Progressive Web Apps- Then, Now and Going Forward

Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) have shown exceptional progress over the past few years and the demand for them is continuously growing. Developed as an alternative to native mobile applications, PWAs have transformed the user experience on the mobile web.

Many brands have benefited from the remarkable results PWAs have brought in their business. For example,

1. Twitter reported a 65% increase in pages per session, a whopping 75% increase in Tweets sent, and a 20% decrease in bounce rate, after PWA implementation.

2. A case study related to Pinterest PWA performance reveals that their time spent increased by 40%, user-generated ad revenue by 44%, and the engagement rate went as high as 60%.

3. OLX witnessed 250% higher engagement using push notifications, 146% higher CTR on ads, and a massive 80% lower bounce rate.

4. India’s eCommerce giant, Flipkart, experienced a 40% higher re-engagement rate and almost tripled the time spent, and

Many others have reported a significant improvement in user engagement after they replaced their current web experience with a PWA. Having such a huge potential, PWAs are poised to become the future of mobile web or mobile app development.

However, ironically- the use of Progressive Web Applications has often been overlooked despite producing fruitful results for many. That being said, brands that are not utilizing the power and effectiveness of PWAs appear to be missing out on an excellent opportunity to improve the various metrics and KPIs.

What Exactly Are Progressive Web Applications? (PWAs)

Progressive web applications can simply be defined as an amalgamation of mobile and web apps. Technically, it is a type of application software built using common web technologies such as HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript, and meant to deliver a native app-like experience.

You can think of Progressive Web Applications as websites that provide the look and feel of an app, in terms of features as well as user experience. They tend to offer a full-screen experience, push notifications, background sync, caching, etc.

Progressive web apps do not require visiting the app store for installation. If you ever visited the Starbucks website on your mobile, you would have noticed a pop-up prompt saying “Add Starbucks to home screen”. Upon adding, it starts installing in the background and an app-like icon is added to your home screen. This is what PWA is, an enhanced version of a mobile website or a web app.

There are a few components of a PWA that sets it apart from the native app and yet provide a seamless app experience. Two main components are as follows-

1. Service Worker

The service worker is an integral component of PWA that makes it look and function like a native app. It allows websites to cache important files and store them locally on the device so that they can be accessed even when the connection is not stable or unreliable. The service worker is also responsible for sending push notifications.

2. Web/App Manifest

It is a JSON file that helps to provide information to enable native-like features in the web app such as ‘Add to home screen’, Splash screen, Theme color, and Launch style.

Perks of Building a PWA

Let’s take a look at the benefits of building a progressive web app. This caters to both users and businesses.

1. Faster Loading

In this smartphone dominating world, speed is an important factor. Even a second’s delay can hamper your conversions and result in an increased bounce rate. A study suggests that 53% of users abandon a website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load. PWA ensures that your mobile users aren’t troubled by slow loading. They load faster than a regular web version because they are embedded with App Shell

2. Look and Feel of a Native App

As mentioned earlier, PWAs are the best alternative to native mobile apps, and what makes them special is that they are cross-platform means they do not need to be developed separately for Android and iOS platforms.

A progressive web app integrates well with a native app and is much more than a simple mobile website. For example, they offer a full-screen view to users by removing the browser’s navigation elements, thereby allowing them to seamlessly explore the content with zero distraction.

Also Read: PWA vs Native App

3. Offline Usability

What gives PWAs an advantage over a traditional website is the cache control, which means they work well even without a data connection or provide offline access in environments where the connection is poor. So you can say that regardless of the connection status, users will still be able to use the app in most cases.

4. Higher Engagement

With the ability to send push notifications, PWAs drive more user engagement. We have already shared above how push notifications in PWA helped OLX drive 250% higher engagement. And since the app icon is also added on the home screen, catching a user’s sight often, they are more likely to interact/engage with the PWA.

5. PWA Adds More Security to Your Website

Google prefers websites that are SSL-enabled (HTTPS) instead of non-SSL ones (HTTP). With cyber threats continuously increasing, it is more important than ever to move from HTTP to HTTPS.

PWA follows the HTTPS protocol. So, adding an SSL certificate to your website makes it easy to launch a PWA in a secure environment. As a result, this makes users feel secure when sharing their personal information in progressive web apps, such as their contact information and credit card details.

6. Cost-Effective

Developing a progressive web app costs comparatively less than developing a native app as it doesn’t need to be built separately for different platforms like in a native app.

7. Discoverability

One of the major benefits of PWA is its discoverability. Unlike native applications that still lag behind websites in terms of searchability, PWAs have higher chances to get discovered in the search engine since it is more of a website than an app.

Final Thoughts

The role of PWAs becomes vital when it comes to capturing more mobile traffic and enhancing the experience of your mobile users. It needs no specific explanation that the count of mobile users all over the world has significantly increased in recent years, which ultimately has resulted in the demand for a seamless mobile browsing experience.

Users may face many inconveniences with a native app such as storage issues, connectivity issues, etc. PWA is a one-stop solution for it.