WTF IS PWA?

Simply explained: PWA is, in short, the best of the web crossed with the best of the app world.

PWA stands for Progressive Web Application, a concept that can be very useful to remember. A PWA can be seen as an effective bridge between the app world and the web. This is a new software development technique, a cross between regular web pages and mobile applications. which makes it possible to install web apps on the phone.

A user can then visit a regular website (which has also developed a PWA version), save it to the desktop by pressing the download icon in the browser, and - voila - you have your first web app saved on the phone's desktop, just like any other any app. The "new" model combines components supported by most modern browsers combined with the advantages of the mobile app experience. This technology has been around for a while but is not quite as developed as "native apps", i.e. the apps that are downloaded from e.g. App Store & Google Play and therefore cannot communicate with these platforms.

With that said, if you want to be ahead of the times and make a better investment, a PWA is a wise decision. Regular apps take up a lot of space on your phone and are updated regularly (which incurs costs for the app manufacturer). In a web app, on the other hand, the updates are made at the same time as you make changes to your website, so you don't need any extra app budget. You also don't have to worry about it not working if you are offline, as it saves the page from the last time you were logged in and has good support even for a weak internet connection.

Since there are an incredible number of apps on the market today, it can be difficult to even appear in a search, especially if you are a smaller player. Also, your user has to go through more steps to download your app than if they could just save it as a PWA directly in the browser. With clear instructions, directly on the website, the user does not even have to leave your website. The number of app downloads has also decreased in recent years (perhaps because the space on the phone is already full). The risk of losing a user along the way is high, as each step in the process of downloading an app results in a dropout rate of 20%.

When is the right time to invest in a PWA? The best time is either when you are building your first website or when you are making a major update to your existing website. Perhaps you would like to develop an app a little further down the line. By choosing a PWA, you can get both at the same time.

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