User Guide for Roost
Page 1
Chrome Push is in Beta, and it is Changing the Web Chrome Web Push notifications have arrived in beta - and the full release is imminent! On March 12, 2015, Google released a beta version of the Chrome browser that supports true web push notifications. In the coming days, when a user goes to a Roostenabled site on Chrome or Safari, they can opt-in to receive notifications from that site with a single click. We expect Chrome notifications to transform content consumption across the web. Safari for OS X was the first web browser to support push notifications, but with the m43 release of Chrome, Google is expanding web push, both by including their mobile browser, but also with improved performance features. Chrome users will soon (now in beta) be able to easily opt-in for notifications. The fact that Chrome and Safari together can reach 46% of internet users is going to impact the way websites communicate. And this percentage might be even higher for your website. Web push is now the ubiquitous channel that can reach users any time, any place.
Page 2
Chrome on Desktop While your Roost experience may have been impressive so far, all of your subscribers had to have a Safari desktop browser on a Mac. With Chrome, that has all changed. Chrome supports both Apple and Windows desktop platforms, and has a significantly larger market share on both platforms:
Desktop Market Share Chrome
52.6%
Safari
5.4%
Firefox
18.6%
IE
19.7%
Other
3.7%
Chrome on Mobile But that is only half of the good news. Chrome also supports mobile web push on Android. This is critical, because mobile web interaction exceeded desktop interaction in January of 2014 - mobile owns the web. We are at the beginning of a revolution that is far from complete. An indicator of the impact of Chrome push on mobile is Android distribution. Android comprised 81% of smartphones sold in 2014. And Chrome is the default browser on Android.
Page 3
If mobile traffic is important to your site, then easy opt-in web push will allow your mobile site to have the same high-powered engagement of push notifications that mobile apps have enjoyed for the last five years. Mobile apps must fight for space on the user’s device - but websites do not. Adding push notifications to your mobile website can complement your mobile app experience, or allow you to rely on your mobile web experience exclusively (avoiding the cost of building an app). Let’s take a look at the Chrome distribution profile on mobile devices:
Chrome
Android
iPhone
32%
24%
16%
8% Feb 2014 - Feb 2015
Page 4
Grow Your Subscribers with Chrome What the previous Chrome numbers mean is that you are about to have a lot more subscribers. If you add the growth in desktop market share to the new subscriber base now available on mobile you see the number of potential subscribers grows by a factor of 15. Your site may vary a bit, but the typical case is an impressive one.
Chrome & Safari: What’s the Difference? Roost is here to make your use of both Chrome and Safari as seamless as possible (Firefox and IE are expected to follow yet this calendar year). Your Roost dashboard looks and acts the same for both browsers and mobile. When you send out messages, they will go out to all platforms. Both Chrome and Safari offer a similar user experience, and Roost provides the tools to use both simultaneously. But there are a few differences between Chrome and Safari that require discussion.
Page 5
Secure Sockets Google has built Chrome notifications with a tight security model. This careful approach by Google uses HTTPS and SSL (Secure Socket Layer) to prevent malicious attacks from bad actors. This article by Matt Gaunt, one of the Chrome engineers explains this in some detail. Also read our own blog post on SSL. This security ensures that nefarious WiFi providers or ISPs can’t insert code into your site on-the-fly and create a long lasting connection with your users. This means that users can trust their receiving messages from you and you can trust that somebody else isn’t hijacking the relationship you have with your users. In a day when third party hacks are commonplace, we’re thankful Chrome is protecting notifications senders and receivers in this way. Apple’s carefully controlled notification system also offers substantial security, all contained within the Apple envelope of technology (since apple web push does not function on nonApple devices). Two trust mechanisms are at play in this security model, and the lengthy details can be found on the Apple site.
Page 6
Fit and Finish Chrome and Safari notifications are very similar in appearance, but there are some subtle differences.
There is slight variation between the opt-in experience of Safari and Chrome. Users who are using Safari get the now familiar ‘Allow/ Disallow’ option.
Page 7
While Chrome users will get the option to ‘Allow’, ‘Block’, or ignore for now (x). The last option is an important one, because busy users that might be inclined to say ‘Disallow’ under the Safari model might just click ‘x’ on the Chrome model. You can then ask for their permission to subscribe another time, which is not possible under Safari.
