Before we get into the topic, let’s discuss the web app and the native app. It was in 2014 when web applications became popular thanks to HTML. Web application is similar to a website, the only main difference between the two is that a web application focuses on user interaction.
Progressive Web APPs, also known as PWAs, are additional native web apps that offer better performance and lead to better user engagement.
It is a fact that the mobile industry is booming, which has led to easy access to smartphones for everyone. Added to this is easy and cheap access to fast Internet connections. Today, everyone owns a smartphone and has access to high-speed Internet. This has led to a paradigm shift from desktop computers to smartphones for using the Internet.
Therefore, to be efficient in such an environment, in the year 2015, Google introduced PWA that allows users to access fast-loading websites on their smartphones. PWA uses service workers that basically store the PWA server in the user’s browser and the system adds new sources from time to time. This leads to faster websites that work well on all platforms, be it desktops, smartphones, tablets, etc.
Below are the advantages of Progressive Web Apps:
1. Responsive design for each device
Responsiveness is the demand that every website must meet. It basically means that a website adjusts itself according to the screen size of the device from which the website is accessed. Nobody does this better than Progressive Web Apps (PWA).
2. Affordable
PWAs are affordable in the sense that if you use PWAs, you don’t have to develop different versions of the same website that are compatible with different platforms. Therefore, PWA helps you reduce the cost of development.
3. No updates
Unlike traditional apps, PWA does not use the conventional installation process where users are directed to the Google Play Store or Apple App Store to download updates. Instead, PWAs are smart enough to update themselves when the visitor accesses the website. Therefore, because there are no conventional updates, it saves visitors a lot of time.
4. Push notifications
These refer to the short messages that are displayed to users to inform them about different activities. These are common in native apps and web apps.
5. Less storage space
One of the biggest advantages of PWA is that it takes up less memory space, while traditional native apps take up to 50 MB or more of space on a smartphone, the PWA version takes up no more than 2 MB of space on your smartphone. .
6. linkable
This means that PWAs are easy to share due to URLs.
Now that I’ve explained the advantages of PWA for you, here’s another happy news: Literally any website can be a Progressive Web App!
Here are the three criteria you need to consider for a PWA:
Your website must be running under HTTPS
You will need a web application manifest for your website
You will need a service worker
In simple terms, PWA, also known as Progressive Web App, is a catch-all phrase that describes website creation with a futuristic approach to satisfy the following:
– Answer’s capacity
– App-like interactions
– Safe
-New
– visible
– Installable
– linkable
In other words, PWAs are the new, better, and updated combinations of a website and a mobile app.