Web developers are expected to be on their toes all the time to learn and implement the latest technologies in this dynamically changing world. Most people make use of their smartphones to check on social media as well as browse different websites.
According to available data, 94% of visitors stay on the website only if it meets their expectations whereas 1% tend to abandon it.
To engage customers, businesses are now shifting their focus to mobile applications and progressive web applications (PWA) to generate curiosity amongst their customers and reach target goals.
What is PWA?
PWA or progressive web application is a website that behaves similarly to a mobile app. It provides an amalgamation of the capabilities of mobile software and websites which assist to create an immersive user experience.
This is essential for increasing user engagement on the business website and enhancing the conversion rate.
When customers are demanding sleek mobile experiences, PWA is turning out to be a trend that bridges the gap between websites and mobile apps persuading many organisations to jump on the bandwagon.
The benefits of Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) over native mobile apps, and the steps to build a successful PWA.
Even if there are different types of native mobile apps deployed today besides PWA already available in the mobile market, nothing comes closer to this technology when it comes to digital transformation.
By using the progressive web app, a business owner can get some potential direction for his mobile app and use the key features in this technology for maximum ROI.
As per the available data, Research demonstrates that PWAs have provided multiple advantages to various native apps given by other organisations. The multiple benefits of Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are –
- Increase in mobile traffic: 68%
- Average conversion increase: 52%
- Lower bounce rate in comparison with other mobile websites: 42.86%
- Increase in page views:133.67%
- Reduction in use of device storage:25%
- Improvement of load and installation speed:15-fold increase
- Average session increase:78%
- User-Engagement increase:137%
According to industry experts, the real PWA usually consists of a secure and encrypted protocol, HTTPS and these websites are known to have a fast-loading time.
If you are wondering about the steps to build a successful PWA, then read below. With these steps, it is possible to convert any mobile app into a PWA if your emphasis is strongly on performance. These include –
Serve over HTTPS:
Purchase an SSL certificate from the domain registrar and configure your hosting service to HTTPS to provide the essential safety to the customers
Creation of application shell from scratch:
If you don’t want the users to stare at a completely blank screen, then index your HTML document in line with CSS to create an application shell. This ensures a pattern for progressive enhancement which can be updated to the Javascript version when more data comes in.
Register your site as a service worker:
To tap in the positives offered to a PWA worker such as caching, push notifications and install prompts, you need a service worker file
Add the push notification:
This can be received by service workers by tapping in via web Push API. You can tap in on self.registration.pushManager from within the service worker file. It is always a good idea to use cloud storage to keep your design files handy
Include a web app manifest:
To ensure that the PWA for mobile application is available to all users, you must include manifest.json in the application’s root directory.
Do configuration of install prompt:
When a user visits A PWA, Google Chrome will automatically ask permission for it to be installed on their home screen. Apart from this, a particular user action may coerce the installation of PWA in the background without the knowledge of the user.
To prevent this, app developers need to intercept the beforeinstallprompt event and save it for later to deploy the installation when required
Analyze to understand the app’s performance level:
To measure PWA for mobile apps, it is advised to use the metrics of the RAIL system – It calculates the response time, animation speed, idle time when the app is not performing and loading time of app.
Do an audit of the app with Lighthouse:
This Chrome Extension included as a part of Chrome DevTools runs your application under different conditions and measures the success rate on a score of 100
Who uses progressive Web apps?
In today’s digitised world, performance is seen as a key metric to the success of any business and its profitability. To earn substantial profits, business apps are turning their attention towards PWA to ensure a reliable, engaging and fast response to their customers.
The online venture that uses progressive Web apps to provide service to their customers includes –
- Starbucks
- BMW
- MakeMyTrip
- Uber
- Spotify and many more
Building Progressive Web Apps for Business Success with A2 Consulting
Supported by Google, the PWA technology aims to deliver high performance for apps irrespective of the location and platform.
A2 Consulting LLC, an Ohio-based software consulting company aims to provide reliable PWA software solutions to our esteemed clients as per their requirements to boost business efficiency and profits within your budget.
Our expert coding professionals can assist to establish a healthy relationship with your target customers in minimal time.