Learn Everything About Progressive Web Apps

Technology is ever-changing, and the way businesses can market themselves evolves with it. Read this blog post to know how progressive web apps are changing the way of web app development. 

Evolving technology such as progressive web apps have entirely changed mobile app development, and now it has become everyone’s demand. However, entering into the world of mobile development is not an easy task. There are a lot of questions keep on whirling in the mind of developers such as:

• What languages should I use?
• Which platform should I publish on?
• Which devices should I support?
• Which frameworks should I use?

As per the stats, with PWAs, mobile traffic gets increased by 68%, conversions get increased by 52%, PWAs load and install 15 times faster than regular mobile apps, they require less storage and so on.

Coming with better support for cross-browser and engaging user experience, PWAs are the clear winner here over the traditional apps. Progressive web apps are an exciting and emerging concept that uses modern web capabilities to deliver an app-like experience to the users.

What are Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)?

Progressive Web Apps, also knowns as PWAs, are an advanced form of responsive websites that act as mobile apps, seamlessly serve web pages in a users’ browser so they can have a mobile app like experience on web browsers.

PWAs can surely be the next big thing for web app development. Since its inception, progressive web applications have already attracted a lot of attention owing to its ease of construction and well-defined user experience.

Some Useful Insight into Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)

Its Unique Features

What isolates progressive web applications from regular websites is a list of essential features that include:

• Responsive – They are responsive on all the devices, be it desktop, mobile, or tablet.
• Connectivity – They are not dependent upon any third party for the connectivity; they are independent. These applications run on the areas of poor connectivity or even in offline mode.
• Installable – It is easy to install Progressive web applications on the central area of your device, which, in turn, makes it easily accessible to users.
• Secure – These applications are hosted over HTTPS to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks.
  
• Linkable – Progressive web apps come with zero-installation, zero-friction, and are quite easy to share. The power of linking URL’s come along with these kinds of applications.
  
• App-like feel – Designed on the app shell model, these applications feel like an app to the user with navigation and app-style features.
  
• Progressive – Progressive web applications work for every user, regardless of the browser choice.

How Progressive web applications contribute to better visitor engagement and increased conversions?

Progressive web applications combine the best of their apps with the broad reach of the web. They are designed in a way to solve the real problems that businesses face by bringing essential features to the network. They are designed with an app-shell architecture wherein the app is separated into two major components, i.e., the shell, and the content.

You may also like to read: Guide to Create Cross-Browser Compatible Website Layout

The shell comprises UI elements as header, menus, and drawers. When the app is cached, the shell should always be saved on the device. This application shell is the secret to excellent performance on the web. These apps work for faster loading types on all types of content.

Better Visitor Engagement and Increased Conversions with the Following

Seamless inter-app experience

One of the most notable functionalities of a progressive web app is a much-improved app cross-functionality. These calls for ease in switching between apps and sharing information between the two. Additionally, these apps are much faster and intuitive compared to the other ones.

Deep linking

In native applications, the use of deep linking is done to guide the user to specific content within the app. The same works across all apps. In an application like Whatsapp, deep linking directly opens the target app and guides the user directly to the content that was shared. This process also works through the install process both on the app store and play store.

They are not registered on these stores to manage intent or app links, so these do not support deep linking. Users click on links from channels like email or SMS. These links will be routed to the browser even if the Progressive web app is installed, thereby resulting in a sub-optimal experience.

Feels like an app, works like a website

They are usually designed to look and feel like mobile applications. It allows users to operate in similar settings while having the functionalities of sites with mobile data access. Just like websites, these can be accessed via URLs and indexable by search engines.

For example, it is easy to find pages on Google and Bing. These can be a huge benefit when compared to mobile applications wherein the internal data is kept internal. These applications can be developed correctly as the current website or mobile app. However, the design will give an idea and let users know they are browsing a progressive app. Progressive web apps can also be integrated into the existing website, app structure, or design.

Ain’t require app store submission

Getting registered an app in Windows phone, Google Play or Apple’s app store can be a time-consuming process. The use of progressive web applications to push new updates without waiting for approval emerges as a modern feature. While relaunching these apps, users will be able to download new updates automatically. The use of push notifications will allow users to know that the update has arrived.

Service worker

Service worker script act as the extra layer between website requests and internet servers. It makes caching any content easier whenever the visitor tries to access the PWA enabled page. The information is further saved locally on the device of the user. This means that every time a link placed on the website is clicked, the request will pass through the service worker script, and then, based on the rules will go online and ask for a new web page.

Similarly, if the user is offline, it is possible to have the service worker served cache from local storage, allows designing websites that work efficiently well when accessed offline. The combination with an app shell allows serving content to users without any internet connection, modernizes the web development process entirely.

Final Thoughts:

Similar to the other applications in the market, progressive web apps come with both negatives and positives. While there are some websites in which the benefits can outweigh the drawbacks. Browsers that do not support service workers will skip the coding embedded into it, and the app starts behaving like a regular web application.

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