Blog

There has been a new buzz in the web application or even the application market in general. This buzz is about Progressive Web Applications. The question that arises is what a progressive web application is. The question which follows this one is what are the probable Progressive Web Application benefits that one should go for such a newer technology or niche maybe? Can I really develop cost effective mobile app with progressive web application?

Well, in this blog we will be discussing this in-depth and in all the possible relevant details.

WHAT IS A PROGRESSIVE WEB APPLICATION

A Progressive Web App or PWA is literally the usual web application albeit with modern capabilities. The major Progressive Web Application benefits include easier URL accessibility, super search engine optimization from the day of launch, easily deployed servers and superior user experience among others.

In the following sections, we will first try and understand what it takes to become a progressive web app, the difference between a PWA and a native mobile app and finally a look at certain common examples of Progressive web applications.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A PROGRESSIVE WEB APPLICATION

For a mobile app to be considered a PWA, it should have the following set of Progress Web Application benefits.

USER AND PLATFORM AGNOSTIC

The most primary of the progressive web application benefits, a PWA allows a user to access the app from any platform or browser without any hassle. Thus, whether it is iOS or Android, Safari, Chrome or Firefox or Opera, a progressive web application will open seamlessly across.

SUPER RESPONSIVE

Another progressive web application benefit lies in the fact that it is compatible with all screens and systems. Thus, unlike usual web applications, there are no different versions for different devices. A PWA adjusts quite effectively.

INDEPENDENT OF THE NETWORK

Whether you are online on an active fast speed internet, getting barely any signals, one major progressive web application benefit lies in the fact that it will still work! Of course, loading new pages will be a slight concern but what had been opened or got loaded during the time of an active internet connection will well be there.

LIKE AN APP

Just like any good app, a progressive web application will also provide an app-shell model to provide the user with effective navigation and social interactions

FAST IN UPDATION

Another major progressive web application benefit is that if there is a new technology or upgrade in the market, the PWA will have it! So much for fast updates.

SECURE TO USE

Powered with HTTPS, and end to end encryption as required, a PWA offers complete privacy and security to the user.

EASILY DISCOVER-ABLE

Thanks to the W3C manifests, and highly optimized backend SEO, a PWA is easily discover-able across all the search engines.

HIGH ON ENGAGEMENT

With all the push notifications, in-app notifications, SMS and email streams and a lot more, a progressive web application offers a super engaging platform to the users.

BE A KEEP APP

The biggest progressive web application benefit, which one can say is more like a prerequisite for the developing firm is that a PWA sticks to the user’s phone. It is the kind of app which will, in many cases, come auto-installed on the user’s phone or laptop.

SHAREABLE AND LINKABLE

A progressive web application needs to be enabled for URL sharing and should not have any complex installation.

A PROGRESSIVE WEB APP VS A NATIVE MOBILE APP

The biggest difference lies in the hardware platform being used and the compatibility of the PWA or the Native mobile app with that. When we have a native app, for instance, there are a lot of hassles surrounding which platform to choose and how the application would thus end up missing out on a certain part of its customer base. In addition to this, there are multiple other challenges about how to best monetize the application, whether to go for just a website or an app would make more sense, then comes the entire size consideration, the search engine optimization bit and a lot more. In this section, we will draw a comparison between a progressive web app and a native app to understand the typical progressive web application benefits at the offer.

THE CODE AND HARDWARE DIFFERENCES

A native mobile app by its very definition means that it has the limitations of the platform for which it has been developed in specific. So, an iOS app will work for the Apple- operating system while the android app will work on the respective OS. The major progressive web application benefit lies in its being platform or operating system agnostic. A typical progressive web application is built just like any web application or website. These apps have HTML, CSS, Javascript at their base and hence can integrate several features on the same platform. The most recent advancement in the domain has been the use of HTML5 for web application development. This has resulted in enabling a progressive web application to even have low-level hardware features such as pressure-sensitive touch, graphic rendering, audio and video enablement etc.