What is a Progressive web app?
A Progressive Web App (PWA) is a type of web application that utilizes modern web technologies to deliver an app-like experience to users, directly through a web browser. PWAs are designed to work on any device that uses a standards-compliant browser, including desktops, laptops, smartphones, and tablets.
Key features and characteristics of Progressive Web Apps include:
- Responsive Design: PWAs are built to adapt to various screen sizes and orientations, ensuring a consistent user experience across devices.
- Connectivity Independence: PWAs can work offline or in areas with limited connectivity by caching resources and data, allowing users to access content even without an active internet connection.
- App-Like Interface: PWAs provide an immersive, app-like user experience, often resembling native mobile applications, with smooth animations, gestures, and interactions.
- Push Notifications: PWAs can send push notifications to users, enabling developers to re-engage with users even when they are not actively using the app.
- Progressive Enhancement: PWAs are designed to work on any browser or device, with enhanced features available on browsers that support advanced web technologies.
- Secure: PWAs are served over HTTPS to ensure security and data integrity, protecting users' information from unauthorized access or tampering.
- Discoverability: PWAs can be discovered through search engines, indexed like traditional websites, and easily shared via URLs, enabling seamless distribution and access.
- Installable: Users can add PWAs to their device's home screen or app launcher, enabling quick access without navigating through a browser.
Why would someone choose a PWA versus a dedicated mobile application?
- Cross-Platform Compatibility: PWAs work on any device with a modern web browser, including smartphones, tablets, and desktops, eliminating the need to develop separate apps for different platforms like iOS and Android. This can save time and development resources.
- Reach: PWAs are easily accessible through a URL and can be discovered through search engines, making them more discoverable than native apps, which often require installation from an app store. This can help reach a wider audience, especially for businesses targeting users who may not want to download a separate app.
- Lower Development and Maintenance Costs: Developing and maintaining a single codebase for a PWA can be more cost-effective than building and maintaining separate native apps for different platforms. This is particularly beneficial for smaller businesses or startups with limited resources.
- Faster Development and Deployment: PWAs can be developed using web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, with frameworks and libraries like React, Angular, or Vue.js, which are familiar to many web developers. This can lead to faster development and deployment cycles compared to native app development.
- Instant Updates: With PWAs, updates are deployed instantly to users when they visit the app, eliminating the need for users to download and install updates manually from an app store. This ensures that users always have access to the latest version of the app.
- Offline Functionality: PWAs can work offline or in areas with limited connectivity by caching resources and data. This can provide a better user experience in environments where internet access is unreliable or intermittent.
- Lower Friction for Users: PWAs can be added to the device's home screen or app launcher, providing a similar experience to native apps without the need for installation from an app store. This reduces friction for users and encourages adoption.
However, it's important to note that PWAs may not be suitable for all use cases. Native mobile apps still offer advantages such as access to device-specific features, better performance, and deeper integration with the platform ecosystem. The decision to choose between a PWA and a native mobile app should be based on careful consideration of the specific requirements and goals of the project.
Stay tuned for additional blog posts on how to enable a Sitecore site to be a PWA.
Reach out to Fishtank to discuss how to best architect your site for use a PWA.
Meet Derek Bairstow
Vice President | Sitecore Ambassador MVP
🚴♂️🐶🏎
Derek is the Vice President and a Cloudflare Sales Professional (CSP). He's been in Technology Consulting for 7 years and IT Management for 13 years. Derek has experience in Energy, Non-Profit and the Higher Education space however, Fishtank has allowed him to touch many other industries. He's an avid biker, loves to go for drives to the mountains, and has a big soft spot for his dog Molly. Derek is also Fishtank's resident Dad Joke connoisseur.