General Introduction to Progressive Web Apps(PWA)

Last Updated : 30 Apr, 2019

What is an App?

Must be findable in App Store
Icons must be present on Home Screen
Touch and Gesture Controls
Works Offline
Receives push notifications
Background processing
Access to hardware features and sensors

What is the Web ?

Contains URLs and Links
Markup and styling that must be readable by both humans and machines
Progressively enhanced
Free to implement

What is a Progressive Web App?
It is a Website that takes all the right vitamins and must possess all the following functionalities :

Responsive
Works offline
App-like interaction (Must have the same look and feel)
Fresh (Must be up-to-date)
Safe (Secured, no third parties snoops)
Discoverable (Search engines are able to find it)
Re-engageable (Push Notifications)
Installable (Able to get a shortcut on Home Screen)
Linkable

Capabilities of Progressive Web Apps :

Network Proxy
Application packaging
Local storage
Background sync
Device vibration
Battery status
Integrated payments
Peer to peer
Page visibility
Media capture
Media playback
Web share
Credential Management

Prerequisites :

PWA brings a lot of benefits and functionality to the web, they don’t require rewriting the entire application. Any app can be converted to a PWA by adding a few extra layers to it.

Steps to create PWA :

Serve over HTTPS
Create an application shell
Register a Service Worker
Add push notifications
Add web app manifest
Configure the install prompt
Analyze your app’s performance
Audit your app with Lighthouse

Main functionalities that must be present in PWA are :

Available Offline

Adding to Home Screen

Send Push Notifications

Background Syncing

Progressive Web Apps (available online) :

Visit the following sites for Web Apps :

https://pwa.rocks/

https://sodapopped.com/

Advantages :

Low Data Usage
No updates required
Low Cost
Best for SEO
Allowed to send push notifications
Can work in offline mode

Disadvantages :

Not a fully functional app
Poor compatibility
User will not get the native app experience

Progressive Web App - A Combination of Native and Web App

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Article Tags :

Websites & Apps

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