The web is back! Make way for Progressive Web Apps.
After the historical event when Apple “reinvented” the phone, the Mobile Era disrupted digital space transforming our lives. Nowadays we are used to getting things done under our fingertips, fast. Having millions of applications out there, there is a saying that there’s an app for everything. Exponential growth and evolution of the Internet have redefined the way we are connected. But there are still some obstacles standing in the way. The web is the future, and the key part in providing great experience is to blur the line between website and native application. This is where Progressive Web Apps come in; web applications that load like regular web pages but can offer the user functionality such as working offline, push notifications, and device hardware access traditionally available only to native applications.
Fall and rise of the web
The web was born to win.
Somewhere between now and the birth of the World Wide Web, we got AJAX (around 2005.) allowing asynchronous communication without reloading the web page. This crucial innovation demonstrated the future potential of the web, which as a result accelerated a transition of applications into the cloud. We call them web-based apps. Then, a few years later, with the rise of smartphones, all attention was drawn on the mobile apps ecosystem. The web adapted with mobile-friendly pages and responsive web design, but web technologies couldn’t compete with performance and functionalities of native mobile apps. Today, about a decade later odds are changing.
PWA is a hot topic this year, especially on Google conferences. During the year it was confirmed that all major browsers now officially support technologies necessary to build PWA. The concept that was originally shared in 2014. by Alex Russell, Software Engineer from Google, who talked about “Making Web Apps Appy” while describing something which was after about a year coined as Progressive Web Apps.
Let’s have a sneak peek at what PWA brings.
Happier users
Imagine the scenario. Browse to your favorite popular website. Pin it to your home screen (like a bookmark). You have just “installed” it. No app store. No download. No hassle.
PWA makes the installing obsolete. This feature alone will have the biggest impact on your experience. The idea is to have web pages which, if you chose to use them as the application, work like the native app. This includes working offline, caching content, receiving notifications, etc. In other words, native app-like experience on the web.
Let’s reconsider the following user journey that one goes through before using the app.
- Open website.
- Switch to the app store (includes authentication). Unnecessary!
- Download the app (assume waiting). Unnecessary!
- Installing (and accepting permissions). Unnecessary!
- Use the app.
This must be fixed. Statistically, every unnecessary step reduces the chance of having the app on device. As mentioned previously; we are used to getting things done under our fingertips, fast! With PWA, once you load the website you are one step away from having the app on device. This is not limited to mobile devices, it works for desktop apps as well.
Imagine, apps that work on any device and any platform.
Growing business
Every business wants to engage with users. The easier, the better.
PWA has already proven that it significantly improves user engagement. It helps in decreasing page load time, so users stay around longer (and see more advertising). It helps in increasing the conversion rate. It helps with a lot more, just have a look at many case studies from big brands to understand how PWA helped their business.
That’s [PWA] going to change our business in a big way.
- Lewis Dvorkin, Chief Product Officer, Forbes
Search engines are constantly updating algorithms to make sure that the pages which provide better user experiences are rewarded with higher rankings, so you want to meet that quality bar for PWA too.
According to Google, the core foundations of a delightful web experience are:
- Fast. It responds quickly to user interactions with silky smooth animations and no janky scrolling.
- Integrated. The user doesn’t have to reach through the browser, it uses the full capabilities of the device to create an experience true to the device.
- Reliable. Load instantly and reliably, never showing the downasaur, even in uncertain network conditions.
- Engaging. Keeps the user coming back to the app with beautifully designed experiences that look and feel natural.
PWA is all about that.
If you want to take advantage of this opportunity, then it’s time to start planning PWA for your product.
Easier distribution
With PWA, apps are deployed right through the website. That is, the website is the app.
Once again programmers are, together with designers and UX specialists challenged to rethink user experience for their beloved products. Programmers will end up with a single codebase that works on multiple platforms out-of-the-box. Designers are to put extra effort and align UI to follow app-like interface. All that with the magic touch of best UX practices.
Using web technologies to build native applications is already a practice for some time. Such apps are built with a middle step where they are compiled into native apps. PWA is on a mission to eliminate that middle step. This is now possible more than ever because of technology improvements over the years; new web technologies perform better, and smaller device hardware runs faster.
There are a handful of boilerplates available to start with. It only takes a few days to get confident enough for implementing PWA into a real product. Perhaps the best place to start is here.
Conclusion
PWA will change the way we consume web content. It delivers an experience that can rival native apps. That doesn’t mean that native apps are doomed (they do perform best after all) however for many products out there PWA will be the most obvious way. This surely marks the beginning of how apps will be built in the future.
Exciting times!
