Your website is already converted to a native iOS or Android app with WebViewGold. Now take your app to the next level by adding true push notifications to re-engage your users – even when your app is not open.
The best part? It can take a few minutes. And in some cases, you might not need to write a single line of code.
Why push notifications matter for your app
Push notifications are arguably the most powerful re-engagement tool that app developers have access to. Studies have shown that relevant and timely push notifications have open rates significantly higher than those of emails – ranging from 4% to 15%, depending on the industry vertical.
Whether your application is an e-commerce site, a news site, a social forum, or a business application, push notifications allow you to:
– Re-engage your users after a period of inactivity
– Send notifications for new content, products, or events the moment they are published
– Send personalized notifications based on user behavior or attributes
– Implement automated re-engagement campaigns while you sleep
OneSignal is the most popular and widely-used push notification platform globally, used by over a million apps and websites around the world. OneSignal provides a free plan and an incredibly simple interface – making it the obvious choice for WebViewGold developers.
Two ways to set it up
WebViewGold gives you two paths to integration, depending on how you like to work:
| Easiest — Recommended
WebViewGold Cloud Builder Configure everything in your browser — no Xcode or Android Studio needed. Enter your OneSignal App ID, click Build, download your finished app. |
For developers
Config.swift / Config.java Open the config file in your WebViewGold project, paste in one value, build as usual. Works with Xcode and Android Studio. |
Both methods use your OneSignal App ID as the only piece of configuration required. Everything else is taken care of behind the scenes by WebViewGold.
Create your OneSignal account
No matter which way you decide to set up your project, you will first need to obtain a OneSignal account and App ID. Here is how to obtain one:
- Go to onesignal.com and sign up for a free account.
- Click on New App/Website and name your app.
- Choose your platform. Select Apple iOS APNs and/or Google Android FCM.
- OneSignal will take you through the process to connect your push credentials. For Apple, this means uploading your Auth Key from Apple Developer.
- At the end of the process, OneSignal will show you your App ID, which is a string with the following format: 1a2b3c4d-5e6f-7890-abcd-ef1234567890. You will need this for the next step.
| Tip: If you’re targeting both iOS and Android, you can create a single OneSignal app with both platforms configured, and use the same App ID for both your WebViewGold iOS and Android builds. |
Option A: WebViewGold Cloud Builder (no Xcode needed)
The Cloud Builder is the fastest path to a push-enabled app. Everything happens in your browser — no local development environment required.
- Step 1. Open the WebViewGold Cloud Builder and log into your account.
- Step 2. Select your existing app project, or start a new one by entering your website URL.
- Step 3. Navigate to the Push Notifications section in the builder settings.
- Step 4. Paste your OneSignal App ID into the designated field.
- Step 5. Click Build. The Cloud Builder compiles your app server-side and delivers a ready-to-submit IPA (iOS) or APK/AAB (Android) directly to you.
| That’s it. No Xcode. No Gradle. No SDK installation. The Cloud Builder handles all the native integration automatically — including entitlements, notification service extension wiring, and SDK initialization. |
The resulting build is production-ready and can be submitted directly to the App Store or Google Play, or distributed via TestFlight / internal testing tracks for QA.
Option B: WebViewGold Classic
If you prefer to build locally in Xcode or Android Studio, the integration is equally simple. WebViewGold centralizes all project configuration in a single file per platform:
- config.swift for iOS (Xcode)
- config.java for Android (Android Studio)
These files use a consistent pattern throughout: one clearly named constant per feature. If you’ve configured your app URL, app name, or other settings before, you’ll find the OneSignal field immediately.
