This past year, push notifications had a 50% higher open rate than email marketing. With those odds, I’d say it’s a tool worth using for your business’ exposure.
In the competition for attention, modern-day marketers need to build a cross-channel strategy to reach customers and break through the noise of their competitors. Using the right push notification software can get your customers’ attention and keep them coming back.
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Today, we will be talking about what a website push notification is, and discussing the best push notification services you can use to connect and engage with your target audience. Let’s get started.
Website Push Notification
Website push notifications are messages sent to users who opt-in to receive updates about a business via desktop and mobile web browsers. These notifications are delivered to a user’s desktop or mobile screen at specific times when their browser is open — whether or not the website or app is open.
In the internet communication system, communication is requested from the webserver or publisher. When new data arrives from the website, the provider prepares and sends a notification through secured channels to the APNs, which then push the notification to be displayed on the consumer's end.
How to Add Push Notifications to a Website
To add push notifications to a website, you need to find a software or extension compatible with a cloud service that allows third-party notifications to be sent to a remote server over a secure connection.
Below is a list of the best push notifications tools you’ll need to do just that.
Top Push Notification Services
1. Firebase Cloud Messaging
Price: Free
Target Platforms: Android, iOS, macOS
Type: Extension
Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) is a Google-owned, cross-platform messaging solution that lets you reliably send messages at no cost.
When using FCM, you can send notification messages to drive user re-engagement and retention either to singular devices, groups, or topics on the internet. For use cases such as instant messaging, a message can transfer a payload of up to 4000 bytes, or approximately 3600 characters, to a client app.
Firebase is an incredible option to choose for speedy delivery, as 95%of messages delivered through the cloud are sent within 250 milliseconds.
2. One Signal
Price: Basic Plan for free, Growth Plan for $9/month, Professional Plan for $99/month
Target Platforms: Adobe AIR apps, iOS, Android
Type: Software
With thousands of active installations, One Signal has won the hearts of webmasters across the globe with its brilliant features. With this plugin, sending notifications to your followers becomes easier than ever.
This plugin will send notifications about newly published posts to your followers. You can even target specific people depending on the number of times they have visited your blog or other personalized attributes.
3. Push Engage
Price: Basic Plan for free, Business Plan for $9/month, Premium Plan for $25/month
Target Platforms: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Opera, Samsung, UC Browse
Type: Plugin, Extension
This website plugin offers the fastest way to send out notifications to your subscribers and followers. Push Engage is a user-friendly plugin that allows you to go live simply by adding JavaScript code to your site.
This plugin works well with sites with HTTPS and HTTP support. If you are using HTTPS, you just have to add two files to the root of your domain.
4. Aimtell
Price: Basic Plan for $50/month, Plus Plan for $99/month, Pro Plan for $199/month
Target Platforms: Chrome, Firefox, Safari
Type: Software
Aimtell is a popular push notification service with various features. You can choose and customize the features and only pay for what you need.
Like all push notification services, you can send instant notifications to all your subscribers. Features include tailoring custom notifications based on your subscribers’ locations, page views, items purchased, history, etc.
You can also create highly targeted segments of subscribers based on the data gathered. With Aimtell's triggers, you can send notifications based on custom automation rules.
5. WebEngage
Price: Contact for pricing
Target Platforms: Android, Windows, macOS, Linux
Type: Software
WebEngage is a multi-channel marketing automation platform, supporting nine communication channels, such as browser push notifications, email automation, WhatsApp, mobile push, etc.
The platform offers a data-driven way to engage off-site users across both web and mobile. Compatible with every browser and OS out there, the service has been ranked among the top providers of push notification services by G2.
Apart from creating multiple types of campaigns (triggered, recurring, transactional, etc), users can also leverage dynamic templating, get in-depth user-level insights, and also test notifications before launching.
6. VWO Engage
Price: Contact for pricing
Target Platforms: Chrome, Firefox
Type: Software
With VWO Engage, you can send notifications based on when your audience is active to ensure a maximum click-through rate.
You can also send out personalized notifications with vivid pictures. This service offers contact management, which helps in segmenting audiences according to different criteria. Then, you can send out personalized notifications.
This real-time interaction with your subscribers will benefit you with more clicks per page and higher engagement.
7. Wigzo
Price: Contact for pricing
Target Platforms: iOS, Android
Type: Software
Wigzo is one of the best marketing automation suites. It specializes in email services and browser notifications. Some of its features include campaign segmentation, contact management, direct mail management, and more.
One of the most valuable features is the triggered browser notification. With Wigzo, developers and website owners can choose to trigger subscription prompts. Wigzo also offers personalized notifications, which lead to higher conversion rates and customer retention.
8. Izooto
Price: Rise Plan for $85/month, Grow Plan for $250/month
Target Platforms: iOS, Android
Type: Software
Izooto offers excellent browser and device support. It also offers multilanguage support depending on the geographical location of your audience.
You can also make use of the inbuilt call to action that offers the user the option to either sign in or sign up for your site. Izooto can retarget users so that your usual traffic is prompted to visit again.
9. SendPulse
Price: Basic Plan for free, Standard Plan for $6.40/month, Pro Plan for $7.68/month, Enterprise Plan for $10.75/month
Target Platforms: Android, iOS
Type: Software
SendPulse claims to turn the average online window shopper into a potential buyer with its superior push notification service. It is compatible with all browsers and devices and guarantees a significant boost to subscription numbers. The push request notifications are sent as soon as the user connects to the internet.
Alternatively, notifications can also be customized according to the user’s location and usage pattern. For instance, if a user was looking for a T-shirt, a custom notification will notify the user of your T-shirt prices. This alert could turn the user into a potential buyer.
10. PushAssist
Price: Basic Plan for free, Starter Plan for $9/month, Business Plan for $25/month, Enterprise Plan for $299/month
Target Platforms: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge
Type: Software, Extension
The easier it is to do something, the more you will do it. This holds for PushAssist, which is known for its user-friendly browser notification service. It supports all browsers and devices and has seamless integration with WordPress, Drupal, and other systems.
The service is so easy to use that you can start sending out notifications just minutes after signing up. PushAssist offers real-time tracking results for your campaign. All data based on clicks and traffic is live for analysis.
Regional variations and users' histories form an important basis for smart segmentation, which makes it easy to target potential buyers.
11. PushWoosh
Price: Contact for pricing
Target Platforms: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
Type: Software, Extension
PushWoosh sends out personalized notifications that are rich in multimedia.
With multi-language support, users get notifications in their language. The autonomous push notifications according to segments are another useful feature.
You can also set up the frequency for sending out notifications. Real-time statistics also help in modifying your campaign according to data, thus helping to keep yourself ahead of the curve.
12. FoxPush
Price: Basic Plan for free, Contact for custom plans
Target Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android
Type: Software
FoxPush is one of the most popular push notification services in the world. It guarantees an average CTR of 30% — which is huge for any website.
FoxPush supports all of the major web browsers and devices. The paid version has emoji support and geo-country targeting, which is very helpful for location-focused marketing.
Keep Your Audience Engaged with a Push
Push notifications help you engage with your audience, and with the way online marketing has evolved, it’s necessary to constantly stay in touch with your target audience. We hope the services mentioned in this list will help you stay at the forefront of your customer's mind, and give them the push they need to convert.
Editor's note: This article was originally posted in January 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
