Why a Progressive Web App: all the pros and cons at a glance?

A PWA is basically a website with the best features of native mobile apps. This makes the website look like a mobile app. It utilizes the full screen and works on all browsers, regardless of your personal choice. Therefore, it is a perfect alternative to mobile apps and gives a website the look and feel of an app through the browser. Check out our demo PWA of Magento here.

Why consider a Progressive Web App?

There are many more mobile users today compared to a few years ago. Smaller screens are becoming increasingly popular (partly because of this). Visitors are also increasingly surfing to a website via a mobile browser. What could be better than surprising visitors to your website with a flawless and fast PWA experience as well? Read on and discover the benefits of a Progressive Web App:
 

1. Offline

   Users can download a PWA and store it on their home screen. They can then use this app regardless of whether they are online or without a wifi connection. Users simply install your app on iOS, Android, Windows and more. An intermediate step such as visiting an app store is not even necessary!
    

2. Consistency in User Experience

   You don't need to distinguish between mobile, desktop or tablet when A/B testing. A Progressive Web App provides exactly the same experience and design on all types of devices. As a result, you have to worry less about the shopping experience across different devices or about the UX on each type of device.
    

3. No more slow websites

   A Progressive Web Application also has another important benefit for a website's SEO: a PWA makes your website lightning fast! This allows visitors not only to navigate at lightning speed, but also to order smoothly via the web shop. A PWA not only influences the speed, but also the conversion rate.
    

4. Search Engine Friendly

   You should not worry about SEO or Search Engine Optimization, because a PWA is found and crawled by search engines just like normal websites. Your PWA will be found just like a simple website or online store. Additionally, you don't have to worry about App Store Optimization (ASO). Furthermore, a PWA will significantly improve your Google Page speed score, which will make your website/app rank higher in Google search results.
    

5. Cheaper than apps

   Publishing an app is also cheaper and easier with a PWA. You don't have to develop the app separately for iOS or Android. Recently, you can publish your PWA in the Google Play Store (another advantage). You don't necessarily have to go through the App Store approval process either. You no longer have to hand over commissions for e-commerce sales. So expect freedom and platform independence with a PWA.
    

6. Push notifications

   Just like an app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, a PWA can send push notifications to users. This immediately creates more engagement and awareness among all your users.

Apple is not yet in a hurry, like Google, to support PWAs on iOS, but there is quiet progress. Some critical bugs were recently fixed by Apple, such as retaining session states during PWA in-app browsing. For example, you noticed this after clicking on a hyperlink. It then seemed like the app didn't remember what you were doing. For Android users, it is a pleasant experience to install a Progressive Web App as a standalone app. For iOS users, it is unfortunately a bit more cumbersome.