Android Push Notifications

Android notifications require a free Google Firebase account. This is where you get your API key and Sender ID used to send the notifications.


PLEASE NOTE: The google-services.json file is a different file to your Google Play Services API Key. The google-services.json file created in this doc is used within your app to connect to firebase and facilitate Android Push Notifications and is normally labelled google-services.json. The Google Play Services API Key is used on our build server to facilitate sending your completed app to Google Play and will usually take the form of a file name like "api-1234567890.json". Mixing up these two files will cause errors.

Step 1: Create a Firebase Project

Push Notifications require a Firebase Project. If you don't have one setup yet, click 'Add project' and follow the directions to setup your project.

If you already have an FCM project, skip to Step 2.

The first step is your project name, we usually suggest adding your app name.

For the second step, Google recommends adding Google Analytics to the project, but this is not required for setting up your push notifications.  You can deselect this if you like and then press Create Project.

Step 2: Adding Android push notifications to the Firebase project

We want to create an Android app and add it to this Firebase project.  From the first screen you encounter after entering your project, click on the Android icon.

In the next prompt, you will add your app's package name and give it a nickname.  The package name is also sometimes called the App ID or Bundle ID and is very important.

Once added, press the 'Register app' button (click here for the next step).

Important note on the package name.

The package name/Bundle ID is the unique identifier of the app in both the Google Play Store and Apple AppStore.  The structure needs to be in a reverse domain structure, so something like com.appname.app, and ideally, it is the same for both apps.  If this is the first version of your app, then you can find this ID in the Metadata section of your My AppPresser account

If it is not the first version of your app, then you can retrieve this ID from your Apple and Google developer account.

Downloading your google-services.json file.

After clicking 'Register app', you will be prompted to download the google-services.json file.

Do this and keep the file safe.  The press 'Next' > 'Next' > 'Continue to Console'.

Step 3: Getting your Project Settings

Next, click the gear icon at the top left, and go to Project Settings.

  • Click Manage Service Accounts  to head across to the matching Google Cloud Project
  • There should be a Service account already setup that is labelled roughly something like [email protected]  Click into that Service Account and head to the Keys  tab

  • Under Add Key  Select Create new key  and select JSON . After creation, it should download a JSON file to your computer which is what needs to be uploaded in MyAppPresser


Step 4: Adding the credentials to My AppPresser

After you have set up these values, you can copy them into the corresponding fields in your My AppPresser account.  Go to My AppPresser > your app > Features > Push Notifications and submit the values


Ensure you upload the two files the correct way around. The first file from Firebase should be called google-services.json and gets uploaded to Firebase - Google Services File while the second file downloaded from Google Cloud will look something like [email protected] and gets uploaded under Google Cloud - Service Account File


Step 5: Finalizing the Setup


Once all fields on the Push Notification page are completee you can click Setup / Update Push Certificates to send everything off to our Push Notification Server to finalise the setup



If everything was successful you should see a green Push notifications setup!  message at the top of the screen. If you receive an error please reach out to our support team for assistance.

Android Notification Images

If you send a push notification through WordPress using the AppPush plugin, your post featured image will be shown in the notification. Make sure that your featured images are https, if you are not seeing images, try installing the SSL Insecure Content Fixer plugin.