When I first started managing my own WordPress sites, I knew I needed a way to bring people back to my content without relying on email marketing.
After testing out several methods, I decided to add push notifications to my site.
These clickable alerts are the best way to turn one-time or occasional visitors into repeat readers and customers. In fact, when I first started experimenting with push notifications, I was surprised by how much they improved my return traffic compared to things like social media posts or email blasts.
In this guide, I’ll show you exactly how to add push notifications to your site so you can stop losing visitors and start reclaiming that lost traffic.
Why I Use Web Push Notifications
According to reports, over 70% of the people who visit your site will never come back after they leave.
As a WordPress website owner, I find that statistic incredibly worrying! However, I’ve found that push notifications can make a big difference to those abandonment rates.
For me, these alerts are one of my biggest sources of traffic, simply because the engagement level is so high. I’ve seen open rates up to 10 times higher compared to some of the emails I send out.
This is largely because there’s no hidden algorithm that limits who sees my content. When I send a push notification, I know it’s actually being delivered to my subscribers.
In addition, those subscribers gave me explicit permission to contact them. This means I’m sending notifications to people who actually want to hear from me.
I’ve tested many different notification services over the years, but PushEngage is easily the best multi-channel customer engagement platform I’ve found.
PushEngage uses real-time messaging to send instant alerts directly to the subscriber’s device. While many people think of ‘push’ as just browser alerts, PushEngage lets you reach your audience across Web Push, Mobile App Push (iOS and Android), and even WhatsApp Business messaging.
It also comes with built-in analytics so you can see exactly what’s working, and any areas you need to work on. With all that said, I’ll show you how to create push notifications using PushEngage throughout this guide.
Step 1: Installing and Activating PushEngage
To get started, head over to the PushEngage website.
To start, I recommend the free plan because it lets you send 30 campaigns per month to 300 subscribers. This gives you the chance to try PushEngage for yourself and see the results, before committing to a paid plan.
After selecting your plan, follow the onscreen instructions to create your PushEngage account. I usually just use my Google account to save time, but you can use an email and password if you prefer.
You’ll also need to enter your website address.
Step 2. Configuring Your Site Details
After signing up, you’ll be redirected to the PushEngage dashboard.
To start, I always select Site Settings » Site Details in the left-hand menu. I then enter some information about my site, including uploading my site logo.
For the best results, I like to use a very clear, high-contrast logo that’s easy to see, even on a small screen.
When it comes to connecting PushEngage to your website, the PushEngage WordPress plugin is the easiest method.
If this is your first time installing a plugin, don’t worry. I’ve created a complete guide on how to install and activate a WordPress plugin, which walks you through the process.
Upon activation, go to PushEngage » Settings in your WordPress dashboard. Here, click ‘Connect Your Site.’
Step 3: Connecting Your Account
On the next screen, click on ‘Connect Your Existing Account.’ After that, select the ‘Register a new site’ and click on the ‘Let’s Get Started’ button.
With that done, you have the option to enable PushEngage’s web push features or the chat widget. If you enable the chat widget, then visitors can connect with you in real-time, which is perfect for quickly answering customer questions or providing support.
However, adding live chat to your WordPress website does take some additional steps. With that in mind, I’ll be focusing on push notifications in this guide, to help keep things simple. You can always add live chat to your WordPress blog or website at a later date, once you’re comfortable with using web push notifications.
That said, deselect the ‘Chat Widgets’ box for now.
Next, click the ‘Continue with 1 service’ button.
Step 4: Customizing the Subscription Box
On the next screen, you can configure the push notification permission box. This is the popup that asks visitors to subscribe to your updates.
This dashboard has separate ‘Desktop’ and ‘Mobile’ tabs, so you can optimize the notification for different devices.
It’s important to review both of these tabs, to ensure the layout looks great on every screen.
You can type in a site name, upload your site logo, change the message, and make other important changes. I always aim to make my notifications eye-catching, brief, and punchy but you can experiment to see what works the best for your particular website and audience.
As you make these changes, you’ll see a live preview to the right of the screen. This makes it easy to try lots of different settings, to see what looks the best.
You can also change how long the visitor needs to be on your site, before the notification appears. The default is 5 seconds but you can make this longer or shorter, using the ‘Delay’ field.
I recommend a longer delay if you tend to publish long articles, as a quick popup might feel like a frustrating interruption.
You can also change where these notifications appear onscreen.
You’ll see different options depending on whether you’ve selected the Desktop or Mobile tab. For example, on mobile devices you can choose whether to show the notification at the Top or Bottom of the screen.
When you’re happy with how the notification is set up for both desktop and mobile users, click ‘Next.’
