Get to know about Progressive Web Apps (PWA) for Faster Websites

Responsive web design has now been implemented by various developers to improve the performance of their sites.

2013 was even dubbed the “Year of Responsive Web Design” and Google announced Mobilegeddon in April 2015 when they started increasing the ranking of mobile-friendly websites in mobile search results.

In 2016, Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) was introduced and 2017 was the year that progressive web applications started to be supported by Chrome.

This is proof that Web technologies are constantly evolving in spectacular ways and so are businesses that know how to take advantage of newer trends.

With the continuous development of trends in web development, now there is also a trend that is being talked about, called Progressive Web Apps.

What is Progressive Web App?

In short, Progressive Web App or PWA is a combination of web apps and mobile apps. Previously, mobile apps were JavaScript applications that worked in browsers and aimed to bring native app features to websites.

With the introduction of new web APIs, PWAs can help bring app UI and UX to web browsers on your mobile device. So, Progressive Web Apps are traditional web applications that are enhanced with modern web technologies, enabling them to provide a more app-like experience.

Characteristics of Progressive Web Apps

After knowing what PWA is, it is important to also know some characteristics of Progressive Web Apps:

• PWA is progressive

PWA works for all users, no matter what browser you use or where you access the website. So no matter whether you use Chrome or Opera, or you access a website from Nigeria or Latin America, you can still open the website with fast loading times.

Progressive Web Apps will work well because they are built with progressive improvement as their core principle.

Progressive Web Apps will also work on all devices, be it desktop, mobile, or tablet.

• Web Apps are not dependent on connectivity

With the help of service workers, PWAs can still work on weak networks.

• Feels like an app

PWAs are designed to feel like apps. They have a style of interaction and navigation like a mobile application.

Because of the service workers, PWA will always be up-to-date.

• Easy to find

According to the W3C manifest, Progressive Web Apps are classified as applications. PWAs will also be easier to find by search engines thanks to service workers.

With PWA features like push notifications, it helps increase user engagement.

• Installation

Users and website visitors can save progressive web apps that they often access directly on their mobile home screens, so you don't have to download apps from app stores.

PWAs can be easily shared with others with a URL without a complex installation process.

How Progressive Web Apps Work

As mentioned earlier Progressive Web Apps are traditional web apps made modern with new technologies. The word progressive in front of the word web apps indicates an increase in the modern web on the website.

However, if the old browser doesn't support the new PWA features, they can still display the website. Of course the website will work better if you access it through a modern browser.

The app will get its own windows and shortcuts on your taskboard (on Windows 10 and Chrome) or an icon on your homescreen (on Android devices and other smartphones).

When you open them, they load quickly thanks to the Cache and IndexedDB APIs, which store app resources and data on your device. This allows them to work even when they are offline.

Technologies like service workers and push notifications will allow apps to perform background tasks like syncing and sending you notifications even when they're not running, just like native apps.

The Fetch API makes it faster and easier for applications to request data. They have a Web App Manifest file, which provides the name, icon, author, and description used when installing the app to your homepage or desktop.

They are always displayed over encrypted HTTPS, which means they are secure and data cannot be changed in transit.

Progressive Web Applications are not like Google's Chrome Packaged Apps or Microsoft's Hosted Web Apps. They require apps to be “packaged” as files and submitted to the app store.

Therefore, users must install it from the Chrome App Store or Windows Store. These apps also only work on Chrome or Windows. Developers have to modify the offline app files and submit the new version to the app store for updates.

Meanwhile, Progressive Web Apps are never packaged in offline files. Like the traditional web applications we use today, they are hosted entirely on application servers.

If a developer wants to update their progressive web app, they update it just like they would update a web app — on their servers. All platforms and browsers that support PWA can use the same Progressive Web Applications.

PWAs can be listed in the app store for easier discovery and installation, but the app store will only point to the web app server. Even if the app is not compatible with app store content policies, users will be able to find and install it directly from their browser.

Why Should You Use Progressive Web Applications?

PWA is not only about improving the performance of web apps for the better, but also about setting a new standard for installable apps supported by each platform.

For example, Google can enable services like Gmail and Google Calendar to function as PWAs. This means they run as native-style apps on Windows 10 and are listed in the Windows Store.

This will be helpful for troubleshooting Windows Store apps, as Google doesn't want to support Microsoft Universal Windows Platform (UWP). Other developers who don't want to build separate UWP apps can now support Windows 10 with native-style PWAs.

Developers will have an easier way to make their web apps work in a more robust and integrated way across a wide range of devices without having to use the app store.

Web apps that work anywhere can compete better with native apps that work on a single platform. Companies that only have the resources to build one app can build PWAs and support them all, rather than building separate apps for iOS, Android, Windows, and the web.

Due to the Web App Manifest file provided by search engine developers, they will be able to crawl websites and easily find available PWAs online. This will make the PWA as easy to find as other web pages.

What Platforms Support Progressive Web Apps?

Microsoft already enabled support for PWAs through the Window 10 update called Redstone 4 which was released in March 2018. As with other platforms, you can head to the PWA website and install it via Microsoft Edge.

However, Microsoft has also included Progressive Web Apps in the Store for easy installation. Developers can list their own apps in the Store, but Microsoft will also use Bing to find websites with good Progressive Web Apps and automatically include them.

They will still be normally hosted on their website and updated by the developer, but Microsoft will make it easier for users to find and install them. You don't even need to open the Edge browser to find, install, and run PWAs on Windows 10.

On Google Chrome — whether for Windows, Mac, Linux, or Chrome OS — PWAs will replace the discontinued Chrome Apps platform. Google says support for PWA desktop installations started since mid-2018.

Then, the PWA works with Chrome on the desktop. This feature has been tested in an unstable development version of Chrome, named Canary.

On Android, Google Chrome already supports the installation of Progressive Web App, as well as other mobile browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and Samsung browsers.

Google is working on a technology called WebAPK that will allow PWAs to be turned into APK files (Android app files) and installed onto devices, just like any other app. Chrome's Project Manager briefly hinted that PWAs could be added to the Play Store as well.

Although Apple has not been a vocal supporter, they have now added a Progressive Web Apps feature to the Safari browser.

Conclusion