5 Top Tools for Progressive Web App Development

PWAs (short for Progressive Web Apps) are applications that connect the best of two worlds: they’re built using web technologies, but provide a native-app-like user experience. They're like an app turned website - or the other way around.

This article describes the advantages of Progressive Web Apps, explains how they differ from native applications, points to the top tools for building PWAs, and outlines how a Progressive Web App development process could look like.

Let's dive in the topic.

Benefits of PWAs

Let’s take a look at the biggest advantages of Progressive Web Applications:

1.The user can – but doesn’t have to – download the app to use it. 

The user can experience all the app has to offer in one of two ways: straight from the browser, accessing it by the URL, or by installing it and clicking on the icon. Providing the browser option makes it easier for user to access it, since they don't have to download and install anything if they don't feel like it.

2.They’re cheaper & quicker to develop than native apps.

They’re cross-platform, which means they’ll easily adapt to all sorts of screens and devices – and as such, the development process will be more cost-efficient and the application - quicker to build.

3.They provide a seamless user experience.

Like we mentioned a second ago, they work equally well across various screens and devices, which means the users always get a top-notch treatment.

4.They use push notifications.

Push notifications are considered to be one of the biggest in-app engagement drivers and retention boosters, and PWAs make it possible to include them in your app.

And since push notifications work on web as well as mobile devices, the user experience will stay consistent.

5.Progressive Web Applications work offline. 

So when the user has some issues with their network or they’re simply offline – they’ll still be able to use it.

6.PWAs are discoverable by search engines and SEO-friendly, just like websites.

Which means users can find your app through Google.

Progressive Web Apps & native apps: what’s the difference?

All right, let's get into it:

• PWAs are less complicated and easier to build. And cheaper. 

With native apps, you have to build a version of the app for Android and separately for iOS. (Plus, this argument holds for optimizing and developing your app in the future.)

• PWAs load faster.
• PWAs store data offline, using a cache-first strategy. 

This means your app isn’t weighed down by data.

• Progressive Web Apps are indexed by Google, which means your app will show in the search results.

Not the case for native apps.

• Download – or don’t.

Like we mentioned before, the user can either download the app and access it by clicking on the icon – or by simply following the URL. Native apps on the other hand have to be downloaded from a store and installed before you can start using them.

All in all, Progressive Web Apps create a pleasant, native-app-like experience for the user, even though they're built using web technologies.

Many companies use PWAs – like Uber, Spotify or Pinterest – and many have claimed a revenue boost after going for the switch. 

5 best tools to build a Progressive Web App

If you’re thinking of building your first Progressive Web App, here’s an overview of the tools and frameworks you might find useful:

React

React is a fast and simple JavaScript framework (or as some people prefer to call it – a JavaScript library) of components used to build user interfaces.

It’s easy to integrate with other frameworks and libraries, and it's open-sourced, meaning it’s free to use for anyone.

The interface of your Progressive Web Application built with React will be quick and responsive, and thanks to the reusable components – even faster to develop.

Want to take a deeper dive in the framework? Read these articles:

What is React? Is it a framework, and why should you care?

Exploring the current version of React: features, upgrades and documentation

Ionic

Ionic was built based on the AngularJS and Apache Cordova frameworks. It is also open-sourced, which makes it cost-effective.

Devs love it for its robust library of components for iOS and Android – they can develop an app from a single codebase.

It’s also easy to learn and once you build a Progressive Web App using Ionic – it’s easy to maintain.

Polymer

Polymer is a JavaScript framework created by Google. It makes the development process easier by providing a vast array of templates and the possibility to sync data across various devices.

Devs also praise it for easily understandable APIs and great documentation.

Webpack

Webpack is a module bundler. Meaning, it’s job is to bundle JavaScript files and serve them to the browser. But what does that do? It reduces the number of requests to your web page, improves the loading speed, and manages dependencies. It makes the code shorter and cleaner.

Webpack module bundler is open-sourced and free (do you see any patterns here?).

Google Lighthouse

A Google performance monitoring tool, Lighthouse scans your website to check if there are any improvements that could be run. 

It measures accessibility, performance, SEO and if the best practices are being met – and exposes if your app has any weaknesses that need to be addressed.

This powerful plugin helps developers save time. Each report consists of specific sections of your Progressive Web App, and technologies you could use to boost the performance of your app.

It’s an open-sourced tool (yeah, once again). It's free for everyone to use.

Requirements to get started with PWA development

All you need to get going is:

the tools and frameworks

a server with an https connection – to keep your users’ data secure

application shell – to load the web app quickly and improve the user experience

service workers – to improve the loading time as well, but also to make offline access possible, to add push notifications, and more

web app manifest file – this JSON file is like a little profile page of your Progressive Web App. It notifies the browser about how your app looks and how it should function.

app audit with Google Lighthouse – use the open-source software to check your app speed, accessibility and how SEO-friendly it is.

How to develop a Progressive Website App

Here’s a quick run-through of what a Progressive Web App development process could look like:

Discovery

At this stage, you should focus on planning as much as possible: what’s the goal, what functionalities your web app should have, what the user experience should look like?

Put together your ideas and turn them into wireframes.

User interface design

At this point, take a close look at things lsuch as whether the design will work on all platforms, and will the app be responsive enough?

Front-end development

Use web technologies. There are a few frameworks to choose from, for example React or Angular.

Service workers

No matter which framework you choose, be sure to include service workers in your PWA. They run in the background to make offline access, using push notifications and caching possible. So incorporate them to reap the full benefits of your PWA.

Push notifications

And speaking of – use the Push API along with service workers we mentioned above to add push notifications in your PWA. Remember to get the consent of your users so you can start sending them notifications.

Testing

As with every app development process, the time comes to put it to test. Try various devices, browsers – and even various Internet connection quality.

Optimizing

Once your PWA is live, it’s time to optimize to create an even better experience for your users as time goes by.

To sum up

Progressive Web Apps can give your users a better experience and you – a boost in business growth. Choose the tools you need and give it a go.

Got some questions? Let us know.