Everything You Need to Know About Push Notifications

Oct 22, 2025

Introduction

In today’s digital world, staying connected with your audience in real time is more important than ever. That’s where push notifications come in. Whether you’re running a website, mobile app or progressive web app (PWA), implementing push notifications offers a powerful channel for user engagement. In this guide, we’ll walk you through what push notifications are, how they work, why they matter, best practices and how you can get started—especially when hosting in Sri Lanka and beyond.

What Are Push Notifications?

Push notifications are messages sent from a server to a user’s device (such as a smartphone, tablet or computer) even when the user is not actively using your app or website. Unlike emails or SMS, push notifications can appear instantly and reach users wherever they are.

There are two main types:

• Mobile push notifications – sent via native mobile apps on iOS or Android.
• Web push notifications – sent via web browsers, delivered even when the browser is closed (with user permission).

How Do They Work?

• User grants permission – For web push, the user must allow notifications from your site. For mobile, the user installs your app and agrees.
• Server sends message – Your backend or a push-notification service publishes a message to a push service (such as Apple Push Notification Service or Google Firebase Cloud Messaging).
• Notification delivered – The push service sends the message to the user’s device, where it appears as a banner, alert or badge.
• User engages – The user may click the notification and be taken to a relevant part of your website or app.

Why Push Notifications Matter

Immediate engagement: Unlike email, notifications appear instantly and get a user’s attention.

• Higher user retention: Timely alerts help bring users back to your site/app.
• Improved conversions: Reminders, offers and updates delivered via push can drive repeat visits and purchases.
• Direct channel: You’re communicating one-to-one (or one-to-many) directly with users, bypassing intermediaries.
• Cost-effective: For many businesses, push notifications represent one of the lowest-cost engagement methods compared to paid ads or SMS.

Best Practices for Using Push Notifications

• Ask for permission at the right moment: Don’t prompt as soon as the user arrives — wait until they’ve engaged and understand value.
• Segment your audience: Tailor your messages based on user behaviour, location or preferences.
• Provide clear value in each message: Whether it’s a special offer, update or reminder — make it relevant.
• Keep messages concise and action-oriented: A short title, brief body, and a clear call to action work best.
• Respect frequency: Don’t overwhelm users — too many notifications lead to opt-outs.
• Use personalization and localization: For users in Sri Lanka, local time zones, local language (Sinhala/Tamil) and context matter.
• Link to a meaningful destination: Clicking the notification should take the user to something relevant, not just a homepage.
• Test and measure: Monitor open-rates, click-through-rates and conversion to refine your strategy.
• Ensure privacy & compliance: Make sure you follow applicable laws and allow users to easily unsubscribe or modify their preferences.

Implementation Tips for Sri Lanka Hosting Customers

Since you’re hosting your website or app with Sri Lanka Hosting, here are a few additional pointers:

• Choose the right technology stack: For web push, you might use technologies like Service Workers and subscription APIs. For mobile, integrate with services like Firebase Cloud Messaging or OneSignal.
• Use local infrastructure: Hosting your backend on servers in Sri Lanka (or with low-latency connectivity) helps ensure timely delivery of notifications to users in the region.
• Multilingual support: If your audience speaks Sinhala or Tamil, craft message variations in those languages for higher relevance.
• Time-zone awareness: Schedule push messages based on Sri Lanka time so they reach users at an appropriate hour.
• Respect local mobile usage patterns: Many Sri Lankan users may access via mobile data networks, so optimize the size and timing of messages accordingly.

Challenges and Considerations

• Permission fatigue: Users may deny notifications if prompted too early or without context.
• Platform limitations: iOS, Android and different browsers have slightly different behaviours and constraints (e.g., when notifications can appear).
• Deliverability and visibility: Some devices may throttle push notifications or battery-optimizing settings may delay them.
• Content relevance: If messages aren’t relevant, users will unsubscribe or disable notifications altogether.
• Regulatory and privacy concerns: Consider local and international regulations (e.g., data protection, user consent) depending on your audience.

Future Trends

• Rich notifications: Incorporating images, action buttons or interactive content to enhance engagement.
• AI-driven personalization: Using machine-learning to send the right message at the right time to the right user.
• Cross-platform unified experience: Syncing notification strategy across mobile, web and even desktop apps.
• Increased focus on privacy: Users and regulators increasingly expect clear opt-in/opt-out flows and transparent data use.
• Integration with omnichannel campaigns: Push notifications working alongside email, SMS and in-app messaging as part of a unified strategy.

Conclusion

Push notifications are a versatile and powerful tool for increasing engagement, retention and conversions for your website or app. When used thoughtfully — with good timing, relevant content and audience segmentation — they become a direct line to your users. As a Sri Lankan business hosting with Sri Lanka Hosting, you’re well-positioned to leverage push notifications effectively for your local and international audience.
Start small, measure your results, refine your strategy — and you’ll find push notifications can make a meaningful difference in how you connect with your users.