OneSignal

What has to happen before a browser can receive an alert?

Your site needs a secure HTTPS address and a supported browser. Add the OneSignal service worker, a small file that lets the browser handle notifications in the background. OneSignal’s setup uses a single site origin. Set it for the address people will actually visit, and ask for permission when they understand what the alert is for.

On iOS or iPadOS 16.4 or later, add the website to the Home Screen and open its icon as a web app. If the icon opens a browser tab, that tab cannot ask for notification permission. On version 26 or later, leave Open as Web App on when adding the icon. Inside the web app, tap Subscribe or your site’s equivalent button, then choose Allow in the system prompt. A native mobile app has its own push setup.

How do you send a pickup alert to the right person?

Save the order’s new status in your app first. Use your app’s account and order rules to decide whose subscriptions to notify. Keep lock-screen text brief, such as “Your order is ready,” and make the app check access before showing the order details.

Decide how you will recognize a second copy of the same saved change before starting another alert. A customer may have more than one eligible browser or device, so decide whether receiving it on each device is useful.

What does Delivered mean in the push report?

Delivered means the push service accepted the message. OneSignal’s separate confirmed receipt comes from a supported device on a paid plan. Safari web push does not report confirmed receipt. Check the actual test browser to see whether the notification appeared.

A receipt can establish that the device received the message. Reading it and opening the right order are separate results.

Can you check the plan before you connect an audience?

Trace a fictional pickup order on paper with two browsers for the same customer. Keep the site, dashboard and sending accounts untouched.

1. 1
   Mark one browser as subscribed

   The customer allows notifications in the first browser. Mark it as the only intended subscription in this example.
2. 2
   Keep one browser out

   The customer denies permission in the second browser. Expect no push there. Their order status should still be available when they open the site.
3. 3
   Separate the send from the result

   Draw the saved status change, the selected subscription and the report’s acceptance result. Mark the alert appearing and opening the correct order as checks that need a real test. Trace the same saved change again and mark where your app suppresses a duplicate.

What affects the bill, and what carries over if you move?

Free lists up to 10,000 web push subscribers per send. Its mobile push and in-app messaging limit is 1,000 monthly active users per organization. Growth starts at US$19 a month and lists US$0.004 per web push subscriber and US$0.012 per monthly active mobile user.

A web subscriber is an opted-in browser or device subscription. The mobile unit is a subscription record active in the last 30 days, even when it has not opted in to push.

OneSignal documents a CSV export for subscriptions. Before moving, check which fields you can retrieve and which subscriptions can move with your site address and push setup. Keep your app’s account and notification preference records so you know who should be offered a new permission prompt if a subscription cannot move.