Push notifications let you reach customers with short, attention-grabbing messages and visuals – even when they're not browsing your store. Use push notifications alongside email and SMS to create multi-channel campaigns and automations that drive engagement and sales.

This article explains how to set up push notifications, collect subscribers, and send your first campaign or automation message.

Before You Begin

Feature Overview

Platform Availability:

Available for Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce stores.
Not available for Wix stores.

Plans:

Available on Free, Standard, and Pro plans.
Free plan: 500 push notification credits per month.
Standard and Pro plans: Unlimited push notification sends.

Requirements:

Your website must have an SSL certificate (HTTPS).
Push notifications work on Chrome, Firefox, and Opera browsers.

Browser & Device Compatibility:

Browser	Windows	Linux	macOS	Android	iPhone (iOS)
Chrome	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
Firefox	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
Safari	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌
Edge	✅	❌	❌	✅	❌
Opera	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
IE	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌

⚠️ iPhone users: Push notifications do not work on any browser on iPhone (iOS), including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Opera. This is a platform limitation, not a browser limitation. Only Android mobile devices support web push notifications

Important Notes

Subscription & Contact Management:

Each opt-in is counted per browser. If a customer subscribes using Chrome, then Firefox, they will have two separate push contacts.
Push subscribers are standalone contacts. When a customer places an order from a push notification, the order is attributed to Omnisend.
During checkout, the email/SMS provided by the customer merges with their push contact – avoiding duplicate contacts.
Reinstalling a browser to default settings deletes all subscription data. If a customer reinstalls their browser, their opt-in is lost.

Order Attribution:

Push attribution is available for Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce stores only.
WooCommerce stores: Use the latest version of the Omnisend plugin (1.12.0) for accurate attribution.
API integrations: Push attribution is not available.

Automation Behavior:

Push subscriptions do not trigger signup events. This means welcome automations set to trigger on "Subscribed to Marketing" will not send messages to push-only subscribers. (See "Push Subscribers & Welcome Automation" below.)

Browser Prompt:

The browser permission prompt appears after a 2–3 second delay to new visitors.
If a visitor previously clicked Block, their browser will not show the prompt again.

SSL Requirement:

Your Store Settings URL must start with https://. If you encounter setup errors, verify your SSL certificate is active.

💬 Learn more about push notification contact management and pricing: Push Notifications Channel Logic

Push Notification Setup

BigCommerce users: Follow the BigCommerce Push Notification Setup guide.

Otherwise, proceed with the steps below.

Step 1. Go to Store Settings → Push Notifications → Click Collect push channel subscribers.

Step 2. Follow the guidelines shown for enabling push notifications on your website.

Note: The browser permission prompt appears automatically to new visitors after a 2–3 second delay. If you previously clicked Block on your site, your browser will not show the prompt again. To test, use an incognito or private browser window.

Step 3. If connected successfully, you will see a Success message.

If you encounter errors, verify your store has an HTTPS certificate. Add the certificate and try reconnecting.

Step 4. Verify push notifications are collecting subscribers:

Open your website in an incognito or private browser window.
Browse for 10–15 seconds. The browser permission prompt should appear.
Click Allow.
Go to Audience → Segments → Create Segment.
Set filter: Subscription Status is Subscribed to Browser Push Notifications.
If your test subscription appears, setup is working correctly.

💬 Tip: Save this segment to track push subscriber growth over time.

Managing Push Notifications Subscribers

Push notifications have two subscription statuses:

Subscribed: Contact clicked Allow on the browser permission prompt.
Unsubscribed: Contact clicked Block on the prompt or unsubscribed later.

Contacts can subscribe by:

Clicking Allow on the browser permission prompt.
Manually enabling notifications in their browser settings.

If a visitor clicks Block, their status is set to Unsubscribed and the prompt will not appear again on that browser.

View Your Push Subscribers

To view your push notification subscribers:

Go to Audience → Segments → Create Segment.
Set filter: Subscription Status is Subscribed to Browser Push Notifications.
Save this segment to track subscriber growth over time.

Push Notifications Campaigns

Step 1. Go to Campaigns → New Campaign → Push Notification → Create notification.

Step 2. Edit the Content of your notification:

Title: Short, action-driven headline.
Text: Message body (keep under 160 characters for best results).
Logo: Your brand logo.
Image: Optional visual (shown on Windows and Android only).

💡 You can send a test notification once your content is finalized.

To receive it: Your browser must be open, you must have clicked Allow on the permission prompt, and you must be using a supported browser (Chrome, Firefox, or Opera) on Windows, macOS, or Android. Test notifications do not work on iPhone.

On the right side, you'll see how your notification looks on Windows, macOS, and Android devices.

