“Change is the only constant.” You should not fight against innovation. The only way to embrace disruption is to adapt to the new and go with the flow. First the desktop, then the mobile devices, followed by the app ramp, now comes the gen of progressive web apps.
Initially, when mobile gained momentum, people had to create separate mobile websites which catered to the mobile needs, like more interactive and less content, than the desktop versions. But, along with this came the problem of incurring huge maintenance cost for both the websites. We eventually stepped into the era of responsive web design, but again, it comes with its own set of limitations. Though the native apps continue to prevail, we will definitely witness progressive web apps making their way into the world of websites eradicating the problems of native apps, as well as, responsive web designs.
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) extend the mobile-first approach to surround the user experience and engagement. It provides similar features when viewed on any device. PWAs leverage the modern web capabilities to provide user experience, like apps.
Some of the top reasons why PWAs are here to stay and dominate the upcoming market are as follows:
1. Speed
The progressive web apps or the PWAs are incredibly fast and reliable when it comes to their speed. The Service workers, JavaScripts run separately from the main web thread and allow the progressive web apps to load immediately, irrespective of the poor connection. PWAs are pretty fast and have smoother animations and navigation, and gives a perfect illusion of being in a native application.
2. Offline Access Enabled
The service workers used, make use of the Catch and Fetch APIs to load your PWAs instantly. This also enables to load the PWA offline from the home screen. Even if a user does not have access to the internet, the PWA is still capable to send background updates and push notifications to the user.
3. Superior Customer Engagement
While accessing the websites which have the PWA features prompts the user to allow sending notifications. It is a simple, yet a powerful concept, especially for the social networking websites. The user can allow sending notifications or updates by simply tapping on ‘allow’ and this will prevail even when the user is not looking at the page. Chrome has also incorporated the function of ‘Add to home screen’.
4. Real-time Discovery
The most amazing thing about PWAs is that customers have the power to discover them as per their relevance of work. Something as simple as a Google search might pull up your website and successfully launch the visitor into your PWA. One of the key benefits of working this way is that it also maximizes the reachable audience as you are piggybacking the SEO efforts of your website here.
5. No Middle Man App Store
In case of PWAs, you do not need to register with Apple or Google. A major slowdown that occurs in case of native apps is that you have to deal with app stores. After developing a native app, you have to get your account registered with the app store and pay a certain amount for each download and in-app purchases.
6. Superb User Experience
In addition to building streamlined websites, the service workers definitely help in enhancing user experience. The users who visit through the browser enjoy the app-like experience, and on the other hand, when they come back to the same page, it loads instantly. It is true even in the case of slow networks. PWAs are the ones which combine the best features of the app, along with the added advantage of the broad reach of the web.
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Embracing change can be pretty difficult, especially after getting into the comfort zone. But soon, there will be a massive moment in the world of PWA development. E-commerce sites, restaurants, media sources, etc., will look forward to capturing a more relevant audience and get the maximum return on their investment. Progressive web apps will be the next major paradigm shift in the world of apps. So, let’s wait and watch as the mobile world goes for a twirl.
References: betanews, freecodecamp, marutitech, torquemag, iamjordanlittle, biznessapps
Ajeet Singh
