2022. April 27.
Progressive web applications have turned the world of app development on its head and opened new perspectives for brands. Based on an article from divante.com, we've gathered where PWA came from, when and from what it grew, and how it became one of the most influential trends of development.
The focus on mobile user experience is not new, the concept of PWA was first introduced by Google in 2015 and has evolved over the years. But don't get too far ahead, let's go back to the roots.
PWA history - the beginnings
In the early 2000s, with the creation of XMLHTTPRequest, it became possible to retrieve data using a URL without having to do a full-page refresh. This was the initial stage of PWA development, which continued with AJAX technology in the middle of the decade. This allowed faster and more interactive web applications to be created using XML, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. AJAX provided a way for apps to send and retrieve data from the server asynchronously, i.e. in the background, without affecting the appearance and functioning of the page.
These technologies had common features such as linkability, accessibility for humans and robots, rich user interfaces, and free distribution.
The idea for PWA came from Steve Jobs, who introduced the concept at the launch of the iPhone in 2007. Given that it was natural at the time that the popularity of the device would be boosted by external applications, Jobs wanted developers to create applications by bringing web technology into the general development arena. At that time, the App Store did not exist, it was only introduced in July 2008.
PWA on the rise - the interim period
The idea of "universal applications" was born in the early 2000s, but they failed to gain market share or popularity. The world turned its attention to native apps, which completely transformed the way people used the internet. The focus was on mobile technology and strengthening the Google Play and App Store. Over time, responsive web design emerged, making websites look beautiful and highly responsive.
In 2015, Frances Berriman and Alex Russell made progressive web apps resurface, and in the same year, Eric Bidelman, at the Google IO conference, described PWAs as the new standard for web development.
The recovery of PWA technology
2015 was the year of the official launch of PWAs, with high hopes for them, but their popularity did not increase overnight, even though various associations were formed to boost PWAs. Google and Microsoft are eternal rivals, but they have joined forces for the PWA standard, with the latter even abandoning its vision of a universal Windows platform in favour of PWAs.
The Universal Windows Platform (UWP) was an API created by Microsoft and first introduced in Windows 10. It was intended to facilitate the development of universal applications that run on Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile, Xbox One and HoloLens, meaning that a new version does not need to be developed for each platform. The launch of UWP was cancelled, but instead, the two tech giants were able to get into the same boat.
PWA technology first worked on Chrome OS, Android, and Windows, but now developers can also publish PWAs to the Microsoft Store, which is a bit of a return to the world of native apps. Apple waited a long time to support PWA technology, only introducing it in 2018, but even then, with limitations, such as no push notification support was available.
The future of PWA
Most experts predict a bright future for PWAs, thanks to their flexibility to meet all needs. The growth and use of smartphones are not going to slow down in the future. Just look at a mobile phone shop; there is hardly a choice of non-smart devices, but mobile usage data is also a trend signal! According to eMarketer, US adults spend on average 3 hours 43 minutes using mobile devices (excluding calls) and 3 hours 35 minutes watching TV.
Progressive web applications are the technology of the future, and their popularity is growing not only among big brands but also among smaller players. Further development is expected soon.
This blog post is based on divante.com.
