How can you customize web notifications for desktop and mobile devices?

1 Use the Notification API

The Notification API is the core of web notifications. It allows you to create and display notifications using the native system UI. To use it, you need to request permission from the user and check the availability of the API. Then, you can create a new Notification object with some options, such as title, body, icon, image, badge, and actions. You can also listen to events, such as click, close, and error, to handle user interactions and errors.

3 Use the Vibration API

The Vibration API lets you add haptic feedback to your notifications on mobile devices. It can make your notifications more noticeable and engaging, especially for games, alerts, and reminders. To use it, you need to check the support of the API and the user preference. Then, you can call the navigator.vibrate() method with a pattern of vibration and pause intervals in milliseconds. You can also cancel the vibration by passing a zero value.

4 Use the Media Session API

The Media Session API allows you to control the playback of media content and display metadata and actions on the notification UI. It can enhance the user experience and accessibility of your media applications, such as music, podcasts, and videos. To use it, you need to create a new MediaSession object and set its metadata property with some information, such as title, artist, album, and artwork. Then, you can set its actionHandler property with some callbacks for media actions, such as play, pause, skip, and seek.

5 Use the Web Share API

The Web Share API enables you to share text, URLs, and files from your website or app to other apps or contacts on the user's device. It can increase the reach and virality of your content and encourage user-generated content. To use it, you need to check the availability of the API and the user gesture. Then, you can call the navigator.share() method with an object containing the data to share, such as title, text, url, and files. You can also catch errors and handle success.

6 Use the Notification Triggers API

The Notification Triggers API allows you to schedule notifications to be shown at a specific time or location, regardless of the browser state. It can be useful for reminders, events, geofencing, and other time- or location-based scenarios. To use it, you need to enable the experimental feature flag in your browser and use a service worker. Then, you can create a new showTrigger property in the notification options and pass a TimestampTrigger or a GeolocationTrigger object with the desired time or location. You can also cancel or update the scheduled notifications.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?