Step 3. Select Recipients:

Choose All Subscribers or a specific segment.

Note: Push notifications expire 24 hours after being sent if the recipient doesn't open their browser. The browser must be open for the notification to be delivered. There is no option to extend this time-to-live (TTL).

Step 4. Review and Send. At the Send step, review your selections and click Send Now.

Push Notifications in Automations

Push notifications are not a separate workflow. Instead, add a Push Notification block to any automation workflow (e.g., Abandoned Cart, Order Confirmation, Customer Reactivation).

Step 1. Open an automation workflow.

Step 2. Add a Push Notification block.

Step 3. Edit the Content (title, text, logo, image).

Step 4. Click Send a test to preview how your notification looks.

Push Subscribers & Welcome Automation

Push subscriptions do not trigger signup events. This means welcome automations set to trigger on "Subscribed to Marketing" will not send messages to push-only subscribers.

To include push subscribers in automations:

Add a Push Notification block to your existing workflows, or
Use a segment-based trigger (e.g., "Contact enters segment" where Subscription Status = Subscribed to Browser Push Notifications).

Images in Push Notifications

You can add icons or images to push notifications. These features are available for campaigns and automations on Windows and Android only.

To add an image:

Click Select Icon Image → Select from Computer or Use Image from URL → Open.
Your image will appear in the notification preview.
Repeat for the icon if needed.

⚠️ Important: Images are not shown on macOS.

Push Campaign Reports

Push campaign reports include four tabs:

Overview:

Total push notifications sent, view rate, click rate, and revenue generated.
Real-time hourly performance report (first 24 hours).
Device reports (performance by Windows, macOS, Android).

Ordered Products:

See which products customers purchased after engaging with your push campaign.
View product titles, IDs, SKUs, and quantities sold.
Track total unique products ordered and total units ordered.
Export product-level data for deeper analysis.

Note: Ordered Products reporting is available for campaigns sent on or after November 1, 2025.

Link Activity:

Track all clicks on links in your push notification.
Messages Clicked: Number of messages with at least one link clicked.
Total Clicks: How many times all links were clicked.
Unique Clicks: Number of recipients who clicked each specific link.

Contact Activity:

Detailed actions performed by each contact.
Identifies which contacts engaged with your campaign.
Use this data to segment your audience and create personalized follow-up campaigns.

Troubleshooting

Why Isn't the Browser Prompt Appearing?

If you enabled push notifications but don't see the browser prompt:

Wait 2–3 seconds after loading your site – the prompt has a built-in delay.
Check if you previously clicked "Block" – look for a notification icon (🔔 or 🔒) in your browser's address bar and change the setting to "Allow."
Test in a different browser or device – not just incognito on the same browser where you blocked it.
Verify your website URL in Store Settings starts with https://. Push notifications require an SSL certificate.
Ensure push notifications are toggled on in Store Settings → Push Notifications → Collect push channel subscribers.
Check browser compatibility – Push notifications only work on Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Edge (not Safari). On mobile, only Android devices are supported.

Uploading service-worker.js to WordPress/WooCommerce Stores

If your store uses WordPress or WooCommerce, you must upload a service-worker.js file to your website's root directory.

⚠️ Important: The file must be named exactly service-worker.js (not omnisend_service_worker.js, service.js, or Service-Worker.js). If the filename is incorrect, Omnisend cannot verify the file and push notifications will not work.

Upload Methods:

The approach depends on how you manage your WordPress setup. Choose one method below:

Note: Some hosting providers restrict access to the root directory. If you cannot upload the file yourself, contact your website administrator or hosting support.

service-worker.js File Not Found Error

If you see the error "We couldn't find the service-worker.js file on your website," check the following:

Filename: The file must be named exactly service-worker.js (lowercase, with a hyphen).
Location: The file must be in your website's root directory (e.g., https://yourstore.com/service-worker.js, not in a subfolder like /wp-content/).
HTTPS: Your Store Settings URL must start with https://.
Server Blocking: Your hosting provider or firewall may be blocking the Omnisend bot from verifying the file.

Option 1: Contact Your Website Administrator

If you're not managing the website yourself, reach out to your website administrator. They can check for security settings or access restrictions preventing the Omnisend bot from reaching the service-worker.js file.

Option 2: Whitelist Omnisend Bot

If you have access to server settings, add user-agent: "Omnisend/1.0" to your whitelist. This allows the Omnisend bot to access the service-worker.js file.

FAQ

Do push notifications work on iPhone?

No. iPhone (iOS) does not support web push notifications on any browser, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Opera. This is a platform-level restriction by Apple, not an Omnisend or browser limitation.

