Progressive Web Applications (PWA) is a very new theory introduced in 2015 by the team at Google. It transforms a regular website into an application which is fully functional straight from a browser. And it renders perfectly, giving a native-like experience when launched. All the common browsers like Google Chrome, Opera, Firefox and Microsoft Edge, support PWA. In this blog, we will dive deeper into understanding what are progressive web apps, the major web application features and the benefits of creating these solutions with Magento-powered resources.

A web application that is developed by combining the best of both mobile web pages and native apps is known as Progressive Web App. These applications deliver an app-like experience and can progressively run and load in a mobile browser.

Magento and PWA

Magento 2.3 was released with a ton of latest updates and Magento PWA was one of them.

Magento came together with Google in 2017 to bring in the finest of PWA features on the Magento platform by the end of 2018. Magento is the first-ever E-commerce platform that enables its users to fully utilize the potential of PWAs. It has also introduced PWA Studio, which provides the necessary tools for developers to successfully create and maintain a PWA storefront on Magento.

See Magento 2 in action by checking out our case study where we have elaborated on how we developed a Magento-powered eCommerce store for a Philippines-based client. 

Why Magento is focusing on PWAs?

The graph below is enough to show that M-commerce is driving more online sales. Magento has made a sensible business choice by bringing in the latest trends like PWA to its platform.

Can Magento 2 PWA improve your business?

Magento 2 and PWA make for an amazing combination of the native app’s strength and the web’s pros along with some additional unique features. The shoppers can new-age features like full-screen mode, fast page loading, push notifications, and especially the offline mode by using the PWA extension for Magento 2.

For end customers, the experience and engagement will be improved with fast page load speed, full-screen mode, push notifications, an icon on the home screen, offline capability, and more.

For Merchants, it saves resources as it takes significantly less time, effort, and money to implement Magento PWA as compared to developing two distinct native applications for iOS and Android while offering a similar user experience.

For Developers, the traditional way of implementing store frontend will be replaced by Magento Progressive Web App which is more flexible and dynamic.

The ways in which Magento PWA can improve your business are –

Outstanding Speed – Speed is a vital factor for all online stores and if a mobile site takes more than 3 seconds to load, visits drop by up to 53%. PWAs will play an important role here as they are brilliantly fast.

Responsive Design – The implementation of PWA will offer a consistent user experience across all devices like mobile phones, desktops, and tablets. With better, responsive web design, PWAs can make your site rank higher in Google search results.

Compatibility – PWAs can run seamlessly on all platforms and browsers including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and edge. Businesses don’t need to develop and maintain apps for different platforms, just a single web codebase is enough for multiple platforms.

Push Notifications – Push notifications are important to E-commerce businesses as they keep the customers informed about the latest offers and deals. They are known to enhance engagement by up to 88%.

SEO-Friendly – Since the PWA sites are very reliable and engaging, visitors stay a bit longer than usual. Using PWA will make the site mobile-friendly and it can perform well in the Google rankings as well.

Offline Support – With PWA, E-commerce websites can be made to work offline. Customers can browse and order products in offline mode and it will be processed once they are connected to the internet.  

Add to Home Screen – The PWA sites can also be added to the home screens of mobile phones. Users can just tap on the icon and use the application instead of going to the browser and then to the website. It can greatly increase the conversion rate.

Below are a few successful examples of those who implemented PWA –

• After the implementation of PWA, the new website of Best Western River North gained 300% enhancement in revenue when compared to the old website.
• OpenSooq experienced over 85% of traffic from mobile devices after implementing PWA.
• By leveraging PWA, The Grand Velas Riviera Maya resort increased the conversion rate to 53%.
• Uber rebuild its application using PWA technology, which made the app load quickly even on 2G networks.
• Pinterest also rebuilt their mobile web using PWA and in over three months the wait time droped down to 5.6 seconds from 23 seconds.
• The PWA solution for BookMyShow made it 54 times smaller than the Android App and 180 times smaller than the iOS app.
• Forbe’s PWA solution loads in 2.5 seconds while on the previous site they had a load time of 6.5 seconds.

And these are just a few of the many examples available in the market.

Final Words

And to keep your business up-to-date, PWA is a great solution for your Magento website. The technology has already manifested its positive effects and is in demand by the owners of E-commerce websites. The distinct advantages of PWA for E-commerce are –

• Website speed is faster even with low bandwidth.
• Push notifications give a feel of Native Mobile applications to users.
• Enhanced user experience for E-commerce application with PWA as it renders nicely on Mobile devices.

It is also believed that the Progressive web app will replace the native app one day. We are not sure about that but the growth of PWA in the future is indisputable. And that’s enough reason for you to integrate PWA in your Magento 2 website.

About SynergyTop

SynergyTop is a San Diego-based digital marketing company leveraging new-age technologies like PWA and more to develop bespoke solutions for SMBs and startups.

Only a small number of Magento stores have made use of Magento 2 PWA until now. Lack of technical support is the primary reason for the slow adoption of the offering. But you don’t have to worry about that.

Become an early adopter and make your business stand out. Contact us to get in touch with our expert Magento developers today!