In today’s cut-throat competition where having a web presence is essential to stay afloat, developing and launching a mobile app definitely gives you an edge. However, not many businesses can afford to develop and maintain a mobile app due to financial constraints. For small-scale businesses, a website may be good enough to strengthen their online presence and attract potential customers. Nevertheless, there are other ways to engage both web and mobile users by developing a progressive web app.
Progressive web apps are gaining popularity across all major industries because of their ability to deliver native app-like experiences across devices. As such, progressive web app development eliminates the need for developing a dedicated mobile app since the website itself acts as a native app across mobile browsers.
In this blog post, we highlight the top reasons for choosing progressive web app development over native mobile app development. Subsequently, we shed light on the ideal approach to extract maximum benefits from the PWA app development process.
Also, Read Intelligent Enterprise Web App Development Using Machine Learning
What Is a Progressive Web App?
Before we delve into more details about the significance of PWAs, let us learn the basics about a progressive web app. The PWA is a type of application that is accessible across web browsers on both web and mobile platforms. Unlike the native mobile app, a progressive web app is built using mainstream web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. As compared to ordinary websites, the PWAs are increasingly lightweight, responsive, and mobile friendly. Besides, these apps adhere to a standard browser protocol that facilitates seamless app functionality across all web and mobile operating systems.
How Is It Different From a Native Mobile App?
The PWA is essentially a website or webpage that is easily accessible across web and mobile devices rather than a downloadable application. However, despite not being a native app, it works consistently well across mobile devices and acts almost like a native app. Unlike native apps, there is no need to download a PW app. Instead, it is accessed via web browsers across mobile devices similar to their desktop counterparts. Twitter is an apt example of a progressive web app that is accessed by millions of users worldwide across both web and mobile platforms.
Benefits of PWAs Over Native Apps
In the following section, we shed light on the most crucial benefits of progressive web app development over native app development. It further translates into the top reasons for choosing PWAs over native mobile apps.
Mobile Friendly
As already mentioned, PWAs perform consistently well on mobile devices, thereby delivering a user experience similar to native apps. The apps are lightweight, responsive, and easily accessible across a wide range of devices including desktops, laptops, smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices.
Reduced Load Time
It is quite evident that progressive web apps load faster than ordinary websites and provide a more embedded experience to users. Besides, they are more responsive, user-friendly and deliver improved user experiences across a myriad of devices.
No Storage Space Required
Unlike native mobile apps, you do not need to download PWAs on your mobile device. Instead, you can access them via mobile browsers like chrome and safari similar to ordinary websites. Yet they provide a more embedded user experience as if you are using a mobile app rather than a website.
Multi-platform Support
The most apparent benefit of progressive web app development is the multi-platform support that helps enterprises cater to the needs of both web and mobile users. A single PWA simultaneously supports both web and mobile platforms. Furthermore, it acts and functions as a native app across mobile devices. Therefore, enterprises do not need to develop a dedicated app for mobile devices and yet they can engage mobile users in the best possible manner.
You may also like to read The Future of Enterprise Web App Development
The Bottom Line
These were some of the top reasons for choosing to build a progressive web app instead of a native mobile app. However, despite the many benefits, there are also a couple of setbacks when it comes to progressive web app development. For instance, PWAs do not run in an offline mode which means you must always be connected to the internet in order to access them. However, it does not undermine the fact that PWAs may prove incredibly useful for cross-industry businesses, especially SMBs.
Why Choose Oodles ERP For Custom Progressive Web App Development?
We, at Oodles ERP, provide end-to-end enterprise web app development services to help businesses strengthen their online presence. Our seasoned developers specialize in using top-tier web technologies including HTML, React.js, PHP, JavaScript, and Python to build scalable web applications with custom features. We also have expertise in developing responsive and feature-rich progressive web apps that are easy to scale. To learn more about our progressive web app development services, drop us a line at [email protected].