Step 5: Setting Up Your First Campaigns
On the next screen, you’ll see two types of campaigns that PushEngage creates by default: a Welcome New Subscribers campaign, and a Promote New Posts campaign.
As the name suggests, the Promote New Posts campaign will automatically notify subscribers every time you publish a new post. This is a good way to keep your audience engaged without having to create each alert manually.
However, you may not want to use this campaign. For example, you might prefer to create these notifications manually, so you have complete control over their timing and messaging.
With that said, you can disable the Promote New Posts campaign by clicking its slider so that it turns grey.
Next, there’s the Welcome New Subscribers campaign. PushEngage will send this notification to new subscribers as soon as they opt-in.
If you want, then you can disable this campaign by clicking to deactivate its slider. However, a welcome notification is a great way to confirm the sign-up worked, or even provide an immediate link to your best content. For those reasons, I recommend leaving this campaign enabled, and taking the time to customize it.
To do this, click on the ‘Edit’ button next to this campaign.
Step 6: Customizing the Welcome Message
This opens a window where you can create your ‘Welcome’ push notification.
Simply type in the title, the message, and the URL where visitors will go when they click this notification. You can also upload a notification image.
As you make these changes, the live preview updates automatically so you can see how the notification will look to your new subscriber.
When you’re happy with how the notification is set up, click ‘Save Changes.’
This takes you back to the main PushEngage screen. To move to the final configuration step, click the ‘Next’ button.
Step 7: Creating Optional Segments
At this point, you have the option to create some custom segments. These allow you to group subscribers based on their interests or characteristics. You can then tailor your push notifications to suit these separate groups, which often increases your click rates.
Although segmentation is a great feature, you can create segments at any point in the PushEngage dashboard. With that said, let’s skip this step for now by clicking the ‘Next Step’ button.
Congratulations, you’ve now successfully connected PushEngage to your WordPress website.
To move onto the next step, click the ‘Go to Dashboard’ button.
Step 8: Fine-Tuning the Subscription Popup
Now you’ve connected PushEngage to WordPress, you may want to change the layout of your subscription popup.
Simply open your WordPress dashboard and go to PushEngage » Design.
If it’s not already selected, click on the ‘Popup Modal’ tab. PushEngage will then show all the different designs you can use for your site.
To see how a particular layout will look, hover over it and then click the ‘Preview’ button when it appears.
You can then choose whether you want to preview this layout on desktop or mobile.
This lets you see exactly what kind of experience your visitors will have.
When you find a layout that you want to use, simply click its slider so that it turns blue.
I recommend picking a clean design that isn’t too intrusive.
Although you created the subscription popup as part of the setup process, you can update it at any point. For example, you might experiment with different messaging or button labels, to see how they affect your conversion rates.
Simply hover over your chosen layout and then click the ‘Edit Popup’ button when it appears.
This opens the PushEngage dashboard in a new tab, where you can make your changes.
Alternatively, you can access this screen by logging into the PushEngage dashboard, and then going to Design » Popup Modals.
Step 8: Creating Your First Push Notification
Now you’ve finalized your subscription popup, it’s time to create your first web push notification.
In your WordPress dashboard, go to PushEngage » Push Broadcasts and click the ‘Add New’ button.
This will open the ‘Create New Push Broadcast’ screen.
First, you need to enter a title. I always try to create something short and to-the-point. For example, I might use something like ‘Tired of Wrist Pain?’ if I’m running a promotion for ergonomic office gear or sharing a new blog post about workplace wellness.
Next, write the main text of your notification. In my ergonomic keyboard example, I might use something like ‘Discover how the right keyboard can boost your comfort and productivity.’
You also need to add the ‘Notification URL.’ This is the specific page you want users to visit when they click the alert.
As you type, PushEngage will display a live preview of your notification. I love this feature, as I can see exactly how my message will look to subscribers before I hit ‘Send.’
Step 9: Refining Your Text with AI
PushEngage also has a powerful, built-in AI assistant that can help to refine your message.
After writing your initial title and body text, PushEngage can generate variations using AI. I’ve found this really helpful when my text feels a bit ‘flat,’ or I’m just generally struggling for inspiration.
To generate variations using AI, just click the ‘Generate Text’ button next to either the ‘Notification Title’ or ‘Notification Message’ field.
In the popup that appears, open the dropdown menu and choose the tone you want to use, such as Professional, Supportive, or Conversational.
Then, click ‘Generate Text.’
PushEngage will then show several variations of the original text. To use any of these variations, just click to select their radio button.
It’s worth noting that you can click the ‘Generate Text’ button as many times as you want. For example, you can keep generating variations, selecting the best one, and then asking PushEngage to generate new versions based on those variations.
