Dan Collis-Puro

This plugin allows users of subscriber- or greater access to subscribe to categories of posts on your wordpress blog. It is probably most appropriate for small to medium sites.
Users can:
<ul>
<li>Choose whether they prefer HTML or text-only email,</li>
<li>Control on a category-by-category basis whether or not they get messages immediately or in a daily or weekly digest.</li>
<li>Control which categories they subscribe to.</li>
</ul>
Site administrators can:
<ul>
<li>Modify reply-to, from, and BCC addresses.</li>
<li>Modify user subscriptions on a users profile page.</li>
<li>Set basic parameters for delivery – how many messages to send at once to avoid usage complaints on shared hosting, for instance.</li>
<li>Bulk edit category subscriptions from the users list.</li>
<li>Exercise complete control over text and HTML templates.</li>
</ul>
Other notes:
<ul>
<li>Scheduled posts are only sent out after the wordpress backend actually publishes them. Put more simply, they work as expected. Be sure wp-cron is running correctly.</li>
<li>Admins can set a “send delay” parameter to allow last-minute edits before sending out a message.</li>
<li>If a message is unpublished after being published, message sending will be aborted. Messages sent already are – well – sent already. We can’t travel back in time (though that’d be a great 2.0 feature). This ensures that old posts needing minor edits don’t get sent out again as updates.</li>
<li>Only messages published after the date of installation are sent out.</li>
<li>Category hierarchy has no effect on subscriptions. If you subscribe to a parent category, you ARE NOT automatically subscribed to its children. This may be integrated into future releases. We may also allow for the subscription to tags or custom taxonomies in future releases.</li>
<li>Bounces ARE NOT handled by this plugin. You can, however, set the “reply-to” and “from” addresses to allow you to collect them in a logical place.</li>
</ul>
Speaking of cron, if you have a low-traffic site (say, for an intranet), you may find that your messages aren’t delivered in the time frame you’re expecting. This is because wordpress scheduled tasks are fired off by visitors to your website – so if you don’t get a lot of traffic, your scheduled tasks won’t run frequently. You can manually create a cron job to hit your wp-cron.php file, something like:
*/15 * * * * wget -q –post-data=”foo” http://www.example.com/yoursite -O – > /dev/null
Remove the “-q” switch above when you test this manually to ensure the request returns a “200 OK” response.
TODO:
<ul>
<li>More template tags.</li>
<li>Better bulk editing features.</li>
<li>Queue management / statistics.</li>
<li>A better template editing interface.</li>
<li>Better debugging – e.g. the ability to send example messages.</li>
<li>More flexible task scheduling.</li>
</ul>
<h3>More Documentation</h3>
See the “Category Subscriptions” options page under your Settings menu. Template tag documentation lives there.
<h3>Other</h3>
This plugin is licensed under the same terms as WordPress itself.
Copyright 2011, The President and Fellows of Harvard College

Category Subscriptions

Allow registered users to subscribe to categories giving them control over delivery times (e.g. daily or weekly digests) and format (html or text).

