Web Push Notifications
Send instant browser notifications to your customers — no app, no email address required.
Overview
Web Push lets you send notifications directly to a visitor's browser — on desktop and mobile — even when they're not on your store. Customers see a small notification with your message, image, and a link back to your site.
LaunchStore includes a complete web push system:
- Storefront opt-in — a polite permission banner appears 5 seconds after a visitor lands on your store
- Campaign sender — send a push notification to all opted-in subscribers from your dashboard
- Delivery tracking — per-subscriber success, failure, and expired endpoint tracking
- Zero third-party cost — built on the standard VAPID protocol, no external push service needed
How Browser Push Works
Your dashboard → LaunchStore backend → Browser Push Service (Google/Mozilla/Apple) → Customer's browser
The customer must:
- Visit your storefront at least once
- Click Allow on the browser permission prompt
After that, they receive push notifications even when your store tab is closed, as long as their browser is running.
VAPID Setup (Required)
Web push uses VAPID keys to authenticate your server with the browser push services. You need to set three environment variables in your dashboard settings:
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
VAPID_PUBLIC_KEY | Public key shared with subscribers' browsers |
VAPID_PRIVATE_KEY | Private key used to sign push requests (keep secret) |
VAPID_EMAIL | Your contact email — sent to push services for abuse reports |
If VAPID keys are not configured, the dashboard will display a warning with a generated key pair you can copy into your settings. Do not regenerate keys after subscribers have opted in — their subscriptions will stop working.
Storefront Opt-In Banner
Once VAPID keys are configured and the storefront service worker is registered, a subtle opt-in banner appears at the bottom of your storefront 5 seconds after page load — but only for visitors who haven't already responded.
The banner:
- Shows only once per browser (dismissed = permanently hidden)
- Does not show if the visitor has already granted or denied permission
- Does not trigger the browser's native permission dialog unsolicited
Subscriber Management
Go to Marketing → Push Notifications → Subscribers to see:
- Total opted-in subscribers
- Active vs. expired subscriptions
- Browser / device breakdown
Expired subscriptions (HTTP 410 responses from push services) are cleaned up automatically.
Next Steps
- Campaigns — send your first push notification
- Email Marketing — combine push with email for multi-channel reach