Push notifications work on Android mobile devices using Chrome, Firefox, Opera, or Edge, as well as on Windows, macOS, and Linux desktops using the same browsers.

How do I see who has subscribed to push notifications?

Go to Audience → Segments → Create Segment → set Subscription Status to Subscribed to Browser Push Notifications. Save this segment to track your push subscribers over time. You can use this segment when creating push campaigns or monitoring subscriber growth.

How do I verify that push notifications are working?

After enabling push notifications in Store Settings:

Open your website in an incognito or private browser window.
Browse for 10–15 seconds. The browser permission prompt should appear.
Click Allow.
Go to Audience → Segments → Create Segment → Set filter: Subscription Status is Subscribed to Browser Push Notifications.
If your test subscription appears in the segment, setup is working correctly.

Can I send a test push notification to myself?

Yes. When creating a push notification campaign or automation step, use the Send a test button after editing your content. Make sure:

Your browser is open (push notifications only appear when the browser is running).
You previously clicked Allow when prompted for push notification permissions on your website.
You're testing on a supported device: Windows, macOS, or Android – not iPhone.

If the test doesn't arrive, verify you're subscribed by creating a segment where Subscription Status is Subscribed to Browser Push Notifications and confirming your contact appears.

Why didn't my push notification get delivered?

The recipient's browser must be open for the push notification to appear. If they don't open their browser within 24 hours after the push is sent, the notification expires and will not be shown. This 24-hour time-to-live (TTL) cannot be extended.

Also verify:

The contact is subscribed to push notifications (check their subscription status in Audience).
Your website URL starts with https://.
The contact is using a supported browser (Chrome, Firefox, Opera, or Edge).

Can I create a welcome automation for push subscribers?

No. Push subscriptions do not trigger signup events or welcome automation workflows. When a visitor subscribes to push notifications, no automation will activate based on that action alone.

However, you can:

Add Push Notification blocks to existing workflows (like Abandoned Cart, Order Confirmation, or Customer Reactivation) to reach contacts who are subscribed to push.
Use a segment-based trigger (e.g., "Contact enters segment" where Subscription Status = Subscribed to Browser Push Notifications).

What happens if the recipient doesn't open their browser after I send a push notification?

The browser must be open for the push notification to be delivered. After you send a push, the recipient's browser is monitored. The moment it's opened, the push notification is delivered. If the customer doesn't open their browser within 24 hours, the push notification expires and will not be shown. This applies to both campaigns and automations.

Will I pay more if I already have customers subscribed to push?

If a contact is subscribed to multiple channels (including push), they are still counted as a single subscriber, and you will only be billed for one contact.

💬 Learn more about push notification pricing and contact management: Push Notifications Channel Logic

Which platforms support push attribution for order information?

Push attribution is available for Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce stores. Order attribution will work for WooCommerce stores using the latest version of Omnisend's plugin (1.12.0). If you use older plugin versions, you may experience issues with attributed order reporting.

If a push subscription is collected, then the customer provides email or SMS during checkout, will all information merge into one profile?

Yes. During checkout, the email/SMS provided by the customer will be merged with their push contact. This ensures all information is consolidated into a single contact profile, avoiding duplicate contacts.

How will it be counted if someone subscribes to push notifications using one browser and later subscribes to email or SMS using a different browser?

Each subscription will be considered a separate contact in our system. Each opt-in is counted per browser. If a customer subscribes using Chrome, then Firefox, they will have two separate push contacts.

How can I avoid standalone push subscribers counting toward my billable contacts?

You must stop collecting push contacts (turn off push notifications in Store Settings → Push Notifications) and unsubscribe existing push subscribers.

Is there a risk of duplicate contacts?

Currently, if a customer subscribes to the push channel and later subscribes to email/SMS communications via a signup form, the existing cookie ID may be overridden, which can result in duplicate contacts and the email/SMS information not merging with the push contact.

To minimize duplicates:

Encourage customers to provide email/SMS during their first purchase (checkout process merges contacts automatically).
Regularly review your contact list for duplicates and merge them manually if needed.

Can I customize the browser permission prompt message?

No. The browser permission prompt is controlled by the browser itself (Chrome, Firefox, etc.), not by Omnisend. You cannot customize the text, design, or timing beyond the default 2–3 second delay. This is a browser security feature to prevent abuse of push notifications.

Why does my push notification link not work when I click it?

Verify the following:

The On Click Action in your push notification content is set to Open URL.
The URL starts with https:// (not http:// or missing protocol).
The URL is correctly formatted (no spaces, special characters, or typos).
Test the link in a regular browser tab to confirm it works before sending the push.

What browsers support push notifications on desktop?