5 WordPress Plugins for Creating Push Notifications

Using push notifications for your WordPress posts is a great new way to drive more traffic to your website, increase conversions, and boost overall sales.

With thousands of websites competing for your audience’s attention, it is difficult to keep readers coming back to your site for more. By automatically notifying them with push notifications when any new content is published on your website, you can ensure that your content is on people’s minds at all times. Plus, this can be done in addition to any email marketing strategies you already have in place.

Let’s take a look at what a push notification is and why they are beneficial to website owners, and then we’ll go over how to easily create push notifications for your WordPress posts.

What is a Push Notification?

If you have a smartphone, you are probably already aware of what push notifications are. When someone follows you on Twitter, a new comment is left on your Facebook, or when a new deal is released at your favorite retail store, chances are you receive a push notification letting you know.

But did you ever think about applying this concept to your WordPress website?

Push notifications for WordPress posts work similarly to smartphone app notifications. When new content has been published on your site, you alert your subscribers via a push notification message that is sent directly to their desktop or mobile device. This way, your readers do not have to physically be on your website to know that anything new has been added. This can be done for new blog posts, a coupon deal, or even some breaking news.

Why Use Push Notifications?

You already have a steady stream of loyal visitors clicking on your website daily. And your reliable email marketing strategy is in place, notifying less engaged readers of new content.

Well, here are some things push notifications can help you with:

• Increase reader engagement. Sure, email newsletters go out daily, weekly, or monthly to inform your subscribers of new content on your blog-centric website. But how many of those emails go unopened or get lost in spam? By using push notifications, your message is less at risk for remaining unopened. Better yet, it won’t get lost in the strange internet purgatory. These notifications reach your readers more easily than an email that must be opened in order to be read. By implementing both strategies, chances are more people will read your content.
• Boost website traffic. Push notifications are instant and encourage readers to click onto your website right after they receive notice that something new has been published. In other words, they’ll help your traffic numbers soar!
• Improve sales. With increased reader engagement and increased website traffic, naturally your online store will experience more sales, too. [twitter_link]The more people visit your site, the more likely you are to boost revenue.[/twitter_link]

While not every reader that visits your website will be ready to accept push notifications from you, those that do subscribe can be counted on to visit your site more regularly. After all, they wouldn’t have subscribed if push notifications were not right for them.

How to Create Push Notifications for WordPress Posts

The great thing about WordPress is that there is almost always an easy plugin solution for all of your functionality needs, and this is no different for push notifications for your WordPress posts.

Here is a look at five of the best plugin solutions that will enable you to send push notifications from your WordPress website directly to your readers.

OneSignal

OneSignal offers unlimited push notifications to Chrome (including Android), Firefox, and Safari. This makes it one of the most versatile and popular solutions. You can configure the plugin to send automatic notifications to your readers once new content has been published on your site. There is also the neat option of sending a reminder to your readers if they haven’t visited in awhile.

There are options to configure the plugin to target specific visitors based on things such as language and the number of times a reader has visited your site. You also choose when and how the opt-in is presented to your readers. You can even watch in real time to see how your conversions are faring.

With additional features such as A/B testing, scheduled notifications based on time zones, and the fact that there are no limitations, OneSignal delivers website owners a great push notification solution.

PRICE: Free

PushCrew

PushCrew is a slightly less popular (though still very effective) push notification plugin. It sends customized messages directly to your readers on their desktops, tablets, and mobile devices. This eliminates the need to create a mobile app for those on the go. You can send instant push notifications to up to 500 subscribers for free. After that, you must invest in one of PushCrew’s premium options. PushCrew works with Chrome and Firefox with Safari support coming soon.

With PushCrew you can enjoy features such as segmentation of targeted audiences and an easy one-click unsubscribe button for your readers. Also included is RSS-to-push, scheduled notifications, and email support for any problems you have.

Claiming an impressive 40% opt-in rate with 20% of subscribers clicking on their notifications, PushCrew is convinced your reader engagement and site traffic will increase using their push notification plugin.

PRICE: Free

Roost Web Push

Roost Web Push is another WordPress plugin that sends push notifications to Chrome (including Android), Firefox, and Safari desktops. Features such as automatic notifications, content triggers, and notification prompt controls make this plugin a versatile option.

Roost includes a detailed analytics option that is easily visible from your WordPress dashboard. This way you can track specifics about your site visitors and target them accordingly. You also have the option to click a box when creating new content to automatically send out a notification. Or, you can schedule them to send at a later time.

One of the most unique features is the bbPress subscriptions feature. This allows your site visitors to subscribe to forums, topics, or individual messages when posting replies. In addition, Roost implements something they call ‘The Bell’ which organizes your user’s notifications. The Bell gives subscribers complete control over their subscriptions. It also offers social sharing options to help spread your content and is supported by all major browsers.

PRICE: Free

PushAssist

PushAssist lets you send push notifications to Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. It has an easy setup process and lets you send notifications automatically. You can also monitor their performance as well. Create push marketing campaigns and segment your audience to get the highest reader engagement. Plus, construct your notification messages using the real time preview display.

One cool thing PushAssist will soon offer website owners is the ability to send static or animated push notifications to subscribers. This unique feature makes notifications stand out from the rest being delivered and helps attract more visitors.

You can send push notifications for free up to 3000 subscribers and even enjoy email support if you run into any problems. Much like the other push notification solutions, PushAssist is a great choice when it comes to reaching out to your viewers in a unique way.

Price: Free

Push Notifications for WordPress (Lite)

Push Notifications for WordPress (Lite) is similar to the other plugin solutions. However, as of now, it only works on mobile devices (iOS, Android, and Fire OS). Dedicating a maximum of 1000 push notifications per platform, this plugin is rather limited in its free version.

That being said, Push Notifications does have some cool features. Like most notification plugins, you can easily send automatic notifications to subscribers. There is also the option to track which notifications are read. Lastly, you can pick which content deserves a notification send out.

There are several things that make this plugin stand out from the other plugin solutions. For starters, it is translation ready with English and Italian translations included. In addition, your subscribers can choose the categories of posts they want to receive notifications of. This reduces the chances of a reader unsubscribing and helps drive site traffic. Lastly, your instant notifications can appear as alerts, badge updates, and even sound alerts.

Altogether, this free plugin solution is pretty robust in features, despite being a little slim on the subscriber limits.

Price: Free

Final Thoughts

Push notifications, when responsibly sent out, can add a lot of benefits to your website. Traffic numbers and conversion rates will see an increase. And viewer interest will create a lower bounce rate. [twitter_link]Push notifications offer direct and instant contact with your target audience[/twitter_link], help you spread new content to anyone that is interested, and remind your loyal readers to come back from time to time. This extra engagement can do wonders for your brand building and sales efforts.

Have you tried using push notifications for your WordPress posts? Which plugin solution do you use and why do you like it? I would love to hear all about it in the comments below!