You can also change the tone at any point, using the dropdown menu. This means you can start with a professional tone and then switch to a conversational one, in order to see which version fits your brand better.
When you’re happy with the text, click ‘Insert’ to add it to your notification.
Step 10: Adding Visuals and Icons
When you’re happy with the notification text, I recommend adding some images to make the web push notification really stand out.
To start, you can add a ‘Notification Icon Image.’ This is a small image that usually represents the sender. Most of the time, I use the WP101 logo for my push notifications, so subscribers can instantly see that the update is from me.
If you do choose to use an icon image, it should be a square image and the file size must be 1MB or under.
To add this icon, scroll to the ‘Notification Icon Image’ section and click its ‘Change image’ button.
This opens the WordPress Media Library, where you can either choose an existing image or upload a new file.
After choosing a file, click ‘Use this image.’
Next, you may want to add a large icon to your notification. This is a much bigger graphic that appears below the notification text. In my experience, these images significantly increase click-through rates because they make the alert much more eye-catching.
To add this, scroll to the ‘Show Large Image’ section and click its toggle so that it turns blue.
When it appears, click the ‘Change image’ button.
This opens the WordPress Media Library, where you can choose the image you want to use. I’ve found that a resolution of 360 x 180 pixels tends to work the best.
Step 11. Using Multi-Action Buttons (Optional)
Next, you may want to add multiple actions to your notification. These let users choose between different options when they click the notification, such as ‘Read More’ or ‘Shop Now.’ You can then link to two separate pages.
To add these buttons to your notification, click the slider next to ‘Multi Action Notifications’ so that it turns blue.
PushEngage will now show all the settings for the first button.
You can set a title, add an image, and specify a URL.
When you’re happy with how the button is set up, check the box next to ‘Show Second Button.’
You can now configure the settings for the second button, including adding a unique destination URL.
Step 12: Managing Expiry and Tracking
Next, you can set the ‘Notification Duration.’ This is how long the notification will remain active for users who are currently offline.
To activate this feature, click its toggle so that it turns blue.
After that, you may want to check the following box: ‘Keep notification open until interaction.’
This keeps the alert on the user’s screen until they explicitly click to dismiss it.
Alternatively, you can set the notification to expire after a set amount of time has passed, such as 24 hours.
As a general rule, if you send frequent updates then you should use a shorter duration. That way, a subscriber who’s been offline for weeks won’t be flooded with notifications the moment they turn on their computer.
Step 13: Tracking Your Results with UTM Parameters
PushEnagage has full support for custom UTM parameters.
These are short text codes that you add to a URL, in order to track the performance of your campaigns in Google Analytics 4. This allows you to accurately measure which notifications are driving the most traffic and sales.
This step is entirely optional, but you can enter custom parameters into the ‘UTM Parameters’ section, if you want.
Step 14: Choosing Your Recipients
When you’re happy with how your notification is set up, click the ‘Save & Select Audience’ button.
This takes you to the final screen where you decide exactly who receives your message and when it arrives.
First up, you’ll see the option to ‘Send to All Subscribers.’ This is the simplest choice, and it’s what I typically use when I have a major announcement that applies to all my subscribers.
However, PushEngage also lets you send to ‘Specific Audience Groups.’
As your list grows, you may want to use segments. For example, I sometimes create segments based on the specific categories people were viewing when they subscribed.
For example, if someone signed up while reading about WordPress Security, then I can send them specialized security alerts rather than general news. This helps to keep my engagement levels high because my notifications are relevant to their interests.
After creating some segments, you can select ‘Specific Audience Groups’ and then choose a segment from the dropdown that appears.
There’s also a ‘Send to Custom Audience’ option. This lets you target subscribers based on specific characteristics, such as their geolocation, device, browser, and subscription date.
This is a great option when you’re running things like local promotions, or announcing technical updates. For example, you might notify all your iPhone users about a new mobile app you’ve just released, or send a holiday-themed discount to subscribers in a specific country.
Custom audiences are also very useful for retargeting. As an example, you might send an exclusive promotion to people who haven’t clicked a notification in the last 30 days.
After selecting this option, you can use the dropdown menu to build your custom audience.
It’s well worth exploring these options, but to keep things simple we’ll be sending the same notification to all subscribers.
That said, select ‘Send to All Subscribers’ and then click the ‘Send/Schedule’ button.
Step 15: Scheduling and Delivery Options
After choosing your audience, you can decide when to send that notification out.
