The Future of the Web Is Here Already

And it’s called the Progressive Web App. Let me explain what a PWA is, how it came to be, what it can do, and why they are the future of the web.

Source: Google PWA site

You won’t find one single definition of a PWA, so I will define it in my own words:

A Progressive Web App is a web application running inside a browser, build using common web technologies. It will progressively adapt to the browser features it’s given. A PWA often provides a native look and feel and can be installed without the need for an app store. It is a top-level activity in the OS’s application switcher.

The term Progressive Web App was coined by Frances Berriman and Alex Russell. Alex Russel first wrote about it on his blog and in a Medium post back in 2015, called “Progressive Web Apps: Escaping Tabs Without Losing Our Soul”.

In his article, he lists the distinguishing features of a PWA:

• responsive
• connection independent
• has a native look and feel
• can stay up-to-date using service workers (more on that later)
• uses TLS
• installable (e.g. to your home screen)
• Re-engageable, through…