Setting up Web Push notifications in AWeber

Plenty of people who land on your site like what they read but won't type an email address into a box, because they've been buried in newsletters before. Browser push notifications give them a lighter option: one click on "Allow," no address needed, and your next post or offer appears as a notification on their screen.

AWeber includes web push in its accounts at no extra cost, and setup takes about half an hour: register your site, add a code snippet, upload two setup files to your web host, then send. Know the limits before you start, because they decide whether it's worth it for you. AWeber's push works on desktop browsers only (Chrome, Edge and Firefox on Windows; Chrome and Firefox on Mac; Firefox on Linux). It doesn't support phones or Safari, your site must use HTTPS, and Wix and Shopify sites can't use it because they don't give you access to the root folder.

What it looks like on the other end

Once someone opts in, your notifications appear in the corner of their desktop screen the way an app alert does, with your logo, a title of up to 50 characters and a message of up to 120. Clicking it opens whatever page you linked. There's no inbox, spam folder or Promotions tab in between, which is the appeal. The catch is that a notification only arrives if the subscriber has the browser they subscribed with open; someone who opted in on Chrome at work won't see tonight's notification on their home laptop.

That makes push a good fit for sites with a desktop-heavy audience, such as B2B tools, software reviews or professional services, and a weak fit for sites where most visitors arrive on phones. Check your analytics for the desktop share before you invest time in it.

Step 1: register your site

In AWeber, click the Web Push tab and then Get Started. Enter your address in the Website URL field, including https://, exactly as visitors reach it; a mismatch between www and no-www is a common reason the prompt never appears on the live site. Your logo from List Settings loads automatically for the opt-in prompt and the notifications; replace it with a square icon if the list logo is wide, since it displays small. Click Save.

Step 2: add the code snippet

After you save, AWeber generates a code snippet for your site. Copy it with the clipboard icon and paste it into your site's pages just before the closing </body> tag. You can add it to every page through your theme's footer settings or a tag manager, or only to the pages where you want the prompt to appear, such as blog posts. Click Verify so AWeber confirms it can see the code.

On WordPress, skip the manual paste and install AWeber's plugin for WordPress instead, which adds the snippet for you.

Step 3: upload the setup files

This is the step people miss. Click Download Setup Files, unzip the download, and upload the files to your website's root directory, the top-level folder that your home page lives in, using your host's file manager (cPanel or similar) or an FTP client. They have to sit at the root, not in a subfolder; these files are what let the browser deliver a notification when your site isn't open in a tab. Click Verify again. If the prompt appears on your site but notifications never arrive, the setup files are almost always in the wrong place.

Step 4: set up the opt-in prompt

Two decisions make a real difference to how many visitors opt in. First, write your own prompt wording instead of the default: "Get a notification when we publish a new comparison" tells people exactly what they're agreeing to, which a vague "Allow notifications?" doesn't. Second, think about when the prompt appears. A permission request the instant a page loads gets dismissed by reflex, and Chrome and Firefox now hide prompts from sites where many people dismiss them, showing a small icon in the address bar instead. AWeber lets you trigger the prompt manually, for example from a "notify me" button after an article, which only asks people who have shown interest.

Turn on a welcome notification as well, so new subscribers get one immediate notification confirming what they signed up for.

Step 5: send a notification

When you publish something worth announcing, go to Web Push and choose New Push Message. Write a title (up to 50 characters), a body (up to 120), and set the Notification Link URL. The preview on the right shows how it looks in Chrome on Windows; other browsers display it slightly differently. Click Send Push Notification. Afterwards, the Recently Sent Notifications list shows how many were delivered and clicked.

Mistakes to avoid

• Sending too often. There's no unsubscribe link, just a browser setting. Someone who feels spammed turns the permission off and almost never turns it back on. Keep push for new content and real offers, once or twice a week at most.
• Repeating the email word for word. 120 characters is a teaser, not a summary. Lead with the most specific detail ("Jotform's new plan limits, compared") rather than "New post!"
• Expecting phone subscribers. Visitors on phones won't see the prompt at all. Keep your email form prominent for them.
• Forgetting HTTPS. AWeber only supports secure sites. If your site still loads over http://, fix that first; it's free with most hosts and matters for search rankings too.

When something doesn't work

If the prompt never shows, check the URL in Step 1 matches your live address exactly and that Verify passed for the snippet. If you dismissed the prompt yourself while testing, your browser won't show it again; reset the site's notification permission in the browser's site settings, or test in a fresh browser profile. If the prompt shows but test notifications don't arrive, re-check that the setup files are in the root folder and that your browser is open when you send. AWeber's support can check the setup from its side through 24/7 chat.

Running push alongside email gives desktop visitors a second, lighter way back to your site, and it costs nothing extra inside AWeber. For most sites it's a supplement rather than a replacement: build the email list first with a proper welcome sequence, then add push for the readers who won't give you an address.