Almost half of all website users now access the Web from mobile devices. As a result, we've witnessed a fast shift towards mobile-friendly designs and revamped websites to keep up with the pace. However, even the latest and greatest responsive website may be rendered obsolete very quickly.
Businesses are running fast to respond to the highly competitive environment and rapidly growing requirements from tech-savvy users. They respond with a constant chase of innovation, spending fortunes on improving users' experience and maintaining different platforms, often facing severe limitations.
And just as we thought about how industries will respond to the cutting-edge competition, Progressive Web Apps (PWA) emerged as the next generation of apps. It combines the best parts of both native mobile apps and responsive websites, making it much more user-friendly for everyone.
With the PWA, users get an experience similar to that of a native application without installing anything on their device. Instead, they open the app via the browser on their phone just like they would for any other site.
More about Progressive Web Apps
In a nutshell, a PWA is a website that has all the benefits of an app. First, it can load instantly, whether you have spotty reception or a flaky data connection. Second, it works offline and doesn't require a native install. Third, it updates in the background, so it's always fresh and current. Finally, PWAs allow for push notifications—a powerful tool your website shouldn't be without.
What can PWA do?
PWAs improve the mobile experience by offering an alternative to native apps. For example, if you own a mobile-friendly e-commerce store, you've probably tried to increase your mobile conversion rate by suggesting "add to home screen" buttons on your mobile website. This simple feature lets users install your app icon on their phones, which feels like an app instead of a mobile page.
Moreover, PWAs enable offline access to web content. It means that users will be able to access your site, even when they are physically disconnected from the Internet. There's a lot to unpack about the features PWAs, but we've got the basics in today's post.
Features and Benefits of PWA
The PWAs have emerged as the buzzword recently in the world of apps. With its rise, there is a lot of excitement around this technology which has brought in features that revolutionize the way we use websites.
Here, we briefly help you understand their unique features and benefits compared to websites and native mobile apps.
Faster Loading Time
Online visitors have a very low tolerance for slowdowns. According to a study by Shopify, 53% of visitors will bounce from a website if it takes more than three seconds to load. The same research reveals that it takes less than two seconds for a user to determine whether the content provided online meets their needs or not. Hence, loading speeds are an essential factor that can help build customer trust and increase conversions with ease.
PWAs provide superior performance to mobile websites, allowing you to make your website faster, more accessible, and more available on any device.
Progressive Web Apps use an alternative method called Client-Side Rendering or CSR. With this approach, content is rendered in the client's browser, using JavaScript. So, instead of sending an entire HTML document from the server every time, the user only receives a tiny string of data with a JavaScript file that will request and render the necessary parts (HTML, CSS, JS) of the page in the client's browser.
Offline Browsing
PWAs can offer offline capabilities through service workers by intercepting network requests and taking advantage of progressive enhancement to achieve an offline-first experience. Although the user still loads the site initially in the usual non-offline manner, the service worker preemptively caches all static files.
Push Notifications
The push notifications feature in PWAs has become a viable alternative to the classical one-time registration process. Apart from their use as a replacement of registration forms, they can also help keep your users engaged with your online store, re-engaging them after their purchase or postponing cart abandonment if done correctly.
Ready for deployment
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) help you create hybrid apps that can turn into native apps. You can convert any PWA into a native app within a few hours and significantly increase the visibility and usability of your web app and boost your business growth.
In a nutshell, PWAs can be easily deployed in the App and Play Store to build a native app from scratch.
Lightweight Applications
PWAs are lightweight and can function seamlessly across multiple devices or platforms with the help of modern technologies like Service Workers, Push notifications, Background sync, Mobile-friendly approaches to deliver an app-like experience that loads instantly, even on slower networks.
No Update Required
The most important part of a Progressive Web App (PWA) is that it works offline. There is no need to update. All the updates are installed when you install the app on your device.
Search Engine Indexing
Google and Apple's acceptance of PWAs was a big win for the industry, and we're seeing more and more people asking how they can optimize their PWAs for SEO.
The impact of Progressive Web Apps
The Web is used for far more than just browsing static web pages. As users demand more from their experience with the Web, progressive web apps (PWA) are the tools that will help us convert them. Their goal is to modernize what we know as the Web and create a hybrid that encompasses both native and web applications.
Many people associate PWAs with JavaScript and performance, but there is more to unpack. They were invented in hopes of attracting users and creating something more than just a "webpage" — they want users to see the Web as an alternative to native apps, making it easier for businesses and brands to compete in today's fast-paced market.
Progressive Web Apps improve our web experiences by filling in blanks that require information or experiences that users couldn't render before. They remove friction from specific interactions and open up new worlds for us using limited devices.
PWAs have all the proper APIs and can be customized in several ways. Therefore, they can be much better than websites simply converted to HTML and run as a server-side plugin. Moreover, it explains why many big companies are working on creating these apps.
