# Set up Airship and send a message Create an Airship account and project, configure a channel, and then send your first message to your app or website. If you already have an Airship account, skip right to [Create a messaging project](#create-a-messaging-project). If you are creating an Airship account now, you will start on our free plan and can [upgrade to a more feature-rich paid plan at any time](https://www.airship.com/docs/guides/getting-started/admin/company-plan/). ## Set up your account
  1. Create an Airship account on go.airship.com  or go.airship.eu . Make sure your Region selection matches the location where you want your data to be hosted.
  2. Check your inbox for a verification email from Airship and click Activate account to open the account setup page.
  3. Set up a password.
> **Tip:** After creating an Airship account, you can access [Flight School](https://www.airship.com/blog/fast-track-your-airship-expertise-and-value-creation-with-flight-school/) to take training courses and complete our Certification Track. > > Select the question mark icon () in the dashboard header, then **Flight School**. Or you can go directly to [https://flightschool.airship.com/](https://flightschool.airship.com/). Now you can enter an email address to request a magic link to install our [1st Flight app](https://www.airship.com/docs/guides/getting-started/1st-flight-app/) or skip. After either choice, your next screen is your [Dashboard](https://www.airship.com/docs/reference/glossary/#dashboard), where you can create a messaging project. ## Create a messaging project From the top-level dashboard: 1. Select **Create project**, then **Messaging project**. 1. Enter details about your project: * **Project Name** — You can edit this at any time. * **Icon (Optional)** — Upload your icon. This does not have to be the same icon you submit to app marketplaces, but that is the typical practice. * **Type** — Specify whether this project is live or for testing. If this is your first time configuring a project for Airship, you should choose **Test**. **This setting cannot be changed later.** * **Industry** — Select an industry type and sub-industry. These are used for reporting. * **Website URL (Optional)** — Enter your homepage URL to provide context for [Audience Pulse](https://www.airship.com/docs/guides/audience/segmentation/audience-pulse/#ai-recommendations) AI recommendations. > **Tip:** * **Project Name** — If you work in a large organization with multiple projects, keep in mind that other people in your company may need to search for this project, so give it as descriptive a name as > possible and adopt a naming convention. Examples: "Anytown News iOS — > Development" or "McDowell's Chicago Android — Production". > > * **Live/Test** — Ultimately, you should have both a Test build (development for sending test messages) and a Live build (production for sending messages to customers). > > Apple treats the production and development servers separately, so a device token for a testing sandbox will not work in production. See [iOS Channel Configuration](https://www.airship.com/docs/guides/getting-started/developers/configure-channels/#ios-channel-configuration) in *Configuring Mobile Channels*. 1. Select **Create project**. Now you can configure channels for your project. ### Manage projects After creating a messaging project, you can access its details for integration. You can also edit or delete the project. Next to your project name, select the dropdown menu ( ), then **Project details**. From there you can view the following information: * Project name * Industry * App key * Secret — Owner, Administrator, or Full access level is required. * Master Secret — Owner or Administrator access level is required. To edit your project's [name, icon, or industry](#create-a-messaging-project): 1. Select **Edit project details** and make your changes: 1. Select **Save project details**. To delete your project, select **Delete project**. > **Warning:** When you delete a project: > > * All messages are deleted, including any scheduled or ongoing messages. > * All analytics are deleted. > * All channels are uninstalled. > * After 90 days, data related to the deleted project is purged. > > This action is irreversible. See also: * [Access levels](https://www.airship.com/docs/guides/getting-started/admin/teams-messaging/#access-levels) in *Manage Messaging teams and access* * [App Keys & Secrets: Security](https://www.airship.com/docs/guides/getting-started/developers/app-keys-secrets/) ## Configure channels After creating a project, configure the channels you want to send messages to. While anyone should be able to follow these instructions and send a push notification, this is a technical process and should be completed by a developer with access to the proper mobile development tools and credentials for developer programs. Follow the steps in the documentation for each channel: * Mobile app [Channel configuration](https://www.airship.com/docs/guides/getting-started/developers/configure-channels/) and [SDK setup](https://www.airship.com/docs/sdk-topics/installation/) * [Getting Started](https://www.airship.com/docs/developer/sdk-integration/web/getting-started/) for Web ## Create a Test Group You will send your first notification to a [Test Group](https://www.airship.com/docs/reference/glossary/#preview_test_groups) that contains your [Channel ID](https://www.airship.com/docs/reference/glossary/#channel_id) as a member. Your Channel ID is available after integrating the Airship SDK with your app or website. To find your Channel ID, you can speak with one of your developers about adding it to a Test Group or do so yourself. See [Find a Channel ID](https://www.airship.com/docs/guides/getting-started/developers/identifiers/#find-a-channel-id) in *Finding identifiers*. Next, create a Test Group in the Airship dashboard: 1. Go to **Audience**, then **Preview and Test Groups**. 1. Select **Create group**. 1. Enter a name for the group and enable **Test group**. 1. Select **Save and continue**. 1. Select **Add user** and enter your name and app or web Channel ID. 1. Select **Done**. See [Preview and Test Groups](https://www.airship.com/docs/guides/audience/preview-test-groups/) for caveats and additional information. ## Send your first message Now you are ready to send your message: 1. In the sidebar, select the **Create** dropdown menu ( ), then **Message**. 1. In Audience, select **All Users** and [Fan Out](https://www.airship.com/docs/reference/glossary/#fan_out), and enable **Mobile Apps** or **Web**. Then, select **Content** in the header. 1. ![Selecting the message type](https://www.airship.com/docs/images/ug-gs-content-push_hu_e5155038c9e843fd.webp) *Selecting the message type* Select **Content** in the header, then **Push Notification**, then **Add Content**. 1. ![Entering push notification text](https://www.airship.com/docs/images/content-body_hu_47c8439af54bdaa8.webp) *Entering push notification text* Enter the text that will display in your message. A preview will display as you type. 1. Select **Delivery** in the header, then **Send Now**. 1. ![Reviewing the message summary before sending](https://www.airship.com/docs/images/ab-preview_hu_18dda5767a7acfd8.webp) *Reviewing the message summary before sending* Select **Review & Send** in the header, then review the device preview and message summary. Use the arrows to page through the various previews. The channel and display type dynamically update in the dropdown menu above. You can also select a preview directly from the menu. 1. Select **Send Message**. If all has been configured correctly, you just sent your first push or web push notification! Because the message was sent to Test Users, you should see the push notification appear on the mobile device or web browser for the users defined in your selected Test Group. If this is not the case, review the steps for creating your Test Group and reattempt this procedure.