Notifications that appear on the users desktop have a subtly different style. The branded icon is somewhat larger in the Chrome experience, and notifications remain visible until dismissed, or until another notification arrives. Safari notifications remain visible for a few seconds before retiring to the Notification Center.
Page 8
Unread notifications are listed somewhat differently in the two browsers. The Safari Notification Center is located on the right of the screen, hidden until you click on the menu icon in the upper right corner. By contrast on the Mac, Chrome notifications provide a bell icon that is still located at the top of the screen, but closer to the center. Clicking it opens a menu of recent notifications. Safari stores six unread notifications, whereas Chrome currently stored one hundred(!).
Functional Differences The biggest difference between Chrome and Safari is that Safari is built into OS X. Thus, Safari notifications are always on, even when Safari, itself, is turned off. While Chrome does not require that a registered site be open in a tab or window, the Chrome application must be running for desktop notifications to be received by the subscriber. Subscribers almost always leave a browser running, so this is a moot point for the vast majority of users. Chrome on Android need not be running at all for notifications to be received, which is the same as notifications for any app on Android.
Page 9
Chrome Push Is Not Web Sockets (and neither is Safari Push) Both Chrome and Safari web push contrast with older Web Sockets technology (also called HTML5 Notifications), which requires that a publisher’s site be actively open in a tab or window. This typically means that Web Sockets only allow push communication with a subscriber that is actively using your site. Because of this, the Web Sockets approach to web-based notification is quite limited in its application, and is a poor fit with push notifications. Roost publishes only true Web Push Notifications, and so this antiquated technology is only mentioned here for completeness.
Integration Using Chrome with your Roost installation is very simple, but there are a few things to consider. Take a look at the Chrome Integration Guide, which will help you understand the details. And Contact us if you’d like to get Chrome installed on your Roost account today!
Get Ready So now you know - Chrome just around the corner, and you have all the details. One of the big changes you will see is a massive jump in your subscriber base. Get ready for increased engagement with existing users, and growing your audience with new users!
Page 10
Chrome Push is in Beta, and it is Changing the Web Chrome Web Push notifications have arrived in beta - and the full release is imminent! On March 12, 2015, Google released a beta version of the Chrome browser that supports true web push notifications. In the coming days, when a user goes to a Roostenabled site on Chrome or Safari, they can opt-in to receive notifications from that site with a single click. We expect Chrome notifications to transform content consumption across the web. Safari for OS X was the first web browser to support push notifications, but with the m43 release of Chrome, Google is expanding web push, both by including their mobile browser, but also with improved performance features. Chrome users will soon (now in beta) be able to easily opt-in for notifications. The fact that Chrome and Safari together can reach 46% of internet users is going to impact the way websites communicate. And this percentage might be even higher for your website. Web push is now the ubiquitous channel that can reach users any time, any place.
Page 2
Chrome on Desktop While your Roost experience may have been impressive so far, all of your subscribers had to have a Safari desktop browser on a Mac. With Chrome, that has all changed. Chrome supports both Apple and Windows desktop platforms, and has a significantly larger market share on both platforms:
Desktop Market Share Chrome
52.6%
Safari
5.4%
Firefox
18.6%
IE
19.7%
Other
3.7%
Chrome on Mobile But that is only half of the good news. Chrome also supports mobile web push on Android. This is critical, because mobile web interaction exceeded desktop interaction in January of 2014 - mobile owns the web. We are at the beginning of a revolution that is far from complete. An indicator of the impact of Chrome push on mobile is Android distribution. Android comprised 81% of smartphones sold in 2014. And Chrome is the default browser on Android.
Page 3
If mobile traffic is important to your site, then easy opt-in web push will allow your mobile site to have the same high-powered engagement of push notifications that mobile apps have enjoyed for the last five years. Mobile apps must fight for space on the user’s device - but websites do not. Adding push notifications to your mobile website can complement your mobile app experience, or allow you to rely on your mobile web experience exclusively (avoiding the cost of building an app). Let’s take a look at the Chrome distribution profile on mobile devices:
Chrome
Android
iPhone
32%
24%
16%
8% Feb 2014 - Feb 2015
Page 4
Grow Your Subscribers with Chrome What the previous Chrome numbers mean is that you are about to have a lot more subscribers. If you add the growth in desktop market share to the new subscriber base now available on mobile you see the number of potential subscribers grows by a factor of 15. Your site may vary a bit, but the typical case is an impressive one.
