4 reasons why your business needs a Progressive Web App

The web world is an ever-changing platform, and just when you think you’re hopping onto one trend, another comes whizzing by. Not too long ago, responsive web design was the buzzword and the changes brought on by them have almost fully saturated. And now, Progressive Web Apps- which offer the same functionality and feel, like a native mobile app but are accessed through the internet like other sites and are changing what we do and how we do it.

Without a doubt, Progressive Web Apps (PWA) has taken over the development community by a storm, and by the looks of it, this storm will take a while to quiet down. According to a report done by Gartner, PWA will replace half of the consumer-facing apps by 2020. Hence, without further ado, here are four reasons why progressive web apps are just the thing your company might need.

Downloading is a thing of the past (Bye Bye App stores!)

We humans have become an impatient lot, then from what we used to be a couple of decades ago. It’s probably because we are getting used to getting access to what we want, whenever we want, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The best part about Progressive Web apps is that you no longer need to download them. All that frustration of downloading an app from an app store or play store is a thing of the past. All a user needs to do is type in the URL, click on a URL link and the app will launch straight away. No more logins, no passwords to remember, no wasting precious data, no updates, and who doesn’t like the sound of that!
For companies, PWAs are designed to provide the same responsiveness as a native app. They aren’t just fast- they load instantly, even if you have a patchy connection, which simply means that fewer and fewer potential customers are going to give up midway, which in turn, means a quick turn transition from potential customer to conversion.

They offer a frictionless experience.

PWA’s provide the best of both worlds, and they are far more efficient than native apps. They work on-demand and are always accessible, without taking up a phone’s valuable memory or data. However, this doesn’t mean users need to sacrifice the convenience of a native app, users can still save the PWA to their home screen and it’s installable without the hassle of a real download. This is not only a considerable improvement in user experience but also efficient and economical.

SEO benefits

Progressive web apps are essentially websites which means they are advantageous for SEO! Unlike, native mobile apps, they can be discovered and indexed by Google hence they will appear in search engine results and in return drive more traffic to your website. A PWA loads seamlessly while accessing a site on a smartphone, which reduces friction and improves conversions.

Faster updates & cost effective

PWA’s don’t require developers to send new builds to the app stores when they need to adjust, a process which can take up to a week for native apps. In case of a critical bug in a native app, developers need to find the problem, fix it, send the build to Apple and Google, wait for them to review the build, and only when the new update will be available for the users. With progressive web apps, any fixes can be launched almost immediately, and it eliminates the need of two separate code bases for Apple and Android devices. Additionally, they cost less to develop than a native mobile app, lowers customer acquisition cost, increases customer reach and conversion rate. This kind of efficiency leads to significant cost savings for companies and paves the way for more rapid innovation.

Progressive web apps are faster, leaner, sleeker, where the user has a much better experience, completes their tasks, and returns for more. This has led many major brands switching from native apps to PWAs, and with good reason. Although PWA was introduced in 2015, they have gained considerable popularity in a short time because of their inherent flexibility, and their huge cost-saving features. From Flipkart to Twitter to Starbucks, PWAs are proving that any business can make significant gains with this technology.

How to launch your own Progressive Web App?

If you are a growing startup and would want to launch your own PWA then you are in the right place. Scketch has gained substantial expertise in designing and developing Progressive Web Apps and would love to help you out. Contact us.