PushEngage gives you a few different options:
- Begin sending immediately: This is the default. As soon as you click the ‘Send Notification Now’ button, PushEngage will send the notification to everyone within your chosen group. I often use this when I want to see real-time engagement on a fresh piece of content.
- Begin sending at a particular day and time: If you have a paid PushEngage plan, you can pick a specific date and time. This gives you the flexibility to write your notifications on Monday and then schedule them to go out on a Wednesday morning when your audience is most active. If you choose this option, then you can also check the box next to ‘Send broadcasts in your subscribers’ timezone. This ensures your notification arrives at the desired time, no matter where the reader is located.
- Set up recurring notification: This lets you schedule the notification to recur at a particular day or time. You can also specify a start and end date for this repeating notification. This is perfect for promoting consistent content or events, such as a weekly Tip of the Day or a recurring sale that happens every month,
When you’re happy with how the notification is set up, either click ‘Schedule Notification’ or ‘Send Notification Now.’
Congratulations, you’ve just created your first push notification using PushEngage!
Tracking Your Subscriber Growth
After setting up your push notifications, you’ll naturally want to see how many people have subscribed. I remember when I first added web push notifications to WordPress – checking my subscriber count was the first thing I did every morning!
To see this information, log into your PushEngage dashboard. Then, select Audience » Subscribers from the left-hand menu.
This gives you a high-level view of your growth, including how your total subscribers and unsubscribe rates change over time.
This overview can be a great starting point for deeper research into your audience’s behavior. For example, if I see a spike in the number of people unsubscribing, then I’ll review all the notifications I sent on that particular day.
Also on this screen, you can scroll to the ‘Demographic Overview’ section. This shows information such as where your subscribers are geographically located, plus the devices and browsers they’re using.
You can use this insight to make smarter decisions about your content and timing. For example, if I saw that many of my readers were from the UK, then I might schedule my notifications to go out during their morning commute.
Similarly, if 80% of my subscribers were on mobile devices, then I’d make my titles shorter and ensure all my images were optimized for smaller screens.
As you continue using PushEngage, you might create some segments and audience groups. If you do, then you can view the analytics for these specific sections by going to either Audience » Segments or Audience » Audience Groups.
In this way, you can track the performance of particular niches within your list. For example, you might notice that certain segments get a much higher click-through rate compared to your general list.
When a segment is outperforming everything else, it’s a clear sign to create more campaigns specifically targeting that section.
Frequently Asked Questions About Push Notifications
When I first started exploring push notifications, I had a lot of questions about how they would affect my site and my relationship with my readers.
Based on those experiences, I’ve put together this list of FAQs, so you can get answers to all those common questions and concerns, fast.
Do push notifications work on all browsers and devices?
Yes, they work on almost all modern browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. In my experience, PushEngage handles the technical side perfectly, ensuring your alerts reach users on both desktop and mobile.
Will push notifications slow down my WordPress site?
No. I’ve monitored my site speed closely after installing PushEngage, and haven’t seen any noticeable slowdown.
Because the actual ‘pushing’ of the message happens on the PushEngage servers rather than your own web host, it doesn’t put a heavy load on your WordPress site.
How often should I send notifications to my subscribers?
This is a common concern for site owners who don’t want to seem ‘spammy.’
With that in mind, I recommend starting with one or two notifications per week. Then, you can study your analytics and find a balance that works for your particular audience.
Alternatively, it often makes sense to send a web push notification every time you publish a new, high-quality piece of content.
Can I send push notifications to people who are offline?
Yes, and this is one of my favorite features!
If a subscriber doesn’t have their browser open or their phone to hand, their notification gets queued. The moment they come back online and open their browser or unlock their device, your message will appear. This ensures the direct line to your audience stays open, 24/7.
Is it easy for people to unsubscribe?
Yes! Users can manage their notification settings directly through their browser. I like this because it means my subscriber list stays clean and only contains people who truly want to see my updates.
It’s much less frustrating for a user than trying to find an ‘unsubscribe’ link at the bottom of a long email.
Do I need a paid plan to use PushEngage?
As I mentioned earlier, you can start with the free plan, which supports up to 300 subscribers.
I think this is a fantastic way to experiment with push notifications without any big financial commitment. Then, you can decide whether to upgrade as your blog gets more subscribers, or you need more advanced features.
That’s all there is to it! You’ve now successfully added push notifications to your WordPress site and given yourself a massive advantage when it comes to bringing visitors back to your site.
However, a direct line to your audience is just one part of building a successful online presence. If you want to continue growing, our comprehensive video library covers everything from essential traffic strategies, right through to advanced site optimization.
We created these lessons to provide a clear, step-by-step roadmap so you can build a perfectly engaged and high-converting site with total confidence.
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