A Complete Guide To Progressive Web Applications with Examples

Last updated on July 17th, 2023

The web industry is growing at lightning-fast speed, with new innovative technology overshadowing its predecessor. There is an app for almost anything, from ordering food to medical supplies. 

The fiercely competitive climate and the quickly rising expectations of tech-savvy masses compel new businesses to adapt. Companies are excited with a relentless pursuit of innovation, investing enormous sums in enhancing customers’ web experiences and sustaining many platforms.

Building an app and then maintaining it is an expensive affair. Not every business out there can afford the cost. This is where the progressive web app or PWA comes to the rescue. It allows small business owners to get the benefits of web development and cutting-edge technology at a fraction of the cost. 

This is the ultimate guide to Progressive Web Apps for anyone interested in expanding their business. Let’s dive in deeper.

What is Progressive Web App?

With the aid of technological improvements, there is a choice that supports small enterprises. This solution creates cost-effective commercial services by fusing the advantages of apps with web development technologies. This choice comes in the form of a Progressive web app.

Progressive Web App generates an exceptional mobile user experience by fusing the most significant features of native applications and websites. They are specialized web pages that function similarly to regular websites but provide features like push alerts, offline usability, and hardware access that were previously restricted to native apps. 

This technology takes advantage of the wide range of the online ecosystem, which includes plugins, communities, and the relative simplicity of maintaining a website as opposed to developing a native application, which is somewhat challenging. 

What does PWA have in store for everyone?

PWA technology offers a wide range of new, strong capabilities that significantly enhance the online experience. It has packed benefits for both parties i.e.for users and e-commerce store owners.

According to research, people interact with installed apps more frequently than with official websites. A PWA provides consumers with a typical app’s appearance, feel, and level of interaction.

How does it benefit eCommerce store owners and users?

For an e-commerce store owner, it provides higher conversion rates and longer user sessions on the website for a better user experience. Guide To Progressive Web Apps will help upcoming eCommerce business owners.

• It helps in generating more traffic all from organic search.

• As mentioned before, building and maintaining native apps is an expensive task. PWA performs the same functions but at a much more reasonable rate.

• It allows the customer to use the software smoothly and save it to their home screen.

• Similarly, for a user, PWA has ample benefits as well.

• It is a faster alternative and provides instant loading. It also allows the user to go through the website while offline.

• It does not require much data to function and still provides a smooth and positive experience.
• Going through the Guide To Progressive Web Apps does help with getting the most out of PWA.

A major difference between web apps and Progressive Web Applications

• The installation process is one significant distinction between a web app and PWA. One can easily install PWA on any smartphone or desktop. On the other hand, a web app can only be used on a web browser and, therefore, cannot be installed on a smartphone.

• This is a major reason why consumers prefer it in this regard. Businesses of all sizes, whether big or small, can invest in building a well-customized PWA with all the necessary elements to make a better impact on their clients by utilizing custom web development.

• Despite the fact that web technology used by web apps and PWAs is similar, such as CSS, Javascript, and HTML, to name a few. It offers a native app user interface. Furthermore, independent of the web browser being used, a PWA may utilize the entire functionality, such as push notifications, unlike web applications. 

• It provides an experience so fluid and integrated that it is difficult to tell a PWA from a native app.

• Progressive Web apps can cache data so users can access pictures, texts, and other material before the entire program loads. It lowers users’ waiting period, boosting engagement levels and digital presence. It improves the worth of your company. As a result, they provide a quicker user experience than both web applications and native apps.

• With data caching, progressive web apps can allow users to view images, texts, and other content before the complete program has been entirely loaded. Users’ waiting times are cut down, increasing user engagement and online visibility. It raises your company’s value. They provide a speedier user experience compared to both web services and native apps as a consequence.

• These technologies have separate functions, but in some cases, PWA gains extra points. A thorough reading of the Guide To Progressive Web Apps can help you learn the distinction.

• The constant freshness of progressive Web applications is another benefit. This is because these programs update themselves whenever something changes. Since a web app is essentially a website in and of itself, updates are made automatically. However, a PWA has an advantage because it is a more sophisticated web app and, therefore, an advanced version.
• An SSL certificate should now be used to encrypt a website to offer an additional layer of protection. As we already know, PWAs are websites that have been turned into apps, making them more protected because they employ HTTPS. To keep the native app secure, various additional measures are taken. This is not necessarily required for PWA.

Related Article: Progressive Web Apps Development: Benefits, Cost & Characteristics

Examples of top-rated Progressive Web apps

Several businesses across the globe have adopted PWA and witnessed tremendous growth and profits. Let’s look at some of the most famous progressive Web applications. No Guide To Progressive Web Apps is complete without mentioning these top brands.

1. Alibaba 

Along with being one of the most popular online B2B businesses, it is also one example of a business giant employed by PWA. Alibaba has a dedicated user base in more than 200 countries. The brand will collapse if they fail to provide a positive user experience and therefore uses PWA to increase engagement.

2. Lancome

Lancome has become a phenomenon in the beauty industry at this point. Although the number of mobile users has increased significantly in recent years, Lancome discovered a contradiction: their website conversions on mobile are quite low compared to the conversions done on the desktop.

They even created an app but soon realized that only the most devoted customer base was willing to download the app on their phones. They ultimately chose to create a PWA, which they came up with: bounce rates dropping by 15%, mobile sessions growing by 50%, conversion rates rising by 17%, etc.

3. Trivago

Trivago is a hugely popular travel site that serves millions of customers. It also uses PWA technology to give its users a frictionless experience every time they click on the icon. Travellers may easily compare the costs of various hotels, read reviews, and book a particular hotel using the simple interface of Trivago PWA. Additionally, it minimizes the amount of search marketing work required by hotel owners.

4. Pinterest

The website used religiously for looking for original ideas is Pinterest. However, its conversion rate (approximately 1%) to signups and downloads of mobile apps is very low. They switched to PWA as a result.

With minimal bandwidth requirements, push notifications, and offline compatibility, Pinterest PWA offers consumers a quick and data-friendly alternative. Consequently, Pinterest saw numerous noteworthy developments, including an increase of 45% in user-generated ad income, a 50% increase in ad click-through rate, and increased user engagement.

5. Tourimus

It is an attractive site that edges its customers towards pop music. Users can find exciting locations in a particular city for a dose of music and culture. Tourimus realized that using PWA is a more compatible option for them to increase user engagement.

By employing PWA, they provide a flawless user experience.

Related Article: A Beginner’s Guide To Progressive Web Apps

Do You Want to Build Progressive Web Applications for Your Business?

PWA has taken the technology world by storm. Its advanced features and reasonable cost have won the hearts of millions of eCommerce store owners and users. Its main purpose is to create a user-friendly atmosphere. It looks like a native app but works more smoothly. Business owners and users alike are more interested in PWA than native apps.

A Guide To Progressive Web Apps is just what is required to get a better grasp of this innovative web technology. iTechnolabs helps with providing accurate knowledge and digital solutions for your business.