In the past few years, the mobile app industry has been a hub of exciting trends. Many experts have been involved in such discussions where different opinions are offered to provide a good user experience. We thought it would be a good idea to talk about the new trend in web design: Progressive web apps.
Although many PWAs (progressive Web Apps) support mobile apps, it is debatable if they are better than mobile apps. Many of them are also influenced by the mobile web experience.
Worldwide, there are 6.5 million smartphone users. These apps can do everything, from shopping for groceries to booking flights to tickets to purchasing medicine. We must learn about every aspect of their operation. We will learn all about progressive web apps.
PWAs are the answer to smooth user experiences. The technology is just entering the mobile market, so it’s important for users to understand the basics of PWA.
What are Progressive Web Apps?
Progressive web apps offer features that are similar to native browser applications. It is an application that runs on a web browser.
PWAs allow cross-platform interoperability by granting access to open web technologies. PWAs offer an app-like experience and functionality that is customized for each user’s device.
Progressive web applications are designed to give users access on any device, as long as they’re using the browser. Continue reading to discover more about PWA in the next segments.
Many mobile application development and web development company in Ahmedabad are used and roovide service of webapps
Some of the most popular companies that use Progressive Web Apps
What transformation has PWAs brought about since their evolution?
The worldwide progressive web application market size was USD 1.13 billion in 2019 and it is expected to reach USD 10.44 Billion by 2027 at a CAGR 31.9% over the forecast period. It’s clear that progressive web applications are on the rise.
PWA has had a positive impact on the businesses that adopted it.
- Trivago reported an 97% rise in clicks to hotel offers using its PWA, in addition to a 150% increase user engagement.
- Hulu has replaced platform-specific desktop experiences with PWA. They have seen more than a 27 percent increase in return visitors.
- BookMyShow’s web app is 54x smaller than their Android app and 180x lighter than their iOS app.
Users’ engagement overview
- Ola claims that the 30% higher conversion rate of their PWA in Tier3 cities is compared to native.
- The pages per session increased by 65%, while the bounce rate fell by 20% Twitter Lite.
- A PWA was introduced by Zee5, a streaming platform, to expand its audience. The PWA decreases buffering time by half and it is three times faster.
Conversion rate, revenue
- BookMyShow’s PWA loads in under 3 seconds. It also has more 80% higher convert rates.
- Flipkart saw a 70% increase in conversions after the implementation of PWA.
PWAs can be helpful in SEO due to the increase in user engagement and conversion rates. This aspect must be discussed in detail. These stats provide a snapshot of the performance of progressive web apps for popular labels. Let’s go further:
What makes Progressive Web Apps different from Native Applications?
Native applications are standalone programs that work only with smartphones. Progressive web applications offer websites that have the appearance and feel of an application to provide a personalized experience for users.
A native application is, for example, a Microsoft app. Google Docs is a good example of PWA. It’s very simple!
After we’ve covered some interesting facts, it is important to understand why PWA is a PWA. How are these web applications different than the main native applications?
1. Responsiveness
The browser runs progressive web applications. It can be accessed on any device: smartphone, desktop computer, tablet, iPad and all other devices.
When developing a progressive web app, responsiveness is considered so that the user can access the PWA from any device.
The development team makes sure that the app’s UI is consistent with the device.
2. Flexibility
A progressive web app that lacks flexibility is not worth the effort. Progressive web apps are not limited to smartphones. They can be accessed on any platform.
Progressive web applications can be used to increase user engagement. They are compatible with all browsers and operating systems.
The development team must ensure that the web application is compatible with every browser. This will keep the flexibility and progressive aspects at the core.
3. Connectivity is a key factor
It is obvious that the website cannot be accessed if the internet connection drops. However, some native apps allow users to access them even when there is no internet connection.
Progressive web applications can be used on any internet browser. However, users can explore the same content with the app without requiring an internet connection.
You can do this by caching app data in advance. Service workers are used to implement this process. Service workers offer a programmatic method to cache resources (we’ll be learning more about this further).
When developing a PWA, it is important to consider the issue of internet connectivity. Not all users will have access to a strong internet connection. Progressive web apps should also be accessible via low connectivity.
Your progressive web application should also be available offline. This will make it easy for users to switch to another app.
4. The application should feel unchanged
Do you remember the basic idea behind progressive web applications being implemented? PWA has evolved to be more than the traditional native applications. They are not identical to websites.
Progressive apps aim to provide an app-like experience for users on the internet. When you are developing a PWA, it is important that it does not lose its app-like feel.
It’s almost like a website should have interactive features that encourage users to interact with it. Users can add this page to their home screen and use it as a native application.
How do PWAs Work? The Technical Perspective
It is quite fascinating to see how progressive web apps work differently than native applications or websites. Let’s find out more about this:
1. Website with one page
An application that is only one page interacts with the user. It dynamically executes a new page, instead of loading another page from the server.
The browser doesn’t request the whole page to be loaded when the user requests it. JavaScript replaces the page that is requested with a single page application. It’s almost like the user has clicked the link and switched to another page.
This feature is essential for progressive web apps. It is similar to single-page applications. It takes care of the content by loading it instantly.
2. Service workers
Progressive web applications are faster page loading, better user experience, augmented mobile conversions, offline browsing, push notifications and much more.
Have you ever stopped to consider what makes PWA a PWA. What technical elements have made this amazing experience possible? Here comes the service workers who have made it possible to create a mobile app industry that is transforming: PWA.
Service workers are an integral component of progressive web app development. Let’s find out how PWA works with them.
A user can search for a website by entering the domain name or direct address. PWA is tied to service workers.
