Progressive Web Application (PWA)

1. 1. What is PWA?

A progressive web app is a hybrid between a responsive website and a mobile app. PWAs are designed and developed as a website but offer an app-like experience when visited via mobile.

1. 2. How is PWA different from other types of apps?

PWA offers an alternative approach, improving an app’s cross-platform performance across web and mobile. Compared to native apps, they use up much less storage space on a user’s device. PWA users also have the option to save the app to their home screen without the hassle of a full download.

1. 3. What are the advantages of having PWA?

Rolled out by Google in 2015, the PWA technology improves the mobile web experience and offers the following advantages:

• Boosts Conversions & Retention: PWAs load faster, help find information instantly and increase time spent by the user
• Improves Engagement: PWAs can be designed to boost engagement through push notifications and faster load timings on mobile phones.
• Promotes Offline Usage: PWAs can work on unstable connections and even when users are offline (thanks to pre-caching). So, the website loads reliably and is never down. The offline experience is usually based on the pages the user has visited in the past which are cached

1. 4. What is an installable app? How is it different from apps available on App Store and Play Store?

Users/Buyers can install PWA on their device without going to the Play Store or App Store separately. After browsing the web page on their browsers, users will be prompted with the ‘Add to Home’ option. Users can choose to install the app on their device from there.

1. 5. Is it mandatory to install PWA on my device? Can I continue accessing the storefront like the way it is?

It is totally optional for users to install PWA on their device. They can choose not to install, and continue accessing the storefront from their browsers.

1. 6. Can you name other organizations using PWA?

A lot of organizations have adopted PWA for its benefits. Please visit https://developers.google.com/web/showcase to know more such examples.

1. 7. How will PWA at Shopmatic be implemented?

Shopmatic PWA is currently implemented on storefronts example: for homepage, all products page, product category pages, and buyer login pages.

1. 8. Is it a free or paid feature?

It is available to all the Shopmatic webstores by default for free. No additional payment needed to use PWA on storefronts.

1. 9. Where can I read more about PWA?

Here are a few resources that you can refer to know more about PWA:

1. Case-Studies: https://developers.google.com/web/showcase 
2. Tech: https://developers.google.com/web/ilt/pwa/introduction-to-progressive-web-app-architectures