Growing a business can be hard! Long gone are the days, when you could create a simple website and prospective customers would flock to your service or product. But change is inevitable, and the market has changed for better or for worse.
With over 3.1 Billion active smartphones around the globe, it is an absolute necessity for modern-day businesses to incorporate smartphones into their business strategy.
Enter Progressive Web Applications!
For the uninitiated, Progressive Web Applications or Progressive Apps for short can sound super complex, this assumption couldn’t be farther from the truth. Because it is contradictory to its nature as a great simplifier of the process of web application design and development. Essentially progressive apps are just like any other web-based application. Which fundamentally boils down to its property of being accessed by the user through his or her browser.
But are they worth all the Hype?
On average an everyday American checks his or her smartphone 80 times a day. This makes it imperative for brands to create products and solutions which can be accessed through the smartphone. Android with its 76.08% and iOS with its 22.01% market share, has created a successful duopoly. Now, this might be good news for the stockholders of both companies. but the development and maintenance process of both Android and iOS native apps can adversely affect the cost margins of a company.
Progressive apps might seem like optimized versions of websites. But that couldn’t be further from the truth as under the hood, progressive apps pack in some serious punches!
- They can work cross-platform – Progressive apps can work on both android and iOS devices, thus reducing the cost of web application development.
- They work just like native apps – Progressive apps are specially designed to give the users a feel and experience identical to native apps.
- Highly secure – By using the HTTPS protocol, progressive apps make sure to keep the user’s data safe and sound when in transit across the internet.
- Lighter and more responsive – Progressive apps work 15x times faster than regular native apps. They also have a better response and retention rate when compared to native apps.
Progressive Apps Vs. Native Apps
web application design and developmentWhen going head to head against each other, both native apps and progressive apps win some and lose some.
Assessment:
Progressive Apps – They are the optimal solution for any brand or organization, which need market penetration. The cost of progressive web application design and development is considerably lower when compared to native apps.
Because of being lighter in size compared to native apps, they are highly accessible to users from across the world. Who might not necessarily have the hardware powerful enough to run native apps?
Native Apps – The sheer amount of functionality offered by native apps to the end-user is just unparalleled. User-centric products or services, such as; ‘games and entertainment’, work better on native apps.
Because of their superior memory and data management capabilities along with better online and offline usability, these factors help justify a heavier build which comes at a cost of accessibility.
In Conclusion:
As progressive apps gain more recognition you’re going to see many companies making the switch from native to progressive apps.
The advantages are undeniable, especially for young product-based startups. The reduction in the time and resources consumed in the progressive web application design and development process helps maintain a healthy balance sheet and increases the overall value-added to their respective users.
