Microsoft Edge now offers very basic support for website notifications, including integration with the Action Center in Windows 10.

Note: This tip is derived from the Windows 10 Field Guide, which is now being updated for the Windows 10 Creators Update.

As web technologies advance, websites are starting to adopt capabilities that were previously only available to native applications. Among these advances is the ability for websites to send you notifications when something happens. For example, a web-based email service can send a notification when a new message arrives. Or a news site can send you a notification when there is breaking news.

What makes website notifications particularly compelling in Windows 10 is that they integrate with Action Center alongside system and app notifications. Assuming, of course, that you use Microsoft Edge.

Note: At the time of this writing, Edge is only compatible with what’s called local notifications. That is, the website in question has to be open in an Edge browser tab in order to deliver notifications. Support for the server-side notifications that allow websites to notify you at any time is coming to Edge in a future update, Microsoft says. What this means to you is that Edge does not fully support all of the websites that provide notifications today. For that, you’ll need to use Chrome, Firefox, or some other modern browser.

Before you get started with website notifications, you should ensure that Microsoft Edge is configured to deliver them. To do so, navigate to Settings > System > Notifications & Actions and makes sure that Microsoft Edge is set to On. (Optionally, you can also select the Microsoft Edge entry in the list to view and change advanced notification options.)

Now, when you visit a website that can deliver notifications, you will be prompted at the bottom of the Edge window.

If you select Yes, that website will now display notifications (assuming the site is open in a tab in Edge). These notifications look and work just like any other notifications in Windows 10. A pop-up notification “toast” will appear in the lower right of your display.

If you select this notification in time, Edge will appear with the proper tab selected so you can respond to whatever triggered the notification.

Otherwise, the notification will display in the Action Center (WINKEY + A) so you can deal with it anytime in the future.

Edge maintains a list of the websites for which you have accepted notifications. If you don’t find this behavior useful, you can disable notifications on a site-by-side basis. To do so, open Edge and select Settings and More (“…”) and then Settings. Then, select the View Advanced Settings button under “Advanced Settings” and then the Manage button under “Notifications.” In the Manage Notification pane that appears, you can toggle notifications by site. You can also right-click a site and choose “Delete” to remove it permanently.

Tagged with Microsoft Edge