There is a lot of excitement about progressive web apps lately. They are the future. Some claim this new technology will change the way people use web apps, while others are more sceptical. Regardless of one’s opinion on progressive web apps, it’s hard to argue that there are many benefits to building one.
Considering all the benefits they provide, it makes sense to start building them today! Building a progressive web app means that now the sites won’t take forever to load. Articles are loaded super-fast, businesses get insane engagement on social media posts, and visitors have a better experience with a properly built app.
Progressive web apps are search engine friendly. Google says that such apps rank higher in the search results than other websites for two reasons: fast and safe.
It’s good for users to get a website loaded fast, but it’s also beneficial for you as the website owner.
So, let’s dive into what progressive web apps are, the benefits, and how you can decide on a PWA provider.
What is Progressive Web App?
A progressive web app (PWA) is a website that takes advantage of modern web capabilities to offer an enhanced user experience through features like offline access, push notifications, and the ability to activate various features only within browser tabs.
Simply put, it is a website with many features and capabilities of a mobile app that you can access through any browser. As opposed to a traditional web page or site, PWAs are designed with what’s known as “responsive design” in mind.
Promisingly, PWA has been growing in popularity lately, and more tech companies are starting to invest time and resources into its development.
How is it Different From Other Apps?
The primary purpose is to enhance the user experience and provide related features in an app-like way. They are built to exclusively support modern browser features like swipe gestures and native apps on smartphones but still can reach users on older browsers.
When PWA’s are used from older browsers, it falls back to regular web app functionality.
This is why you shouldn’t confuse a PWA with another sort of web app, which are essentially revamped versions of websites that use app-like features, but still function as a regular website.
5 Benefits of Progressive Web Apps
Nobody likes to build and maintain a web application when there are more accessible options available, but that doesn’t mean you should avoid those extra hours of effort. Progressive Web Apps development can offer some pretty sweet benefits that other types of apps (e.g., native iOS or Android apps) cannot, so it’s worth taking the time upfront to build a PWA for your app. Also, PWAs are a great option if you don’t want to invest significant time and money developing native web apps.
1. Use the Same Site on all Devices: You can be on your computer, tablet, or phone and open a site just by clicking on that link. When you use an application, it welcomes you with a customized experience for that device. Since PWAs provide the same experience across all devices, they will only use the features that are supported by each device’s browser.
2. Reach People Who aren’t familiar with your Brand: Mobile and tablet users are becoming more engaged in the apps they use regularly. As a result, they spend more time interacting with those apps.PWAs can be used as a mobile version of an app (for native app users) or as a link to your full website for non-customers (for new visitors). The best part is that clients don’t have to install anything or sign in to any accounts to use your PWA; they can immediately click on the link and start interacting with your app.
3. Have an App That Works Offline: Did you know Starbucks launched its progressive web app in 2017 with offline access and smooth animations? Later, they reported a two-times increase in their daily active users. Building an app that provides a good experience also means ensuring it runs smoothly even when a device isn’t connected to the internet. Using a web app, you can make sure your site updates in real-time, even when there’s no connection available, which is essential for mobile users who tend to lose connectivity more often than others. PWAs are able to provide an excellent offline experience.
4. Keep Users Engaged with Push Notifications: Regular users of apps can be pretty hard to reach via email or other online marketing tools. But since PWAs are web-based, users can get updates for your app by simply visiting their browser. The push notifications feature of PWAs can significantly impact your sales. Twitter launched its PWA based on this feature only. Once it launched its PWA with push notification features, it noticed a 65% boost in pages per session and a 20% lower bounce rate. This not only allows you to build a loyal and engaged following but also provides a way for third-party developers to communicate with your users.
5. Build a Single App Capable of Many Things: In today’s mobile-first world, it’s vital that users can reach the content they want quickly and intuitively regardless of the device or language they’re using. Let’s take the example of Trivago. Their PWA was faster and has push notifications along with many other features. Just after the launch, they reported an increase of 150% in their user engagement. PWAs allow you to stay focused on creating an app that works across all devices rather than creating separate apps and websites for multiple platforms/locations/devices.
While the benefits of building a PWA are pretty obvious, it’s important to note that not all of your existing apps will be supported by PWAs.
Each progressive web app (PWA) is vendor-agnostic and understands the modern web layer: HTML. Because they’re built on top of this foundation, PWAs benefit from all the features developers now have access to, thanks to browser vendors like Microsoft Edge and Mozilla Firefox.
This includes access to hardware-accelerated rendering, touch events, local storage, offline applications, push notifications, and background sync.
How to Choose a Progressive Web App Provider?
If you are wondering which app host to choose, here are some points to consider:
- Mature experience and knowledge-> Although PWAs are new, PWA support has been available for years on the desktop. This means that you will have a lot of resources to learn from, including experienced web developers that will be able to help you improve your app’s performance and advice on how to achieve PWA-level features.
- Web Design Expertise-> PWAs are built with web technologies, so it is essential to choose a partner that knows and understands how PWA development works. You will need to work with them closely in the initial stages, after which you can continue making changes and updates by yourself.
- Top-Notch Programming Experience-> Programming a PWA is not a trivial task, but very proficient programmers can still do it. Look at their web page to understand the quality of work their developers have produced before selecting them.
- Support for PWAs from within their service-> Figure out what your app will look like (UI), include this with your other mockups, and then get developers to build it.
Conclusion
The past few years have seen a surge in technology and its importance on the web. As a result, the web as a platform has evolved to include previously unavailable features. PWAs are one such development that allows developers to create applications that all devices can easily use.
While PWAs aren’t a proper substitute for native apps, they still provide extra functionality and an enhanced experience compared to traditional websites.
Are you ready to build a progressive web app for your business? BitCot is your company, which has been exploring the powerful technology of PWA for over a decade now. Thanks to our skilled and proficient developers, we build engaging, user-friendly, and reliable applications with faster load times. We won’t leave you hanging in. From the development stage to the successful launch, you can rely on us for all your PWA needs.
