5 reasons why your next app should be a PWA
A progressive web app, or PWA, is a transition between a website and a native app. It brings together the benefits of both, while completely transforming development processes and taking what we thought about apps to a new level. Why are they so popular and why is anyone who chooses PWA over the native app right? Here are 5 reasons that prove PWA is the best choice!
PWAs have been growing in popularity over the past few years, and almost everyone has probably come across them in real life without noticing. That's exactly what PWA's sharpest weapon is: it's like a native app, but many times superior. It provides the experience of a native app, but it does not waste the phone's storage capacity, as it is stored on a server and accessed by the user through the browser. It can be accessed via an URL; nothing needs to be downloaded, but if you want to, you can lock the web app icon on the home screen.
The progressive web app has many advantages. Many large companies have already recognised this. Thomas Kent, for example, has reduced its bounce rate by 57% and increased its organic traffic revenue by 79% thanks to the implementation of PWA. Another example is Kubota, who increased daily visits by 192% and monthly visits by 26% with PWA.
Here are 5 compelling reasons why you should choose PWA over the native app!
Versatility
One of the most impressive advantages of PWAs is that they run on all kinds of mobile platforms without any problems. This is because they don't need to be installed on the phone, but are stored online, just like a website, so they rely less on the phone's specific features. This also means that if you want to run an app on both iOS and Android, you don't need to develop two apps, just one PWA. This can save a significant amount of money and time.
Advanced UX
User experience is of paramount importance in the world of apps. If something is slow, not "comfortable", or not logical, users will simply navigate away. Often, the reason for these mistakes is simply that not enough care was taken during development to consider that what works well on a desktop and tablet may not work well on a smartphone. Navigation buttons can slip, animations can fall apart, and the list goes on. PWA is inherently flexible to the device you're using and displays perfectly at all scales.
Another aspect of the user experience is the push notification, which is a warning message. It alerts the user when a promotion has started, or a discount coupon has been received. These can play a big role in keeping the user engaged, but only if the push notification system has been thoughtfully designed. Too many notifications can become a nuisance, and as a result, you can lose the user for good.
Speed and smoothness
As described above, PWA doesn't need to be downloaded to your phone, you can launch it from a web address. They are instantly usable, no need to wait for the app to download, install on the phone, etc. Load times and reliability are guaranteed, so much so that they can even work offline. It is much easier to navigate between apps and share information. Customers will certainly appreciate this.
Enhanced Security
PWAs are much more secure, thanks to the fact that they use an HTTPS URL scheme to indicate a secure connection. This prevents anyone or anything from interfering with or tracking the communication between the server and the user.
SEO
As PWAs carry many of the characteristics of a website, it is not surprising that they are a good choice from an SEO perspective. In the case of PWA, the golden rules of SEO, keywords can be applied effectively, and the search engine will index PWA easily, thus improving rankings on the search results page.
PWA will certainly be the brightest star of 2023 and will shine for a long time to come. If you want to look to the future with an innovative mindset, you should consider switching to PWA instead of the native app. Get in touch with our colleagues and we'll introduce you to the world of PWAs !
This blog post is based on an article from packthub!