Notification Master

Transform Your WordPress Site with Professional Notification Management
Notification Master is the most comprehensive WordPress notification plugin designed to dramatically increase user engagement and site activity. Whether you’re running a blog, eCommerce store, or community site, our plugin ensures your users never miss important updates through intelligent, automated notifications.
Why Choose Notification Master?
✅ 12+ Notification Channels – Reach users everywhere they are 
✅ Real-Time Browser Push Notifications – Instant alerts even when users aren’t on your site 
✅ Advanced Automation – Set up once, notify forever 
✅ Personalized Messages – Dynamic content with smart merge tags 
✅ Zero Coding Required – User-friendly interface for all skill levels 
✅ Mobile Optimized – Perfect notifications on any device
🎥 Watch Our Complete Setup Tutorial 
Learn how to maximize your WordPress notifications in under 10 minutes:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="How to Set Up Web Push Notifications in WordPress with Notification Master" width="750" height="422" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6gRbfHZzi1s?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<h3>🚀 Key Features & Notification Channels</h3>
<h3>Web Push Notifications (Browser Notifications)</h3>
<ul>
<li>Send instant browser alerts to subscribers even when they’re not on your website</li>
<li>Works on desktop and mobile browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)</li>
<li>Customizable notification appearance with your site branding</li>
<li>Smart subscription management with floating buttons</li>
<li>Welcome messages for new subscribers</li>
</ul>
<h3>Email Notification System</h3>
<ul>
<li>Rich HTML email templates with WordPress Classic Editor</li>
<li>Multiple recipient management (roles, individual users, custom addresses)</li>
<li>Email exclusion options for targeted messaging</li>
<li>Test email functionality before sending</li>
<li>Background processing for improved performance</li>
</ul>
<h3>Social Media & Communication Integrations</h3>
<ul>
<li>Discord Notifications – Keep your community updated instantly</li>
<li>Slack Integration – Team notifications and updates</li>
<li>WhatsApp Notifications – Direct messaging to users</li>
<li>Facebook Page Updates – Automatic social media posting</li>
<li>Twitter/X Integration – Auto-tweet important updates</li>
<li>Instagram Auto-Posting – Visual content automation</li>
</ul>
<h3>Advanced Automation & Workflows</h3>
<ul>
<li>Zapier Integration – Connect with 5000+ apps and services</li>
<li>Make (Integromat) – Advanced workflow automation</li>
<li>Webhook Support – Custom integrations and API connections</li>
<li>Twilio SMS – Text message notifications</li>
<li>Conditional Logic – Smart notification rules</li>
</ul>
<h3>📋 Complete Trigger System – Never Miss Important Events</h3>
<h3>Content Management Triggers</h3>
<ul>
<li>New Post Published – Alert subscribers about fresh content</li>
<li>Post Updates – Notify about content changes</li>
<li>Comment Activity – New comments, approvals, replies</li>
<li>Media Management – File uploads, updates, deletions</li>
<li>Draft & Review Process – Editorial workflow notifications</li>
</ul>
<h3>User Activity Triggers</h3>
<ul>
<li>User Registration – Welcome new members</li>
<li>Profile Updates – Account changes</li>
<li>Login/Logout Activity – Security and engagement tracking</li>
<li>User Management – Administrative notifications</li>
</ul>
<h3>WordPress System Triggers</h3>
<ul>
<li>Plugin Management – Installation, activation, updates</li>
<li>Theme Changes – New themes, switches, updates</li>
<li>Taxonomy Management – Categories, tags, custom taxonomies</li>
<li>Privacy Compliance – GDPR data export/erasure notifications</li>
</ul>
<h3>WooCommerce Integration (eCommerce Notifications)</h3>
<ul>
<li>Order status changes and updates</li>
<li>New customer registrations</li>
<li>Product inventory alerts</li>
<li>Payment confirmations</li>
<li>Shipping notifications</li>
</ul>
<h3>🏷️ Smart Personalization with Merge Tags</h3>
Create highly personalized notifications using our extensive merge tag system:
Content Tags: 
* <code>{{post.title}}</code> – Dynamic post titles 
* <code>{{post.content}}</code> – Excerpt or full content 
* <code>{{post_author.nickname}}</code> – Author information 
* <code>{{post.permalink}}</code> – Direct links to content
User Tags: 
* <code>{{user.email}}</code> – User email addresses 
* <code>{{user.display_name}}</code> – Display names 
* <code>{{user.role}}</code> – User roles and permissions
System Tags: 
* <code>{{general.blogname}}</code> – Your website name 
* <code>{{general.current_time}}</code> – Current date and time
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) Support: 
* Custom field values for personalized content 
* Dynamic product information 
* User meta data integration
<h3>📚 Comprehensive Documentation & Support</h3>
Access our complete knowledge base for detailed setup guides:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://notification-master.com/docs/getting-started/" rel="nofollow ugc">Quick Start Guide</a> – Get up and running in minutes</li>
<li><a href="https://notification-master.com/docs/settings/" rel="nofollow ugc">Channel Configuration</a> – Detailed integration setup</li>
<li><a href="https://notification-master.com/docs/triggers/" rel="nofollow ugc">Trigger Reference</a> – Complete trigger documentation</li>
<li><a href="https://notification-master.com/docs/web-push/" rel="nofollow ugc">Web Push Setup</a> – Browser notification configuration</li>
<li><a href="https://notification-master.com/docs/email/" rel="nofollow ugc">Email Templates</a> – Email design and customization</li>
<li><a href="https://notification-master.com/docs-category/integrations/" rel="nofollow ugc">Social Media Integration</a> – Complete social setup guides</li>
<li><a href="https://notification-master.com/docs/woocommerce-triggers/" rel="nofollow ugc">WooCommerce Notifications</a> – eCommerce-specific triggers</li>
<li><a href="https://notification-master.com/docs/webhook/" rel="nofollow ugc">API & Webhooks</a> – Advanced integrations</li>
</ul>

Notification Master – Real-Time WordPress Notifications With Email, SMS, Webhooks & More

Send push, email, and real-time notifications across 12+ channels like WhatsApp, Slack, and Discord. Boost engagement automatically.

Category Subscriptions vs Notification Master – Real-Time WordPress Notifications With Email, SMS, Webhooks & More