Simply open the config file for your target platform and locate the OneSignal section. Paste in your App ID:
| // config.swift (iOS)
let oneSignalAppId = “YOUR_ONESIGNAL_APP_ID” |
| // config.java (Android)
static final String oneSignalAppId = “YOUR_ONESIGNAL_APP_ID”; |
Save the file, build as usual, and run on a real device. WebViewGold automatically handles SDK initialization, the notification permission prompt, and all platform-specific entitlements — there’s nothing else to configure.
| Important: Push notifications require a real physical device for testing. They won’t work in the iOS Simulator or Android Emulator, as those environments don’t support APNs or FCM. |
Sending your first notification
With your app running on a physical device and the user accepting the prompt to allow the app to send push notifications, go to your OneSignal account and follow these steps:
– Click Messages → New Push.
– Compose your notification title and message.
– Select your audience: either all subscribers or a specific segment.
– Click Review & Send.
Within a few seconds, your notification should appear on the device, even if the app is running in the background or not running at all.
OneSignal offers real-time analytics for your notification delivery, including the number of devices sent to, the number delivered, and the number of taps.
Going further: What you can do with OneSignal
Audience segmentation
You can use OneSignal to tag your users based on custom attributes such as subscription tier, city, preferred language, last purchase date, etc. You can send targeted campaigns to very specific audiences without having to access your server.
If you are a WebViewGold developer and have a website-based application where users are required to login before accessing the application, you can use OneSignal’s external user ID feature to pass the ID of the logged-in user to OneSignal. This allows for 1:1 personalization at scale.
Rich notifications
You can add an image and/or action buttons to any OneSignal notification. WebViewGold also supports deep linking out of the box. You can send a user directly to any URL path inside your application. That means notifications can drop users straight into a product page, a new feature, or a saved cart, rather than just back to the home screen.
In-App Messages
OneSignal also supports in-app messages – popups that appear inside your running application without requiring a permission prompt. This is useful for sending targeted messages to your WebViewGold application.
Messages can be triggered by app opens, screen visits, or custom events. Plus, they can all be configured from the OneSignal dashboard without needing to update your app.
Automated journeys
OneSignal Journeys enable a visual way to create behavior-based chains of notifications. For example, “Send a welcome message on first app open, a helpful tip on day 3 of app open, and a re-engagement message if the user hasn’t opened the app in 7 days.” Once configured, these drag-and-drop Journeys will run on their own.
A/B testing
OneSignal has built-in A/B testing. Send different versions of your message to different users, then automatically send the winner of the test. Over time, this is one of the most reliable ways to increase your notifications’ performance without guesswork.
Analytics & delivery insights
Each time you send a notification, you’ll receive detailed analytics on its performance. See sent, delivered, clicked, and conversion rates over time. Use these insights to understand what type of notifications work best for your users.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does OneSignal support both iOS and Android in the same WebViewGold project?
Yes, we support sending notifications to both iOS and Android subscribers in the same project. You can set the same OneSignal App ID in both config.swift for iOS and config.java for Android, assuming your OneSignal app has both platforms set up. The notifications sent from the OneSignal dashboard will reach subscribers of both platforms simultaneously.
Is OneSignal free?
OneSignal has a free plan that should support most indie app usage scenarios, including unlimited push notifications to up to a certain number of subscribers. The free plan also includes basic segmentation and analytics.
What if the user denies the notification permission?
For both iOS and Android, we need to get permission from the end-user to send them notifications. WebViewGold and OneSignal will display the native permission prompt to the end-user at the right time. If the end-user denies the permission, we suggest sending an in-app message via OneSignal’s in-app message feature to educate the end-user about the importance of receiving notifications.
Can I send notifications from my own backend?
Yes, OneSignal offers a full REST API to send notifications programmatically from any server or third-party integration, whether it’s WordPress, Shopify, Zapier, or any other backend. The OneSignal dashboard is just one of many ways to use the OneSignal platform. The full platform itself is API-first.
| Ready to get started?
WebViewGold makes it easy to ship polished iOS and Android apps from your existing website. OneSignal keeps your users engaged long after they close the app. Sign up for free at onesignal.com and explore the WebViewGold Cloud Builder at webviewgold.com. |
