Progressive Web Application first appeared in 2015 but maintained to be the hot topic on every e-commerce forum. You must be wondering what is PWA and why it is becoming so popular these years.

We can see that the e-commerce industry is going through consistent development over the years. When technology becomes an integral part of our life, online shopping steps in as a habit just like going to the supermarket.

What is PWA? How can it upgrade the online store? This post will provide the answer to all these questions.

Let’s get started!

What Is PWA?

PWA stands for Progressive Web App.

It is built from technology like  HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

PWA adds some app-like features on the website and customers sometimes cannot distinguish between apps and PWA.

Stop for a moment and take a look at Starbucks, Twitter Lite, Pinterest websites. Those are not regular websites but being converted to the PWAs.

Components Of PWA

Service Worker:

A proxy that informs firms of the network requests from the pages.

HTTPS:

It allows PWA to serve in high-security connections.

This minimizes the risk of being hacked or stolen from personal information from the customer’s account in the store.

Manifest file:

It provides data on how PWA operates.

Why Choose PWA For E-commerce?

Accessible

Progressive Web App’s offline mode allows users to access sites in the absence of connection (applied for preloaded page).

Engaging

PWA push notification keeps customers informed of any updates from the store. Incidents like missing the sales promotion or restock of their favorite products will not happen again.

This helps generate more orders from the store and strengthen the brand-customer relationship.

PWA brings a responsive theme across different devices. Customers can enjoy viewing the store on any device that they want with great convenience.

“Add to the home screen” brings more interaction from customers. PWA appears on the home screen just like any other apps and consumers just need to tap on the icon to visit the store.

This saves time and effort for users as they don’t need to type the website address or look for the URL in the history.

Fast

Fast loading speed is another improvement by installing PWA. Less waiting time brings a more comfortable shopping experience.

Life is just getting busier and 1-2 seconds could matter a lot. Longer than 5 seconds of waiting means that users could have exited the website before seeing anything from the store.

Convenient

Installing a Progressive Web App is less complex than downloading an app. To get a PWA on the device, customers need only takes 2-3 seconds to complete the process.

An interesting feature of PWA is that it produces no differences from the normal app.

Take Pinterest, Starbucks, Twitter Lite,… do you know they are available in the PWA version?

Lightweight is another pros of Progressive Web App. As it consumes little space, convincing users to set up PWA is much easier than having the app on their phone.

For those who got an old phone which browser could not be updated, some apps may not be available to use. By contrast, PWA could work on any browser.

Reliable

Progressive Web App is served by HTTPS which brings better security than the original HTTP. Online shopping is becoming a trend but being hacked appears as a potential threat to any e-commerce store.

Most customers now have their credit card linked to the online payment gateway to do non-cash payment for their order so websites need to strengthen their security to protect customers from hackers.

PWA Development Cost

Progressive Web App development price actually varies depending on the complexity of the development process. Here are some elements to access the final price for the PWA installation for the website:

  • Customized functions
  • Design customization
  • The level of expertise/experience/ countries where developers come from.

Here we divide the solutions into 3 levels of complexity:

  • Basic: $2,000
  • Average: $5,000
  • Complex: $10,000

To get the exact pricing, it is best to contact the PWA app development company.

Final Words

Technology is changing our lives every minute. Instead of traveling all the way to the market just to grab some ingredients for the dinner, consumers can now stay at home and get them delivered to their door.

E-commerce has yet to show any signs of a slowdown in development and Progressive Web App integration might be the answer that merchants are looking for to improve their online shopping site.

We hope that through this post, firms can have a clearer view of PWA along with the benefits it brings to the store.

If you still have further questions or anything you hope for more explanation, feel free to leave it in the comment section and we will reply as soon as possible!