Step 1: Set up your Base44 project
Progressier can enhance your Base44 web app with additional features such as push notifications and the ability to be installed as a Progressive Web App (PWA). You can incorporate Progressier into your project when your app is live and accessible at a custom domain.
Step 2: Create a new Progressier account
Progressier is a web toolkit that allows you to easily add new capabilities to your Base44 app (and apps from hosting providers as well) using little to no code at all.
Create your Progressier account . Progressier comes with a 14-day free trial that allows you to integrate it into your Base44 app risk-free. You only enter your payment information once everything is working to your liking.
Step 3: Make your Base44 project a PWA
Next, create your Base44 app in Progressier. Go to New PWA, then select Base44 in the first dropdown menu. Give your app a name and paste the URL of your Base44 project in the third field.
Step 4: Finish your installation
We'll show you a series of tasks. These tasks are easy and shouldn't take you more than a few minutes to complete. If you run any bottlenecks, reach out to us using the Intercom widget at the bottom-right corner of the page.
Step 5: Allow push notifications
Now go to your own app. You should see a button at the bottom-right corner of your app. Click on it and then tap Get notifications. You should be prompted to allow notifications. Once notifications are allowed, you'll be able to notify yourself with a test notification
Step 6: Let's send a push notification
Go to our Push Composer (login required) to compose your first push notification. By default, it will be sent to all your subscribers, but you can target a specific group of users in the Recipients section of the Targeting tab.
Step 7: Sync your own user data (optional)
Sending the same notification to every user for marketing purposes is one thing. Sending notifications programmatically to a user to react to events in your Base44 app is another. Luckily, Progressier comes with a solution for both use cases. Simply connect your user data (e.g. a user ID or user email), then call our Push API in your server-side code to send a push notification to a specific user. You don't have to manage push subscriptions on your end.
How can push notifications enhance your Base44 app
Push notifications can help keep users coming back to the app by providing them with valuable and interesting content. For example, if you have a fitness app, you can send push notifications with daily workout tips or challenges to keep users motivated and engaged.
Also, push notifications can provide a more convenient way for users to receive updates and information from your app, improving the overall user experience. For example, if you have a weather app, you can send push notifications with real-time weather updates to help users plan their day.
The challenges of implementing push notifications in web apps
Unlike native apps, not every browser and device supports push notifications. So you can't entirely rely on this feature to deliver important messages to users.
Users may opt out of receiving push notifications if they find them to be too frequent or irrelevant. Also Google sometimes auto-blocks push notifications for users that frequently block them.
What are the best push services for Base44 apps?
There are many different push notification service providers to choose from for your Base44 app, and the best one for you will depend on your specific needs and requirements. Some of the most popular push notification service providers include:
- Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM): a Google service that allows developers to send messages to their clients. Free but limited capabilities and scaling.
- OneSignal: Probably the most popular option for push notifications. OneSignal works well across platforms and provides more options than FCM but can be quite costly, especially at scale.
- Progressier: probably the best option if you develop web apps as it also comes with additional functionality designed to enhance web apps specifically, e.g. targeted push notifications.
Developing your own push notification solution
If you're using Base44, it's likely you value simplicity and getting things done quickly. Building your own push service requires code (a ton of it!) and is a non-trivial engineering effort. While sending a notification to one user is easy, sending it to many simultaneously is pretty hard and requires capabilities that can't be replicated in no-code or low-code platforms.
What devices and browsers are compatible with push notifications?
The Web Push API is compatible with Windows (via Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera), macOS (Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Safari 16 on macOS Ventura), Android (Samsung Internet, Chrome, Firefox). Push notifications will also soon be available on iOS with Safari.
