Progressive Web Apps for a better Mobile UX
Aug 25, 2016 by Luis Cameroon
A new methodology called Progressive Web Application is here. It promises to help bridge the gap between performance of Web and Native Apps, and may finally provide the solution for building fast and reliable apps and websites for the mobile age.
We use mobile applications every day, several times a day — utility apps, social networking apps, messaging apps, music apps and others. Many of these applications have matched our expectation in terms of speed and effectiveness. The “on-the-go” type of mobile experience is the dream of any user and any designer.
But unfortunately, some of the mobile websites and web-apps are not there just yet. They remain slow, heavy, and often crash the browser in the middle of navigation. It seems as if they were “delaying our lives”, compared to the speed of performance of native applications.
However, a new methodology called Progressive Web Application is here, and it promises to help bridge the gap between performance of Web and Native Apps, and may finally provide the solution for building fast and reliable apps and websites for the mobile age.
What is a Progressive Web Application?
Progressive Web Application (PWA) is a term coined by Google to denote a new software development methodology. Unlike a traditional mobile application, PWA can be seen as an app-like experience where web pages are able to offer connectivity control features, that only the native applications had previously, push notifications, home screen icons, and so on.
In June 2015, Alex Russell, a Google engineer put the web tab ‘out-of-the-box’ and turned it into a mobile application that works offline with the desired personalization and touch experiences. It has been progressively designed, with functionalities such as:
Most of these features allows websites, which have the right ingredients, to become mobile capable web applications.
"These apps aren’t packaged and deployed through stores, they’re just websites that took all the right vitamins. They keep the webs ask-when-you-need-it permission model and add in new capabilities like being top-level in your task switcher, on your home screen, and in your notification tray. Users don’t have to make a heavyweight choice up-front and don’t implicitly sign up for something dangerous just by clicking on a link. Sites that want to send you notifications or be on your home screen have to earn that right over time as you use them more and more. They progressively become “apps”."
Alex Russell, June 2015
How do Progressive Web Applications work?
In order to utilise Progressive Web App there are some fundamental technologies and principles which must be present, including:
Mobile User Experience – Not a luxury, a ‘must have’
It is now the time to (re)design mobile sites or app to make them more effective and impactful, mainly to match users’ growing expectations. But whilst previously that meant a full web redesign project, the arrival of Progressive Web Apps has established new trends and hopes for the mobile web app users to experience native-like mobile experiences along with web advantages.
What are the fundamental principles which make a great webapp
Good User Experience (UX) is essential to the success of every app. It is not just about performance, nor is it all about how the app and its content is presented. For the designer, it’s become necessary to look at an “app” project much more holistically than we’ve seen in the past.
Websites must be:
Final Thoughts
As a final note, the rise of PWA doesn’t mean that an “old” web application usage has ceased entirely. This is simply an enhancement approach in hopes that things are now made better and are easier to use. This is definitely the start of a revolution, which will eventually replace native applications. How long it will take is hard to say. However, it is a green field for Progressive Web Apps and the time to start is now.