The technology is transforming our lives, whether it is personal or work, the technology is integrated to everything. For example, the laptop or smartphone you are using right now to read this article is a technology. The software is the epicenter of all modern days’ technologies, whether it is for personal use or for business use. There are two types of software, commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) and custom software development. Businesses in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, or any other part of UAE knows the importance of technology and digital solutions, this is the reason why businesses are investing big time in technological solutions and resources.
When it comes to software there are two major types, some of the software are installed locally and some are online, for example, you install Microsoft Office in your computer, and you use your ERP or Intranet system via online with help of a web browser. We have also witnessed huge increase in the use of internet over the past decade, and according to studies there are 6.8 Billion people around the globe who have access to the internet and out of that 4.32 Billion people are preferring to use their smartphones to accessing the internet. Those figures are staggering, and that is what compelled businesses to focus on the mobile technologies and solutions even more.
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It is this trend of using smartphone for accessing the internet and deeper integration of smartphones in our daily life which results in the rise of progressive web apps (PWAs). The smartphones are getting more powerful and offering more features than ever before. Above all they are more convenient to use and wit the rise of social media and communication apps, the smartphone usage is significantly increased. In UAE almost 99% of population have access to the internet and also uses mobile phones, which is evident of the much deeper penetration of smartphone in our society than one can even imagine. That is why businesses started focusing on building smartphone apps and leveraging them to grow their revenue.
Google is a key player in the internet and also in smartphones with its operating system Android used by majority of smartphone manufacturers. Google introduced Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) in 2015 with an aim to combine the features of a webpage and a mobile application to offer a better user experience with more accessibility, user-friendliness and technological superiority. According to Google the progressive web apps (PWAs) are more reliable, engaging and fast than traditional mobile applications. In this blog we will discuss what a progressive web app is and how businesses can leverage its advantages to grow their revenue and improve their customer experience.
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What is a Progressive Web App (PWA)?
By definition a progressive web app or PWA is a software application which is built using traditional web technologies and platforms such as CSS, HTML, and JavaScript but it offers a user experience similar to a native mobile application. The greatest advantage of a progressive web app or PWA is that it is not confined to a specific platform, it means a single codebase can be used for multiple platforms and the custom software or application will behave like the native application for that platform.
Similarly like the websites the progressive web apps (PWAs) are compatible with multiple platforms but offers additional features such as it can be installed on local storage, it can run in the background, it works offline and it can be integrated with the software and hardware features of the device as well. In this context it truly surpassed both websites and the native mobile applications and that is also one of the major reason of their popularity all around the world.
Furthermore the progressive web apps (PWAs) help empowering businesses and enable them to accelerate their technological adaptation processes and the custom software development using progressive web apps is much more cost effective and scalable than any other traditional application building method.
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How Progressive Web Apps (WPAs) are Different?
With the rise of internet and digital marketing businesses started investing in their websites. Later on the digital experience and digital services are introduced to offer convenience, freedom and easy accessibility for the customers. This was the time when the websites have started evolving into highly functional web apps offering a wide range of features and functionalities. With the introduction of JavaScript, Ajax and continuous progress in web development technologies and platforms the web apps have become very useful for both customers and businesses. However, in parallel the smartphones and mobile application development platforms were also improving. A stage came when the native mobile applications have proved their superiority over the web apps.
Moreover, both the native mobile applications and web apps have certain limitations and there were features that were exclusive to both platforms and were not available at the counterpart. Therefore a new technology have emerged as progressive web apps (PWAs) which enable businesses to leverage the best out of both native and web apps. With the development of advanced web building tools and platforms and progress of mobile web browsers combined with ever increasing power of smartphones paved the way for the progressive web apps. The progressive web apps are websites who behave and work like a mobile apps and that is what made them different.
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Why Progressive Web Apps are Better than Web Apps and Native Mobile Apps?
The first thing that made progressive web apps (PWAs) better than websites/web apps and native mobile apps are the development method, tools and techniques. For example, here are the Programming Languages that are used to build these customized software, apps or web pages:
- Websites/Web Apps: HTML, CSS and JavaScript
- Native Apps – Apple iOS: Objective-C and Swift
- Native Apps – Google Android: JavaScript
- Progressive Web Apps or PWAs: HTML, CSS and JavaScript
That is a major difference between these. Furthermore the development approach is also different. The Websites and Web Apps are intended for web browsers, the Native Apps are developed to run on their exclusive platform. For example the native app which is developed for Apple iOS will not run on Google Android and vice versa. However, the progressive web apps (PWAs) are developed to be run in a browser and doesn’t depend on the platform. In case of native apps you will have to develop two different apps using different programing tools and languages, hence you will develop one app for Android and one for iOS.
