How to Choose the Right Push Notification Service: Mobile and Web

Whether you plan on staying in touch with your audience via mobile devices or web browser notifications, the right push notification service makes all the difference. There are so many solutions on the market tailored to different use cases and needs, so it’s critical to pick the best service for your organization.

In this guide, we’ll explain why selecting the right push notification service is important and offer three factors to consider when selecting a push notification service for your app or website.

In this article:

• Why Choosing the Right Push Notification Service Matters 
• 3 Tips To Pick the Right Push Notification Service
• Unlock the Power of Push     
• Frequently Asked Questions

Why Choosing the Right Push Notification Service Matters

Every push notification service is different. Features, ease of use, pricing, and other important factors can have a big impact on the success of your push notification campaigns. Your push notification service also has an impact on:

• User engagement: Push notifications give you a direct line of communication with your audience. The right service makes it a cinch to send timely messages that capture subscribers’ attention and drive engagement.
• Retention: Delivering valuable content, updates, and incentives keeps users coming back to your app or website—as long as you have a reliable service, that is. A solid push notification service ensures users consistently see your messaging, reinforcing long-term loyalty.
• Monetization: Who doesn’t want to increase revenue? Push notifications are a powerful tool for driving conversions, which boosts sales. Whether it's promoting special offers, announcing new features, or encouraging in-app purchases, well-crafted notifications prompt users to take action. Look for a push notification service with features like segmentation, A/B testing, and analytics to maximize conversions.

Don’t rush through the process. Give yourself time to select the right push notification service and make the most of your investment.

3 Tips To Pick The Right Push Notification Service

Setting up a push notification service takes time and effort, so choose the right one from the start.

Following these tips can help you find the best notification service for your organization.

1. Scalability

Ideally, you want a push notification service to grow with your brand. The last thing you want is to change services every few years as your subscriber base grows, so prioritize scalability during your search.

Look for push notification services that seamlessly accommodate increasing loads without compromising performance. Assess their infrastructure and ability to handle large volumes of notifications.

Load balancing and geo-distributed servers are also great features to look for since they ensure optimal performance even during peak demand.

2. Features

A push notification service should offer time-saving features that deliver value. After all, you don’t want to pay for features you don’t use or overpay for a solution that under-delivers.

Find a few promising options and compare each push notification service against your requirements. Every organization is different, but some essential features to look for include:

• Targeting and segmentation: The service should allow you to categorize users by demographics, behavior, or preferences. This makes it much easier to send personalized messages that get results.
• Rich media support: Text is fine, but users increasingly expect multimedia like images, videos, or interactive buttons. Look for push notification services that support multiple formats.
• Automation: Manual push notifications require too much effort. Make sure your push notification service offers triggered notifications or automation. Most automations fire based on user actions or predefined criteria to save time while customizing the audience experience.
• A/B testing: Some services call this feature “split testing.” Regardless of what you call it, this tool is a must-have for optimizing notification content and timing for maximum impact.  
• Analytics: You need to understand how well your push notifications are working. Most services offer analytics, but we recommend looking for a service that provides elegant analytics that help you understand your performance for minimal hassle.
• Security: While it’s ultimately your responsibility to protect your users’ data, it’s vital to choose push notification services and tools that comply with relevant regulations like GDPR, SOC 2, and other data privacy laws. 

3. Pricing

Pricing isn’t the most important factor, but it can definitely make or break deals. Don’t compromise on essential features, like automation or A/B testing.

Gather quotes from multiple push notification services and compare the features you get for the money. Consider their reputation, reliability, customer service, and experience to find the best balance between cost and results.

A reputable push notification service should offer demos or a free trial so you can try the platform before committing to anything.

There are also dozens of free push notification services and tools that you may find useful. If you’re building a web push notification campaign, check out MagicBell’s Web Push Notifications Demo to test your push notifications on all platforms—even iOS.

Unlock the Power of Push

You can’t send push notifications at scale without a push notification service, but not just any service will do. Give yourself time to gather quotes, compare features, and select the right push notification for your app or website.

The right option will scale with you as your business grows, simplifying direct user outreach without the growing pains.

Finding the right push notification service can take a little time, but if you’re reading this, it means you’ve already found the best pick of the bunch (in our humble opinion).

MagicBell makes it a cinch to send mobile and web push notifications to thousands of subscribers at the push of the button. Give it a test drive now: Create your free MagicBell account now.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there any limitations on the length or content of push notifications?

Most push notification services have character limits. However, most of them also support rich media formats like images, videos, and interactive buttons that allow you to sidestep strict character limits. Every service is different, so it’s best to check with your service about limits and multimedia content.

Can you personalize push notifications based on user behavior?

Absolutely. Personalization is a key feature for any push notification service. Use segmentation and audience targeting to tailor notifications to user demographics, preferences, or past interactions.

Can I schedule push notifications at a certain time?

Yes. All push notification services should include a scheduling feature. Look for options that allow you to set delivery times tailored to recipients’ time zones so you don’t text your list in the middle of the night.