What is OneSignal Journeys?
OneSignal Journeys is a customer engagement automation feature that connects waits, branches, and message delivery to customer behavior and attributes. Its visual builder supports flows across push, email, SMS, and in-app messaging.
A one-time campaign fits a scheduled announcement. Journeys fits customers who join at different times or need different guidance after their next action. Start with the useful customer action, then connect the data and messages needed to support it.
Define when guidance should stop
Choose either a segment or a Custom Event as the entry type. Decide whether a customer state or a newly completed action should start the flow.
Entry
Define both eligible and excluded customers. Check exclusions and an initial wait so customers who already completed the objective do not receive an unnecessary first message.
Exit
Identify when a completed request, purchase, or eligibility change makes guidance unnecessary. A channel opt-out and an exit from the whole Journey are different conditions.
Re-entry
Segment-based flows apply re-entry rules after exit. Event-based flows can create concurrent instances for one customer, so duplicate events and repeated guidance need deliberate handling.
Separate elapsed time from customer action
Wait pauses for a duration. Wait Until waits for a condition or event. Time Window controls when a customer can move forward. These choices distinguish “a day has passed” from “the customer has not finished.”
A Yes/No branch follows a condition; a Split Branch divides traffic by proportion. Write down the audience and intended action for each path before comparing messages and timing.
Connect the application data behind the flow
A button click does not always mean a completed request. For payments, bookings, or purchases confirmed on a server, define the event at the point the source system confirms the action.
Services with repeated orders or multiple projects need a shared identifier, such as order_id or project_id. Match subsequent actions to the right instance so one completed order does not satisfy the reminder for another.
Assign one sending system to each event to prevent SDK and server duplicates. Custom Events requires a paid plan; event storage has separate billing conditions.
Design example
Help trial users create their first project
A design example for a work app whose value starts with creating a project. The objective is project creation, not merely a message click.
Trial starts
The server sends trial_started with the customer ID and the identifier for the trial account.
Wait for first use
Wait for project_created. Customers who complete it within the chosen period finish without an extra reminder.
Help those still waiting
Send getting-started guidance through a subscribed channel. After login, the link opens the actual project creation screen.
Check completion and repetition
Review subsequent creation, opt-outs, and repeat sends. Stop follow-up when the trial ends or eligibility changes.
Choose timing and channels around product usage, consent, and message frequency. Test event arrival, branching, and deep links with test accounts before launch.
Implementation with IXC
IXC connects journey design to working software
As an official OneSignal partner in Korea, IXC supports CRM planning, application development, customer data integration, and operations. Application changes needed by a campaign can be part of the implementation.
Scenario and data
Define customer actions, exclusions, event contracts, and source systems, then connect them to entry, branching, and exit.
Development and QA
Implement SDKs, server events, and deep links. Verify account transitions, duplicate events, and opt-out behavior.
Campaign operations
Review audiences, messages, and conversion data together, and improve journeys on a regular operating cadence.
Design and testing resources
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Journeys without development?
You can edit flows in the visual builder. Channel setup, the application SDK, customer identity, and behavior events must already be connected. Adding a new behavior condition may require application or server development.
Does opting out of push end the Journey?
A push opt-out alone does not end the whole Journey. Its push message steps are skipped, while other subscribed channels can continue. Define a separate exit rule when all guidance should stop.
Can reminders stop after a purchase?
A purchase event or segment change can drive an exit. Also exclude customers who already completed the objective, and test that the event arrives when the payment is actually confirmed.
How should repeated entry be handled?
Segment-based and event-based Journeys handle re-entry differently. Event-based flows allow concurrent instances. Prevent duplicate event delivery and use order or request identifiers to match subsequent actions to each instance.