Should you be afraid of the changes in Windows 11?

More and more people are choosing to use Windows 11. In its latest operating system, Microsoft focused on a refreshed, lightweight design and full focus on user needs. New "windows" are supposed to work well both at work and during relaxation or playing. 

How specifically does this translate into the user experience? The new Windows gives you more opportunities to personalize settings and adjust functions to your needs. The creators also wanted all the most necessary functions to be available in the simplest possible way - hence the changes to the start menu and the taskbar. The user should also be kept up to date with all the messages of interest from the applications he or she uses. 

How do these changes affect the display of push notifications? 

Windows 11 Notification Center

The successor to the Action Center - known from Windows 10 - looks similar to the previous version. System notifications and web push notifications appear in it. The location and appearance do not differ significantly from the previous version. The Notification Center can be accessed by clicking the date and time field in the right corner of the taskbar or by the Windows + N combination. 

With Windows 11 personalization, users can choose from six basic display themes or download additional ones from the Microsoft Store.

Depending on the mode (a light, dark or custom mode), the user chooses, the pushes displayed may look different. 

However, it is worth noting that web push notifications disappear quickly from the desktop. By default, notifications are only displayed for 5 seconds, after which they are moved to the Notification Center. They disappear from there if the user closes them personally. 

Like in Windows 10, in Windows 11 the display settings can be changed by adjusting the options in the "Accessibility" section accordingly.

However, we can assume that many Windows 11 users will not do so. 

Notifications with the Required Interaction feature enabled will not be moved automatically to the Notification Center. The user has to click on or close the notification manually, similar to Windows 10.

We recommend using this option for important messages. 

It's worth noting that the centre only displays the last 20 notifications from a given app or service, ordering them from newest to oldest.

In the Notification Center, notifications are grouped according to the browser or application that sent them. In the case below, the system notifies you of five sources of notifications:

One application may have sent several notifications at a time, but the centre only displays the number of sources, not the messages themselves. 

Only the latest notification is shown in the centre, but you can reach the rest by expanding the window. 

Time to focus

Windows 11 is supposed to be the ideal system for work and everyday use. This means that it not only provides users with top performance but also adapts to their activities. 

That's what Focus Mode does, allowing Windows users to set times when notifications won't appear at all. The settings can be personalized - adjusting them according to the hours you work or play on your computer. This feature already appeared in Windows 10, but it was accessible from Settings. Now, it's visible right in the Notifications box so users can customize its actions on the fly. 

You can personalize these settings in the Notification Center, as well as in the system settings.

Windows 11 offers many different ways to personalize notifications. As with the previous version of the system, users can set message priorities. This means determining which apps can send notifications that will be displayed even with focus enabled. Messages marked in this way will also appear in the Notification Center above notifications of lower rank.

Priority settings are selected in the list of applications in the "Notifications" category of the system settings. In the same place, you can decide whether the arrival of notification should be accompanied by a sound. Priorities can also be assigned directly in the Notification Center.

If the user does not want to receive any notifications, they can set the focus mode accordingly by clicking on the moon symbol in the quick actions box and selecting the "Alerts Only" option.

As was the case with Windows 10, Windows 11 gives the ability to display notifications on the lock screen. 

Web push notifications and Windows 11

Light mode

Google Chrome

Microsoft Edge

Opera

Firefox

Dark mode

Google Chrome

Microsoft Edge

Opera

Firefox

You may notice that, as with Windows 10, notifications from Chromium-based browsers are similar to each other and differ from those from Firefox. 

Content of the notification 

When composing push content, you need to focus on keywords that attract attention and leave no doubt about the purpose of the message. "Sale," "Promotion," and "Last Minute" may seem outdated, but they still effectively translate into user interest. 

It is also worth noting the graphics that will effectively catch the eye and intrigue the user, even if the notification appears on the screen for only the default 5 seconds of the display. 

What does the future hold? 

Microsoft's new product is getting fairly warm reviews from users. While new PCs are now sold with Windows 11 pre-configured, many users of older models still have some concerns about the change. The system specs will keep many people on Windows 10. The rest will wait for further fixes, patches and support from the apps and programs they use. 

It's worth rethinking your notification strategy and focusing on automation scenarios that provide subscribers with more valuable information without tiring them out with frequency. Proper segmentation will also yield results, allowing for better customization. 

Since first impressions are most important, adding graphics to your notifications can be key. This allows you to catch the user's eye and encourage them to visit your site more effectively. 

Of course, no golden advice will work forever. That's why you need to keep track of all the changes - both in operating systems and browsers, which are also undergoing a gradual transformation and trying to better guess users' needs. 

If you want to see how we can help you send better, more relevant messages, contact us.