Progressive web applications have gained a lot of attention from entrepreneurs in recent years. Since the technology is new, a lot of business owners and change-makers are not aware of its features, capabilities, and advantages. That’s why we have decided to create this blog.
In this post, Techosquare will tell you everything crucial about progressive web application development. From meaning to features and reasons to cost of using this technology, we will try to cover all the important aspects in a comprehensive manner.
Let us learn about the meaning of a progressive web application first!
A Progressive Web Application (PWA) are web apps that use modern web browser APIs and attributes along with a traditional progressive enhancement strategy to deliver an indigenous app-like user experience to cross-platform web applications.
A progressive web application works offline by using the data cached during the last interactions. It emerges from pages in browser tabs to deliver an immersive app experience, maintaining the web’s low friction.
A Progressive Web Application (PWA) has several key features that make it different from traditional web and native applications. The following are the major ones:
Progressive web applications are developed according to progressive enhancement propositions. In simpler words, they provide the basic functionality and content to everyone regardless of the type of browser they use and connection quality while presenting more complex page versions to the users.
PWAs are compatible with all browsers and work on any type of screen size and device. Be it a desktop, tablet, or mobile user, all will get the same browsing experience.
One of the best features of progressive web applications is that they work flawlessly even when the user is offline or has a slow internet connection. These web apps store information offline and flexibly manage network requests to recover it from the local cache. Unsurprisingly, this is a big selling point of PWAs.
Another major feature of PWAs! The installation of these web applications is simple as it only requires visiting a site and adding it to a device’s home screen. They get installed in the background and the icon appears on the home screen for future use. Since these applications can be shared via URLs, they are quite easy to find and share!
Launching a new version of mobile applications is no less than a horror movie for developers and publishers. However, with progressive web applications, users don’t have to wait to download an update. All you need to do is upload new files to the server and the update happens! The application will update itself automatically.
The whole concept of developing progressive web applications is to deliver the best possible experience without compromising the open nature of the web. This is the reason why novice users are not able to tell the differences between PWAs and native applications. The divergence is hardly noticeable.
Note: No matter how similar they look, the methods of building, launching, updating, and sharing progressive web applications (PWAs) are completely different from that of native applications.
Learn about affordable web application development services
There are several reasons why you should consider investing in web application technologies instead of other architectures.
Here are some solid reasons for using PWAs in 2021:
A slow-to-load web page can be a huge problem for your performance sheet. If your website or online store takes longer than a few seconds to load, your visitors may get fed up and leave. No one nowadays wants to wait more than 3-4 seconds for a page to load.
Progressive web applications will help you push down bounce rate by offering users a swift and smooth experience. Take Starbucks, for example. By implementing a progressive web app, it decreased the bounce rate to a whopping 41.40%.
A progressive web application brings the benefit of supersonic speed. As we said, users will abandon your website if it takes a lot of time to load. A PWA is lightweight and doesn’t place a lot of burden on tech resources. Need an example?
Pinterest invested in the progressive web application for a better and faster mobile experience back in 2017 and increased total user time by 40%.
Mobile users account for approximately more than half of the web traffic worldwide. A report by Statista states that smartphones generated 54.8% of global website traffic in the first quarter of 2021. If you are in an industry that profoundly depends on mobile users, you will definitely want to deploy a progressive web application to your e-commerce website (or even a simple site).
Progressive web applications sure work very well on other devices but they tend to be more useful for smartphones. They offer the same user experience without demanding as many resources.
Try as much as you can, you simply cannot imagine how well PWAs merge within a website. They are SEO-friendly, searchable, linkable, and shareable just like an ordinary website. Progressive web applications allow users to share content to and from not only the website but also other applications like Instagram and Whatsapp.
PWAs can also be shared via push notifications API to aid continued engagement.
There is no doubt that progressive web applications have made it easier and more fun for users to browse a regular website or an e-commerce store. However, there are still many entrepreneurs who are unsure whether this technology is right for their business or not.
According to our web application experts, a progressive web application should be used when a businessman wants its users to visit its site more frequently. Other than the primary reason, progressive web applications can be deployed when:
7 critical web app development stages to build amazing web applications
There is no way to be 100% sure about the cost of progressive web application development due to talent, location, and hiring bottlenecks. We can tell you about the approximate figure though. But first, you need to know the critical aspects of developing a progressive web application:
That said, a native application costs between $15,000 and $80,000 if a development agency based in the USA or UK is engaged. The development cost of a progressive web application on the other hand is somewhere between $7,000 and $20,000. With an offshore web development partner, the cost is comparatively lesser.
With its rapidly extending support and adoption, progressive web applications (PWA) are an attractive option for entrepreneurs and businesses across the globe. If your business requirements satisfy the capabilities of a progressive web application, then, this web app technology is worth spending your bucks on!
We have talked about everything critical about the progressive web application and its development. We hope this article gave you the necessary insights to make an informed decision.
Got any queries to ask? Send them to info@techosquare.com and have them answered by our web development experts!
