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Notifications Manager

 

What This Page Does

This page lets you send messages to users on your site and manage all notifications. You can send announcements to everyone, notify specific groups (like subscribers or creators), or send individual messages to particular users. You can also see what notifications have been sent, check which ones have been read, and delete old notifications.

[Screenshot: page-overview]

How to Get Here

Navigate to Admin Panel > Users > Notifications

Understanding the Page

When you open the Notifications Manager, you'll see several sections:

Statistics Bar

Four boxes at the top show you:

  • Total Notifications - How many notifications exist on your site
  • Unread - How many haven't been read yet
  • Last 24 Hours - Notifications sent today
  • Last 7 Days - Notifications sent this week

 

These numbers help you see how active your notification system is.

Notifications by Type

A grid of cards showing different notification categories (System, Payment, Messages, etc.). Each card shows:

  • An icon representing the type
  • How many notifications of this type exist
  • What percentage have been read

 

Click any card to filter the timeline below to only show that type of notification.

Send Notification Form

A form where you compose and send new notifications. This is where you'll spend most of your time.

Notification Timeline

A list of all notifications that have been sent, showing the newest first. You can click any notification to see full details, or delete notifications you no longer need.

Common Tasks

How to Send an Announcement to All Users

When you want to notify everyone on your site about maintenance, new features, or important updates:

  1. Scroll to the Send System Notification section.
  2. Type a Title - keep it short and clear (e.g., "Site Maintenance Tonight").
  3. Type your Message - explain what users need to know.
  4. For Type, select System (for general announcements).
  5. For Priority, choose:
  • Normal for routine updates
  • High for important news
  • Urgent only for critical issues
  1. Leave the Icon field blank (it will use a default icon).
  2. Leave Action URL blank unless you want to link to a specific page.
  3. For Target Audience, select All Active Users.
  4. Click Send Notification.

You'll see a green success message showing how many users received the notification.

Tip: Keep your message under 150 characters if possible - longer messages get cut off in the timeline view.

[Screenshot: send-announcement]

How to Send to Paying Subscribers Only

When you want to notify only users with active subscriptions:

  1. Open the Send System Notification form.
  2. Fill in the Title and Message.
  3. For Type, select Subscription (this makes it clear the message is subscription-related).
  4. For Priority, choose Normal or High.
  5. For Target Audience, select Active Subscribers Only.
  6. Click Send Notification.

Only users with current, active subscriptions will receive it.

Note: "Active subscribers" means users whose subscriptions haven't expired and aren't cancelled.

How to Send to Content Creators

To notify verified creators about policy changes, payout schedules, or creator program updates:

  1. Open the Send System Notification form.
  2. Fill in the Title and Message.
  3. For Type, select Payment (if it's about payouts) or System (for policy changes).
  4. For Priority, select High if it requires action.
  5. For Target Audience, select Verified Creators Only.
  6. Click Send Notification.

Only creators who have been verified will receive the notification.

How to Send to Specific Users

When you need to notify individual users (for example, responding to support tickets):

  1. Open the Send System Notification form.
  2. Fill in the Title and Message.
  3. Select the appropriate Type (usually System or Message).
  4. For Target Audience, select Specific Users.
  5. A new field appears called User IDs.
  6. Type the user IDs separated by commas (e.g., 5, 12, 23, 47).
  7. Click Send Notification.
Note: To find a user's ID, go to Admin Panel > Users > User Management and look at the ID column next to their name.

If you want users to click through to a specific page:

  1. When filling out the notification form, find the Action URL field.
  2. Type the page address (e.g., /settings/account.php or /videos.php?id=123).
  3. Complete the rest of the form and send.

When users view the notification, they'll see a clickable link that takes them to that page.

Tip: Use relative paths starting with / rather than full website addresses. This keeps links working if you move your site.

How to Use Custom Icons

Every notification has an icon next to it. You can customize this:

  1. Visit Font Awesome's icon library and find an icon you like.
  2. Copy the icon's class name (e.g., fas fa-gift for a gift box).
  3. Paste it into the Icon field when creating your notification.
  4. Send the notification.

The icon will appear next to the notification in users' notification feeds.

Note: If you leave the Icon field blank, notifications will use a standard info icon automatically.

Viewing Notifications by Type

The Notifications by Type section shows cards for each category (System, Payment, Comments, etc.).

To see only one type:

  1. Click the card for that type.
  2. The timeline below filters to show only those notifications.
  3. The card you clicked gets a green border.

 

To see all types again, click the All button in the timeline section.

Viewing Unread Notifications Only

To see which notifications users haven't read yet:

  1. Click the Unread button above the timeline.
  2. Only unread notifications appear.

 

Click All to return to the full list.

Viewing High-Priority Notifications

To see urgent or important notifications:

  1. Click the Urgent or High button above the timeline.
  2. Only notifications with that priority level appear.

 

Combining Filters

You can use both type and priority filters at once. For example:

  1. Click the Payment type card.
  2. Then click the High priority button.
  3. You'll see only high-priority payment notifications.

 

Understanding Notification Types

When creating a notification, you choose a Type that categorizes it:

Type When to Use It
System General announcements, maintenance notices, terms updates
Content New videos, galleries, or content available
Payment Billing issues, refunds, payment confirmations
Subscription Subscription renewals, expiring subscriptions, plan changes
Message Direct messages between users
Comment When someone comments on content
Like When someone likes content
Follow When someone follows a user or creator

Choose the type that best matches what the notification is about. This helps users understand the notification at a glance.

