So what is a PWA? In essence, it’s a web application disguised as a mobile app. A mobile (native) app is a standalone program on your smartphone. A PWA, on the other hand, is a website that merely looks and acts like one: you open it by tapping an icon on the phone screen, it can send push notifications, access camera and GPS, and has the app’s visual interface. But if you look under the hood, you’ll see that it’s all powered by a browser.
Progressive web apps can be made to support all sorts of complex services, from order placement to money transfers. In other words, they can do everything a website can do.
Take Twitter, Alibaba or Pinterest, for example: if you open any of these websites on your phone’s browser, you will be prompted to install the platform’s app. This will be done without redirecting you to Google Play or App Store.
Pros
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High speed, low cost
The biggest advantage of PWAs is that they’re much easier and cheaper to develop as compared to native apps. For one, you would only need a single developer instead of two – one for Android and one for iOS. This eliminates the need to create two separate apps in different languages for different platforms. -
Straightforward support
PWAs are much more tweak-friendly, which significantly simplifies the maintenance process. Also, all updates are automatic and don’t require manual installation by the user. -
Improved storage efficiency
Progressive web apps take up much less space; for example, Pinterest has managed to reduce the size of its JavaScript from 650 KB to 150 KB by using a PWA. -
In addition
PWAs make active use of cached data and work even when the user is offline or has an unstable connection. Unlike native apps, they take mere seconds to install. Finally, given the current unstable environment, progressive web apps can serve as a safety net: if the App Store and Google Play suddenly stopped working in Russia, this would not affect your service.
Cons
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No direct access to Google Play and the App Store
The biggest disadvantage of progressive web apps is that the absolute majority of users still download their apps from app stores. And to install a PWA, you first need to access the website through your browser. -
Limited functionality
While it’s true that PWAs can send notifications and access the phone camera or GPS tracker, they can’t access the user’s contacts and don’t support Face ID, ARKit and some other functions. If any of the above is critical for your service, we recommend you opt for a native app instead. -
Battery life
Since PWAs are browser-powered, they also drain the battery faster. - Progressive web applications can be buggy if the user has an outdated browser.
Who should use PWAs?
Progressive web apps are great for situations where development has to be done quickly, which is especially relevant if you’re building an MVP. At the hypothesis testing stage, it makes more sense to develop a web app in just two or three months and launch it into the market than spend the better part of a year creating a full-fledged platform.
Companies whose budget for mobile development is limited – say online stores or smaller banks – may also benefit from progressive applications. It’s relatively difficult and expensive to create standalone apps with the necessary toolkit, and converting the website to a PWA would require far fewer resources.
From a visionary perspective, PWAs have every chance to gain more traction in the coming years. People spend less and less time browsing the web and instead prefer the confines of social networks and apps. If you don’t believe us, just see the screen time stats on your own phone. The thing is, to establish a strong connection with a user, you will first need to make it to their phone’s home screen. So if you need to create a tool to engage with your audience – and do it quickly – a PWA might be the go-to option.