Technology

What are Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) and its benefits?

Rafael Esberard
Rafael Esberard October 17, 2018
What are Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) and its benefits?

Users are impatient. If a page doesn’t load within a couple of seconds, a lot of them will wander away. But what if you could deliver a Web application that starts running instantly?

Users would be able to jump right into it and get the information they want. Progressive Web Applications, or PWAs, make this possible. Users can interact with them even when they don’t have a Web connection.

For this reason, we will briefly discuss its concept, its application in eCommerce, benefits and the next steps of this technology. Check out the article!

How a PWA works?

PWAs aren’t magic. They actually take some time to download. But once they’re downloaded, they’re immediately available, just as if the user had downloaded and installed an app.

They rely on some fairly new features in HTML5. When a browser which supports the features sees a preload link in a page, it will start downloading the linked file immediately. It often will be fully downloaded and available as soon as the user clicks on it.

The preload link downloads what it is called “Service Worker”, a technology introduced by Google, are the heart of PWAs. The Service Worker registers itself on the client side, then it can cache resources in a granular way.

This is what gives the application its “progressive” nature; it loads resources as it needs them, so it never makes the user wait a long time. Service workers can update their data in the background, saving the time of updating themselves when the user next invokes them.

If an Internet connection isn’t available, the PWA can provide some functionality based on what it has already loaded. It may be able to hold and cache requests for whenever connectivity comes back.

eCommerce and PWAs

PWAs are useful in many of the situations like mobile apps currently serve but applied on a website. They’re most useful when users will make repeated use of them, like an eCommerce.

An eCommerce with hundred or millions of products can fully preload all products pictures, information, and prices. Without making the user waiting, to navigate and allowing them to close order. It can let customers order items which they have previously looked at, whether they have a connection at the moment or not. When connected, they can ask about an order’s status and get an almost instantaneous response.

The moment I am writing this article there are several apps starting to be presented as websites, which is a possibility, but in the opposite direction to use it. Speaking about large online platforms, only VTEX Commerce Cloud is already making the use of PWAs for the online stores of its customers.

Business advantages

PWAs are directly visible to search engines. That and the fact that they run from the browser eliminate barriers to use. People can just start using them without explicitly downloading anything, so it’s easier to build a user base.

What’s more, they are also friendly to SEO, since Google gives a better ranking to the stores that use this technology.

There’s no need to submit a PWA to an app store. It just needs to be installed on the company’s website, and then it’s available to anyone who visits.

This makes the navigation and experience of using PWA as user-friendly as an app – even without the need for installation.

What’s next?

The HTML and Service Worker technology which are needed to run PWAs are new, and it isn’t safe to assume user devices have them. Developers need to check if the browser supports them and provide a traditional Web application if it doesn’t. Users may disable application preloading even if the browser supports it.

As these features become more widespread, the use of PWAs is certain to grow. They’ll replace discrete apps in many situations. They’re easier to download, and they aren’t isolated from the rest of the Web.

PWAs offer businesses a way to build an application user base faster than an old-style mobile app would let them, and the responsiveness of the application will impress users. Adopting the technology can give an innovative business a jump on its competitors.

Welcome aboard, the web is about to become 5 to 20 times faster.

Keep reading: Related stories
Technology

Harnessing AI for Ecommerce and Retail: Insights from Uri Levine and Zack Kass

In the fast-paced world of ecommerce and retail, staying ahead requires not just keeping pace with technology but…

Thalita Uba
Thalita Uba
Strategy

Decoding Composable Commerce: The Hidden Pitfalls of Unlimited Freedom

So far in our decoding composable commerce series, we’ve uncovered the revolutionary approach to digital commerce technology known…

Kristin Schepici
Kristin Schepici
Strategy

Decoding Composable Commerce: Choosing the right solution for your business

Welcome to part 2 of the Decoding Composable Commerce series. Our first article explored the transformative power of…

Kristin Schepici
Kristin Schepici
Strategy

Decoding composable commerce: Identifying the reality amidst the hype

Imagine a world where businesses have the agility to adapt rapidly, the scalability to grow exponentially, and the…

Kristin Schepici
Kristin Schepici
Institutional

VTEX is the only vendor rated top 5 for all use cases in the 2023 Gartner Critical Capabilities for Digital Commerce Report

Making a platform migration decision is hard. In a world filled with buzzwords and marketing jargon, cutting through…

Mihai Popa
Mihai Popa
Technology

The importance of a privacy policy for an ecommerce business

There are a lot of discussions these days about privacy and personal data protection laws, but how does…

Helena Frias & Renan Sancho
Helena Frias & Renan Sancho
Technology

Platform migration myth-busting: 4 things IT gets wrong

Because of its complicated nature and series of detail-oriented steps, migrating to a new ecommerce platform can be…

Gabriela Porto
Gabriela Porto
Operations

5 benefits of SaaS and a cloud commerce ecosystem

Despite the popularity of cloud computing, many established companies are still using their old-school, on-premise technologies. Unfortunately, those…

Kristin Schepici
Kristin Schepici
Technology

How to avoid common Black Friday ecommerce malfunctions

Nothing says consumerism like Black Friday. And in light of the most recent health crisis, nothing says mass…

Sorana Gheorghiade
Sorana Gheorghiade
See More