A service worker is an JavaScript file added to your codebase by a client. It is a file that is located between the browser and server. This creates background functionality to mimic the features of the native app to give it a look and feel.
3. Web application manifest
A web app manifest (JSON file) is a JSON document that tells the browser how the app should behave and perform when it’s installed on a mobile device.
This file is essential to make your PWA look as good or better than the native application.
This is the basic information in the web app manifest:
- Name of the application
- Information about the icon
- Information about start_URL
After the criteria are met, browsers suggest that users install the progressive web app.
4. PWA is compatible with browsers
Most browsers support progressive web apps such as push notifications. However, it is important that browsers support service workers. Most browsers do this.
The good news is that progressive web applications are still available to users with certain features, even though they’re web applications.
Google Chrome browser is compatible with progressive web apps. Chrome will automatically allow users to install progressive web apps on their home screens if the website meets the criteria.
How do PWAs Work? The SEO Perspective
There are some misconceptions about progressive web apps being compatible with SEO.
It is important to make PWA compatible with SEO. The point is that progressive web applications must be compatible with SEO. This is not possible by simply creating them. You will need to display the same in a professional manner.
Progressive web apps can be indexed in the same way as other pages. There are many ways to index PWAs, but they can be crawled and indexed in different ways. Let’s talk about the best way to index PWAs.
Prioritize your content, and combine it with server side rendering
It is simple and straightforward to make PWA SEO-friendly. Prioritize content by recognizing the most important elements of your web application that you want to pass on to search engines. Then, serve these content using server-side rendering.
This will ensure that search engines consider all relevant data as soon as they find your page. This guide will help you make your ReactJS website SEO-friendly. It also contains detailed information about SEO best practices for JavaScript-based websites.
PWA: When should you use it?
To make the journey of discovering a business niche more enjoyable and easier, brands often create native apps. Apps can be useful for users who visit the website often and do repetitive actions.
You can create progressive web apps the same way native apps are used. This allows your visitors to view the same. Before you start implementing PWA, there are some questions that you should ask.
1. Are there any ready-made development ideas?
Reason:
It takes more than a few clicks to transform a mobile app into a web app. PWA development must be done from scratch. As you are aware of the complex process involved in app development, developing a PWA from scratch will only consolidate your efforts.
Even though your app is old, you can still revive it by applying for PWA. It’s possible to revive your app by using PWA.
2. Are you focusing on mobile devices alone?
Reason:
Businesses were ready to target users on both websites and apps before PWA. This was to increase conversion rates and user engagement. PWA’s purpose is to make it easy for users and efficient for businesses.
You can create progressive web apps that are compatible with both Android and iOS. This is a win-win situation. Cross-platform development allows you to achieve exactly this.
3. Do you not want your users to be able to access the app through a web browser instead?
Reason:
The main difference between progressive web apps and mobile apps is that they can only be downloaded from the store. However, the latter can be accessed via a shared link or directly on a website.
It is no easy task to manage app stores. PWA may be for you if you feel that ranking in the top search results is difficult. Progressive web apps are best if your website has a satisfied number of users or target audience.
4. Are you looking for advanced features on your mobile device?
Reason:
PWA is not able to access many of the advanced features available on mobile devices. Progressive web apps are not compatible with advanced camera controls, proximity sensors, NFC, NFC and Bluetooth. This issue should be discussed with your development team.
These are some reasons you might be unsure if you need PWA:
- If you don’t have enough money to buy a full-fledged application.
- You must get to the market quickly.
- It is crucial to have search engines index your keywords correctly.
- Cross-platform compatibility will be a must for your business.
- Reaching a larger audience is essential.
There are two sides to every coin. This statement is perfect! We are not trying to find flaws in PWA. We want you to know everything about this concept before you make a decision.
Let’s move on now that you know everything about PWA, except the best practices for doing the same.
Here are the best practices to help you develop a PWA
There are other things to consider, aside from selecting the best framework for progressive web app development. These top 4 tips will make creating PWAs fun, easy, and interesting.
1. Rule of “less is more”
These web apps allow users to explore and use them easily and quickly. As you prioritize things, it is important to remember the rule “less is more rule”.
It is important to clearly state and place the elements of your application that will drive users to take desired actions with the help your call to action (CTA).
It is not a good idea to have unnecessary information that distracts users from their path.
2. Your PWA should be free of fiction
PWA is most well-known for its faster loading speeds. However, PWA’s efficiency is meaningless if your target audience cannot perform crucial actions such as. Complete the checkout process.
The main reason for higher bounce rates in PWAs is because of the actions taken, such as filling out forms or completing the checkout process.
These problems can be fixed with solutions such as autofill, integrated payments, one-tap signing-up and automatic sign in. This will reduce friction and allow users to get all the stuff they need at checkout, while also keeping the process secure.
3. Use the “OFFLINE” feature
Progressive web applications are the ultimate strategy for increasing user engagement and conversions rates. Make sure you’re making the most of them.
You can achieve your goals by implementing the feature offline. Users only need to be able to use the feature with ease. Sometimes users might experience distractions while interacting with your PWA. Facilitating offline features can be a lifesaver in such cases!
4. Lighthouse is your best friend
Google’s open-source performance management tool Lighthouse has been launched. It can be used as a Chrome extension, or as a Node Module. Lighthouse allows you to audit any web app and generate an extended report. You can also get a reference document for each audit item. This will give you details about why it is important and how you can fix failing audits.
Wrapping words
PWA is a controversial concept. However, having all the information in front of you makes it easier to understand. We have covered everything that will make it easy for you to decide whether or not to create PWA. We have also provided you with interesting facts and best practices to make developing PWA easier.