive messages pushed to them from the server. Once subscription is done the details are received at the back-end. These details are then used to send push notifications to the user. A push message is then sent to the user via API call to cloud manager like GCM or APN. The cloud manager after validation delivers messages to the respective browsers. The proper URL is attached to the push notification therefore once the browser is online, a click or tap on the notification lands the user directly on the website. Q4. Can Web App send push notifications? Yes! Web apps have the ability to receive messages pushed to them from a server, even if the application is not active or launched in the browser. Web apps behave as native applications and their push notifications work similarly to engage users with suitable information when they are not using the application. Web apps are becoming practicable alternatives to native applications, they can be launched, can work offline and can access device hardware. Q5. How to Implement Push Notifications with PWA The trend of web push notifications started with native apps but is gradually moving towards progressive web applications (PWA). Push notifications allow PWA to reach beyond the browser limits. These notifications help web apps to engage and re-engage visitors to your website. As web apps behave like native apps the push API also gives web applications the skill to receive push notification messages pushed from the server. · After the web application launches on the user’s device a pop-up appears on the screen that seeks user’s permission to deliver notifications. · After the user subscribes to receive notifications · The push notification service provider handles user’s subscription. · Details that are submitted by the user manually or details that the server receives from the cloud are sent to the back-end; these details are used later to send notifications. · The push notification service provider automates the sending of notifications as soon as the subscription is made. Q6. How do I set up push notifications? Android/iOS: https://engageasap.com/

4. · Open settings on your android device. · Select ‘turn on notification’ · Tap ‘notifications’ · Select ‘show notification’ Setting up push notifications for an app: · Go to settings · Select ‘Apps’ or ‘Applications’ · Select open app you want to receive notifications for · Tap ‘show notifications’ Q7. How do I turn on notifications in Chrome? Computer/laptop 1. Open Google chrome 2. At the top right click more and open settings from the box 3. Go to privacy and settings and click ‘site settings’ 4. Click on notifications 5. Choose accordingly · Allow or block all sites to ask to send notifications. · Block a site: add site name you wish to block · Allow a site: add site name you wish to allow · Allow quieter notification prompts: after you allow sites to send notification, click on quieter messaging.-no sudden prompts and withdrawal of notifications after regularly ignoring notifications Android/tablet https://engageasap.com/

5. 1. Open chrome application 2. Tap on settings from the drop down box at the top right corner. 3. Tap site settings 4. Select notifications 5. Allow or block notifications by turning it off or on 6. Choose quieter messaging if you don’t want to receive sudden prompts. Q8. Are push notifications safe? Yes but may be no, meaning that yes push notifications are encrypted but not end to end, servers like Google still get to see the plaintext. Although push notifications are an easy way to stay updated with the latest information. But according to research done by McAfee in 2018 observed that these notifications have some risky features that affect both chrome and Firefox. According to their research there are some real cybersecurity threats of push notifications. Reason? Push notifications appear in pop-up form that first seeks permission, many times users are deceived into thinking that the message is from the host website. This feature is currently being taken advantage of by adware companies who wish to reach users’ screens to show unwanted ads, these ads often contain malicious content that installs virus and malware on your device that even hackers use to seal all your personal information with them. So before allowing every pop-up make sure to see what it says. Q9. Why does my website have push notifications? The reason you have push notifications active on your website might be because you have enabled push notifications service for your website. Any company with a website can send push notifications after installing an SDK code from a web push service provider. No external app is required. Users after clicking on the notification directly lands on the page (URL) is attached with the push notification. Q10. Can I send push notifications without an app? Yes, push notifications do not need any external app to send notifications to the user. Browser push notifications can be sent from a website to its subscribers on both desktop or mobile device. Even if the user is not active on site, he or she will receive the update. It is not device specific and so does not need any kind of application, they are sent through web servers via browsers. For sending a web push notification you need to use a push notifications service provider. https://engageasap.com/

6. You just have to install notification code on your website that enables your website to send notifications to subscribers. You can optimise your push notifications- title, time, etc. https://engageasap.com/