Understanding Priority Levels

Priority affects how the notification looks and helps users know what needs attention first:

Priority What It Means When to Use It
Low Nice to know General tips, optional features, fun facts
Normal Standard update Most notifications - content updates, routine announcements
High Needs attention Important updates, policy changes, account issues
Urgent Immediate action Security alerts, critical maintenance, payment problems
Warning: Don't overuse "Urgent" - if everything is urgent, nothing is. Save it for truly critical issues.

Viewing Notification Details

To see full information about any notification:

  1. Find the notification in the timeline.
  2. Click anywhere on the notification row.
  3. A window pops up showing:
  • Who received it
  • The full message (not cut off)
  • Whether they've read it and when
  • The action link if there is one
  • Any additional data
  1. Close the window by:
  • Clicking the X in the top corner
  • Pressing the Escape key on your keyboard
  • Clicking outside the window

[Screenshot: detail-modal]

Deleting Notifications

Delete a Single Notification

To remove one notification:

  1. Find it in the timeline.
  2. Click the trash can icon on the right side.
  3. Confirm by clicking OK in the popup.

The notification disappears from the list and from users' notification feeds.

Warning: Deleted notifications cannot be recovered. They're removed permanently.

Delete Multiple Notifications

To delete many notifications at once:

  1. Use the filter buttons or type cards to narrow down to the notifications you want to delete.
  2. Use the bulk delete option (if available in your version).
  3. Confirm the action.

All matching notifications will be deleted.

Error: If you don't have any filters active, bulk delete removes ALL notifications. Always filter first to avoid deleting notifications you want to keep.

Tips for New Users

Tip:
  • Start small - Send your first notification to just yourself to see how it looks
  • Be clear and brief - Users scan notifications quickly, so get to the point fast
  • Use normal priority for most messages - save high and urgent for when you really need attention
  • Test your links - If you include an Action URL, click it yourself first to make sure it goes to the right place
  • Check the statistics - If most notifications aren't being read, they might be too frequent or not relevant enough
  • Avoid notification overload - Too many notifications train users to ignore them all

Troubleshooting

My notification didn't send to anyone

What you see: After clicking Send, you see an error saying "No target users found."

How to fix it:

  1. Check which audience you selected:

 

  • All Active Users - Make sure you have active users on your site
  • Active Subscribers - Verify you have users with current subscriptions
  • Verified Creators - Confirm you have creators who are verified
  • Specific Users - Double-check the user IDs you entered exist

 

  1. Try sending to a different audience to test.

 

The title and message fields show an error

What you see: Error message saying "Title and message are required."

How to fix it: Both the title and message fields must have text in them. You can't send a notification with either field empty.

Users say they're not receiving notifications

What you see: You sent a notification but users report not seeing it.

How to fix it:

  1. Check the timeline to confirm the notification was created.
  2. Make sure the notification wasn't deleted.
  3. Verify you selected the right target audience (users might not be in the group you sent to).
  4. Check that the frontend notification system is working - this is a technical issue requiring developer help.

 

Can't click or edit anything on the page

What you see: All the form fields are grayed out and buttons don't work.

How to fix it: Your site is in Demo Mode. This prevents changes to protect the demonstration site. To enable full functionality, Demo Mode needs to be turned off in the site configuration. Contact your site administrator or developer.

The detail window won't open when I click a notification

What you see: Clicking a notification row does nothing.

How to fix it:

  1. Refresh the page and try again.
  2. Try a different web browser.
  3. Clear your browser cache.
  4. If the problem continues, there may be a technical issue - contact support.

 

Notification shows "Unknown User"

What you see: In the timeline, a notification shows "Unknown User" instead of a username.

How to fix it: This happens when a notification was sent to a user ID that doesn't exist, or the user was deleted after the notification was sent. You can safely delete these notifications.

Page When to Use It
User Management To find user IDs, check which users are active, or manage user accounts
Email Templates To customize the email notifications users receive alongside in-app notifications
Creator Management To verify creators so you can send them notifications
Subscription Management To see which users have active subscriptions

Quick Reference

Site Maintenance:

  • Title: "Scheduled Maintenance Tonight"
  • Message: "The site will be down for maintenance from 2-4 AM EST. All features will be unavailable during this time."
  • Type: System
  • Priority: High
  • Target: All Active Users

 

New Feature Announcement:

  • Title: "New Feature: Video Playlists"
  • Message: "You can now create custom video playlists! Visit your profile to get started."
  • Type: Content
  • Priority: Normal
  • Target: All Active Users
  • Action URL: /settings/playlists.php

 

Subscription Expiring:

  • Title: "Your subscription expires in 3 days"
  • Message: "Renew now to keep enjoying premium features without interruption."
  • Type: Subscription
  • Priority: High
  • Target: Specific Users (users with expiring subscriptions)
  • Action URL: /settings/subscription.php

 

Creator Payout Notice:

  • Title: "January Earnings Available"
  • Message: "Your January earnings have been processed and are ready for payout."
  • Type: Payment
  • Priority: High
  • Target: Verified Creators Only
  • Action URL: /settings/earnings.php

 

Remember

  • Notifications go directly to users' notification feeds - they'll see them immediately
  • All Active Users can mean thousands of notifications - use carefully
  • You can't undo a sent notification, but you can delete it from users' feeds
  • Keep notifications relevant to avoid training users to ignore them
  • Check the read rate statistics to see if your notifications are effective

Related Pages