PWA stands for Progressive Web App. This application is completely web-based and therefore does not require installation on a smartphone or tablet, but it does function as an application as we know it. Take for example Pinterest, a social platform that has been using a PWA for years. The moment you visit this website on your mobile device, you are already looking at a progressive web app. This one is then just like one native apps save it to your home screen. Also Google tries to get developers excited about PWAs, as you can see in the video below.

In addition to Pinterest, Uber, Spotify and Starbucks already work with PWAs. And with good reasons: PWAs can be developed quickly, can be used both online and offline and are not dependent on the iOS or Android operating system.

Uber has grown rapidly worldwide since its start in 2009 and is even used in places where the internet is not always fast. Uber has responded very well to this with its PWA. The native Uber app quickly needs 300+ MB, where the PWA only needs 30kb (!) to run the basic functionalities. As a result, Uber has a wider range in one fell swoop and more users around the world can order a taxi.

The coffee giant Starbucks uses its PWA worldwide. With this fast web-based application, users can easily place orders at their local branch. Because the Starbuck PWA is no less than 99,84% smaller than the native app, it always works optimally at any internet speed. In addition to better user-friendliness, Starbucks has doubled the number of orders placed via web and is now on par with the number of native app users.

The giants have already discovered the advantages of a progressive web app. But are there any other advantages that PWAs have over native applications? Below we have listed the most important ones.

Are there also disadvantages to using a PWA? Although this technique offers many advantages, there are a number of aspects that must be taken into account. We have listed some of these points below.

The popularity of progressive web apps will only increase in the coming year. Tech giants such as Google and Apple have been reluctant in recent years, but are increasingly opening their software and hardware to PWAs. We expect that this will only continue in the coming years and that the gap between native applications and progressive web apps will continue to blur.

As a full service PWA developer we have before KLM, Deloitte and Roompot worked. Would you like to explore the possibilities for a custom progressive web app? Please contact me below.??