Chrome & Safari: What’s the Difference? Roost is here to make your use of both Chrome and Safari as seamless as possible (Firefox and IE are expected to follow yet this calendar year). Your Roost dashboard looks and acts the same for both browsers and mobile. When you send out messages, they will go out to all platforms. Both Chrome and Safari offer a similar user experience, and Roost provides the tools to use both simultaneously. But there are a few differences between Chrome and Safari that require discussion.
Page 5
Secure Sockets Google has built Chrome notifications with a tight security model. This careful approach by Google uses HTTPS and SSL (Secure Socket Layer) to prevent malicious attacks from bad actors. This article by Matt Gaunt, one of the Chrome engineers explains this in some detail. Also read our own blog post on SSL. This security ensures that nefarious WiFi providers or ISPs can’t insert code into your site on-the-fly and create a long lasting connection with your users. This means that users can trust their receiving messages from you and you can trust that somebody else isn’t hijacking the relationship you have with your users. In a day when third party hacks are commonplace, we’re thankful Chrome is protecting notifications senders and receivers in this way. Apple’s carefully controlled notification system also offers substantial security, all contained within the Apple envelope of technology (since apple web push does not function on nonApple devices). Two trust mechanisms are at play in this security model, and the lengthy details can be found on the Apple site.
Page 6
Fit and Finish Chrome and Safari notifications are very similar in appearance, but there are some subtle differences.
There is slight variation between the opt-in experience of Safari and Chrome. Users who are using Safari get the now familiar ‘Allow/ Disallow’ option.
Page 7
While Chrome users will get the option to ‘Allow’, ‘Block’, or ignore for now (x). The last option is an important one, because busy users that might be inclined to say ‘Disallow’ under the Safari model might just click ‘x’ on the Chrome model. You can then ask for their permission to subscribe another time, which is not possible under Safari.
Notifications that appear on the users desktop have a subtly different style. The branded icon is somewhat larger in the Chrome experience, and notifications remain visible until dismissed, or until another notification arrives. Safari notifications remain visible for a few seconds before retiring to the Notification Center.
Page 8
Unread notifications are listed somewhat differently in the two browsers. The Safari Notification Center is located on the right of the screen, hidden until you click on the menu icon in the upper right corner. By contrast on the Mac, Chrome notifications provide a bell icon that is still located at the top of the screen, but closer to the center. Clicking it opens a menu of recent notifications. Safari stores six unread notifications, whereas Chrome currently stored one hundred(!).
Functional Differences The biggest difference between Chrome and Safari is that Safari is built into OS X. Thus, Safari notifications are always on, even when Safari, itself, is turned off. While Chrome does not require that a registered site be open in a tab or window, the Chrome application must be running for desktop notifications to be received by the subscriber. Subscribers almost always leave a browser running, so this is a moot point for the vast majority of users. Chrome on Android need not be running at all for notifications to be received, which is the same as notifications for any app on Android.
Page 9
Chrome Push Is Not Web Sockets (and neither is Safari Push) Both Chrome and Safari web push contrast with older Web Sockets technology (also called HTML5 Notifications), which requires that a publisher’s site be actively open in a tab or window. This typically means that Web Sockets only allow push communication with a subscriber that is actively using your site. Because of this, the Web Sockets approach to web-based notification is quite limited in its application, and is a poor fit with push notifications. Roost publishes only true Web Push Notifications, and so this antiquated technology is only mentioned here for completeness.
Integration Using Chrome with your Roost installation is very simple, but there are a few things to consider. Take a look at the Chrome Integration Guide, which will help you understand the details. And Contact us if you’d like to get Chrome installed on your Roost account today!
Get Ready So now you know - Chrome just around the corner, and you have all the details. One of the big changes you will see is a massive jump in your subscriber base. Get ready for increased engagement with existing users, and growing your audience with new users!
Page 10
