Switching to PushEngage from another web push provider raises two fair questions: what carries over, and what will be different. This guide explains how your existing web push subscribers move to PushEngage, the two migration paths, and what to expect in the days after you switch. Migration is handled together with our team, so you are not doing this alone.
Before You Start
- Create your PushEngage account and complete installation first.
- Know your current provider and roughly how many subscribers you have. This lets us confirm the right path for your account.
- Have a way to export your current subscriber list, if your existing provider allows it. This is optional, since there is a second path that does not need it.
- After migration, plan to upgrade your PushEngage plan to fit your subscriber count before you start sending.
You can also reach out to PushEngage Support Team with all details and they can help you understand right path.
How Web Push Migration Works
Web push subscriptions live at the domain level and are encrypted, so they cannot simply be copied from one provider to another and used right away. There are two ways to bring your subscribers to PushEngage.
Path 1: Key-based import
If your current provider can give you your subscriber list, we can import it. The list should be a CSV that includes, for each subscriber:
- Gateway endpoint (the endpoint)
- Auth key
- p256dh
- VAPID public key
- VAPID private key
If your current provider is not able to give you these keys, that is common, and you can still migrate using Path 2.
Path 2: Silent resubscribe
Silent resubscribe brings your subscribers over without needing the keys above, and without asking anyone to opt in a second time. After you complete PushEngage installation, your existing subscribers are re-subscribed to PushEngage quietly the next time they visit your site. They are not shown the opt-in popup again. The process is smooth, and it fetches your active subscribers over time.
This works because a subscriber who already granted notification permission in the past does not need to grant it again. PushEngage re-registers them under your PushEngage setup on their next visit.
If you would rather ask subscribers for permission again as part of the switch, see Ask Before Resubscribing When Migrating to PushEngage.
Navigate to Site Settings » Site Details and scroll to Ask Before Auto-Subscribing and Toggle to Yes.
What to Expect After Migration
Migration is not a switch that is fully on the moment it completes. Reachability starts lower and climbs over time, and that is expected.
Think of a subscriber’s service worker as the delivery address of someone with no phone. The only way they learn something has arrived is when the mailman actually knocks. In the same way, a migrated subscriber’s service worker only updates when that person next visits your site, whether they come back on their own or land there from a push or an email. Until that visit happens, that subscriber shows up as lower reachability.
So right after migration your reachable count and views will look lower than your total subscriber count. As migrated subscribers return to your site over the following days, their service workers update and your reachability rises gradually. Sending campaigns and keeping up your normal email and on-site activity helps subscribers come back sooner.
Steps to Migrate
- Create your PushEngage account and complete installation from Site Settings » Installation.
- Contact our team to start the migration, and tell us your current provider and roughly how many subscribers you have.
- If your provider can share the key list described above, send it to us as a CSV. If not, we will set up silent resubscribe instead.
- Once migration is underway, upgrade your plan to accommodate your subscriber count, then refresh your dashboard to see the count update.
- Start sending notifications to your migrated subscribers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will all my subscribers move over immediately?
No, and that is normal for web push. With silent resubscribe, subscribers are recovered as they return to your site, so your reachable count builds up gradually rather than all at once.
Why is my reachable count lower right after migration?
Because a subscriber’s service worker only updates when they next visit your site. Until then, that subscriber counts as lower reachability. As people come back over the following days, the number rises. This is the mailman analogy in action: nothing is confirmed delivered until they are reached.
Do I need the VAPID keys from my previous provider?
Only for the key-based import path. If your provider will not or cannot share them, you can still migrate with silent resubscribe, which does not need the keys.
Will my subscribers see a second opt-in popup?
No. Silent resubscribe re-subscribes people who already gave permission without showing the opt-in popup again.
When can I start sending?
Once migration is underway and you have upgraded to a plan that fits your subscriber count, you can start sending. New sends also help migrated subscribers return to your site, which improves reachability.
If you run into any issues, please feel free to contact us by clicking here. Our support team will be able to help you.