Notifications

Notifications

A notification in Notiflows represents a single notification event created by a notiflow. It contains the information and content that will be communicated to users, and it can be delivered through one or more channels.

What is a Notification?

When you trigger a notiflow with user input, the notiflow processes that input and generates a notification. This notification is the core information unit that contains:

• The message content
• The target user
• Any relevant data or context
• Metadata about when and why it was created

Think of a notification as the "what" - the actual information being communicated - while deliveries (covered in the next section) represent the "how" - the specific channel through which that information reaches the user.

Notification Lifecycle

Creation

A notification is created when a notiflow processes a trigger request. The notiflow takes the input data, applies any configured logic, templates, or transformations, and produces a notification object.

Processing

Once created, the notification contains all the information needed for delivery. The system evaluates user preferences, channel availability, and other factors to determine how the notification should be delivered.

Delivery

The notification can be delivered through multiple channels simultaneously or sequentially, depending on your notiflow configuration. Each delivery to a specific channel is tracked separately (see the Deliveries concept for more details).

Key Characteristics

Single Source of Truth

A notification represents one logical event or piece of information. Even if it's delivered through multiple channels (email, SMS, push notification), there's still just one notification containing that information.

Channel-Agnostic Content

The notification contains the core message and data, which can then be formatted appropriately for each delivery channel. For example, the same notification might be delivered as a short SMS, a detailed email, and a push notification, all containing the same essential information but formatted for each medium.

User-Specific

Each notification is associated with a specific user. When a notiflow processes input, it creates notifications for the target users specified in the trigger.

Immutable

Once created, a notification's core content doesn't change. If you need to send updated information, you create a new notification rather than modifying an existing one.

Notification Data

A notification typically includes:

• Content: The message text, subject, or other content elements
• Metadata: Information about when it was created, which notiflow generated it, and any relevant context
• User Data: References to the target user and any user-specific information used in personalization
• Custom Data: Any additional information specific to your use case

Use Cases

Notifications are ideal for:

• Event-Driven Communication: Alerting users about actions, updates, or changes
• Transactional Messages: Confirming purchases, password resets, or account changes
• Informational Updates: Sharing news, updates, or important information
• Engagement: Welcoming new users, re-engaging inactive users, or sharing personalized content

Notifications vs. Deliveries

It's important to understand the distinction:

• Notification: The information being communicated (one per event)
• Delivery: An instance of that notification being sent through a specific channel (multiple per notification)

For example, if you create a notification about a new order and deliver it via both email and SMS, you have:

• One notification (the order information)
• Two deliveries (one email delivery, one SMS delivery)

This separation allows you to track the notification as a whole while also monitoring the success of each delivery channel independently.

Best Practices

• Clear Purpose: Each notification should have a clear, single purpose
• Relevant Content: Include all necessary information without overwhelming the user
• Timely Creation: Create notifications when events occur, not when you want to send them
• Proper Categorization: Use metadata to categorize notifications for analytics and user preferences

By understanding notifications as the core information units in Notiflows, you can design notiflows that create clear, purposeful communications that users value and engage with.