Do You Think Progressive Web Apps are the Future of Mobile?
Businesses are of two types in the current era: One is with mobile apps and the other one is devoid of that. Back in the date when mobile was an innovation, websites had to burst with separate mobile sites with lesser content and easy loading than the desktop versions. Now, this was a solution, but not a permanent one. The entire maintenance process was doubled, but the output received was not doubled. So, this was not considered to be a lucrative solution for the businesses. Well, this was then taken over by the responsive web design. Post this phase, mobile app development companies came up with native apps which were and for the time being is the best solutions of all. New trends might create change in demand for native apps but they are not going anywhere, anytime soon. They do present an ample amount of challenges for the app developers and the users conjointly but the positive side is strong as well. Enough with the history, let’s talk about the future now.
As we have always discussed app development industry is ever evolving and nuances never have a full stop. The latest one to enter the market is progressive web apps. They are not as prevalent as that of native apps, but the reason is but obvious they are just at their inception stage. The sunshine part of these progressive web apps is that they are redressing the issues which are currently existent in the responsive web design and native apps. Let’s explore what exactly progressive web apps (PWA) are:
What is PWA?
PWA generally delivers an experience similar to that of the mobile app, but through the mobile browsers. The features, flexibility, smoothness, and gestures remain same as that of a native mobile app. Here comes the big one, PWA runs through the mobile browsers which conclude that they are specific to any single device or platform. This clearly signifies that developers are relieved from coding separate codes for Android and iOS devices. Coming to the focal question, are progressive web apps the future of mobile? Here are some of the highlighting features to answer the question why?
1) Dumping the download need
One of the most glittering parts that lure users and the developers to opt for PWA by ditching the native mobile apps is the eradication of the need to download the app. For a traditional native app, you need to go the app store, search for the app you want, download it, accept the permissions they ask and then you get to use it. Is there the same lengthy process with PWA? The answer is no. Users just have to find the website through general Google search and they are ready to use by chucking off the downloading and waiting needs. One of the added benefits is eliminating the storage blockage in your mobile device. The device will neither be blocked by the app nor its data.
2) Advantages of native app prevail
By launching a progressive web app in your browser, you are availed with the full-fledged user experience of the native mobile apps. The format of PWA is similar to that of mobile apps with all the features like customer information, online ordering, push notification and anything else that you expect from a traditional mobile app development.
3) Fast loading
When it comes to the loading speed, there are no divergent ways to the fact that PWA is really fast. The main web thread and the JavaScript run separately, which enables the PWA to load instantly despite the weak connection. These are really fast with no compromise in the user experience with easy navigation, attractive animation and smooth scrolling which make the user feel like they are using their all-time favorite native app only but without flaws, they had before.
4) Offline access
The mechanism of PWA works this way: they make use of cache and hunt for API for loading the progressive web page. This will require lesser time for the content to load. This will let the users access the app through their homepage even offline. Even when the user is devoid of internet connectivity, push notifications and background updates can still be sent to the users.