The biggest advantage of progressive web apps is that only one codebase can effectively run on both iOS and Android and you will have to develop just one application. Furthermore a progressive web app is responsive and it can work on any screen size/form factor without requiring any change or modification in its source code. These are some key advantages which make progressive web apps (PWAs) better than a traditional website/web app or native mobile applications.
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Why Businesses Should Chose Progressive Web Apps for Custom Software Development?
Businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE knows the importance of digital customer experience, hence businesses keep investing in software solutions and digital experience to ensure they remain ahead of their competition and obtain maximum customer loyalty. The custom software development is far superior than opting for a stock or off-the-shelf software solution. It offers exclusivity, which means your competitors can never have what you have. Custom software development offers high security and totally aligned solutions for your needs which make them more effective. However, when a business needs to offer a digital service or digital interaction via website/web app or mobile app, they tend to prefer native mobile application development. This is majorly due to the fact that the web experience and mobile app experience are two different things.
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What businesses want to accomplish is a seamless customer experience while offering them great features. The progressive web app development is the ideal solution, it offer the best of both web apps and native mobile apps which make them superior. Here are some key advantages of building a progressive web app:
- Fast and Responsive: The progressive web apps are considered very light weight, hence they are fast and react quickly when a user interacts. Furthermore the PWAs are responsive and automatically adjust according to the device, hence the user can use them on any screen size and form factor without compromising on user experience.
- Engaging: The progressive web apps are very engaging and for an ordinary user it is hard to tell difference between a native app and PWA. The progressive web apps offer similar experience as that of a native mobile application.
- Offer Great Features: A progressive web app not just offer similar user experience but it can also offer similar features which are offered through native apps. Such as adding icon on the home screen, sending push notifications, running in the background, working offline, integration with other systems, etc.
- Offer Better Security: In the modern day and age the data protection and security are among the most desired features of any software solution or application. The progressive web apps use HTTPS and SSL protection to ensure high-level data protection and user security.
- Very Lightweight: Another great feature of progressive web apps is that they are very lightweight. If we build a progressive web app of a native mobile app with similar design, features and everything it would still be very smaller than the native, in some cases it could be 90% smaller than its native counterpart. This also help boosting the performance and speed by many times.
- Easy Management: The progressive web apps are much easier to manage, as they are very lightweight, and need less programming the management and maintenance is relatively easier. The upgrades and updates are also much easier, as the developer will only have to upgrade one codebase.
- Better Connectivity: The progressive web apps offer better connectivity than the native mobile apps. PWAs can also work perfectly in low-connectivity areas and with slower networks, as they communicate with the server in a different way which also enables them to work offline.
- Uses URI/Linkable: The progressive web apps have another great feature of using URIs to track the current state of the application. It means that when a user close the app and reopen it the app allow them to continue from where they had left.
- SEO Friendly: Building native mobile apps and marketing them in itself is a very time and resource consuming task. However, a progressive web app is very SEO friendly and the search engine can easily read their content and index them which help simplifying the digital marketing for it.
- Low Cost/Better ROI: The custom software development process is very simple with progressive web apps, the developer will have to work only on one codebase, which reduce their work and cost too. The PWAs can be updated/upgraded easily which also help minimizing the cost. They are progressive in nature hence doesn’t require compatibility/update whenever a new platform arrives, which also lowers the operational cost and increase the lifecycle. These features make progressive web apps one of the best ROI offering custom software development method.
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These features and advantages of a progressive web app or PWA make them the ideal custom software development method for the modern days’ needs. It is a lot easier to build and launch them, the operational and upgrade cost is also low, which results in better ROI over the long term.
Conclusion
This blog is designed to provide a basic understanding of Progressive Web Apps, with the intent of making it accessible and understandable for beginners. I tried to keep my language simple and avoid complex technical concepts and terminologies. This beginner’s guide can help you understand the difference between PWAs, traditional web apps, and native mobile apps. Custom software development is a very important process for any business, because businesses only goes for customized software solutions when they need to solve a very unique problem or they are trying to gain superiority over their competition.
The rapid rise of progressive web apps is indicating that it is the future of custom software development. The progressive web apps are gaining more momentum in MENA, Asia and North American regions as they offer superior functionality, great user experience and excellent ROI. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you need our help in your custom software development project or if you need a progressive web app solution for your business, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.
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