The Internet and the various existing sites are constantly evolving, with new ways of displaying your site, new ways of coding, and many other elements. In recent years, the progressive web app has made its way and is popular with digital players, in particular e-merchants.
But what exactly is a progressive web app? It is a website developed for mobiles . They are developed in HTML 5, like a classic site, by adding the functionalities offered by the applications. It is therefore an application available on a browser, but offering the experience of native applications.
There are, however, differences with mobile sites, which designate a site that is displayed when the user accesses the site in question with their smartphone, or responsive sites , which are the same site, but with a design that s adapts to the screen used by the visitor. Native mobile applications mean applications offered on the stores of different OS.
What are the uses of PWAs? What are their applications in terms of E-Commerce? What are the ways to create your own progressive mobile phone comparison web app? We’ll answer all of these questions in this article, and include some examples.
Progressive web apps at the service of E-Commerce
Progressive web apps have several advantages, especially for online stores. These are faster and allow you to perfectly display your site on a smartphone screen. Here are some of the advantages of progressive web apps:
Increase your conversion rate
The conversion rate is one of the KPIs most taken into account by e-merchants. The conversion of an online store is highly dependent on the speed of the site display and load. Progressive web apps allow you to improve the loading time of your online store on your smartphone.
Consumers are buying more and more with their smartphones. The use of this type of product nevertheless involves several things, such as adapting the site to the user’s screen , or the loading time mentioned above. The PWA also makes it possible to avoid downloading a mobile application.
In addition to that, it allows, like a classic mobile application, to send push notifications to the user. This therefore helps to grab the user’s attention, retain them, and increase your conversion rate.
Finally, the use of a progressive web app increases user satisfaction, once again influencing the conversion rate of its E-Commerce site. Avoiding the download of an application and offering a fast and well-displayed site makes it possible to satisfy the consumer , who will be more inclined to buy, and whom you can more easily retain.
Improve your SEO
For e-merchants, SEO is the sinews of war. This acquisition channel is organic and is based on SEO on search engines .
Google, the leader in search engines, uses the mobile first index , which takes into account the responsiveness and adaptability of sites on smartphones. Proposing a PWA therefore makes it possible to delight the search engine by displaying a site well suited to phone screens.
Then, the development of a progressive web app is equivalent to the development of a classic site. Unlike a mobile application, the PWA can be referenced on search engines . If this is fast, you will have a better chance of ranking at the top of the results on Google.
Accessible everywhere, all the time
Unlike a mobile application or a classic website, the progressive web app is accessible everywhere (as we said, on smartphones), all the time. It is indeed possible to access the site offline . A consumer will therefore be able to access your site, whether on the plane or in a white area, without a network.
In addition, since it does not require a download , it can be viewed on smartphones lacking memory space.
Finally, your site will be accessible on all mobile operating systems , as well as all browsers. This will save you the trouble of creating apps specifically for the App Store and Play Store, or worrying about browser compatibility issues. In addition to that, you do not have to force yourself to comply with the guidelines for developing and proposing applications for mobile operating systems.
How to create a progressive web app?
There are several steps to take into account in the development of a progressive web app. These include: the definition and design of a shell app (system interface), service workers and cache management by optimizing the loading of its content, the definition of an application manifest as well as the proposal for ‘ secure browsing .
The shell application
The system interface contains the development components of a typical website (including the programming languages HTML, CSS and JavaScript). This allows you to focus on the essentials of developing your application, while maximizing its speed.
The site is not loaded each time the user visits, but the most important content is preloaded to optimize view speed.
The workers Service
This designates a JavaScript file that acts as a proxy between your progressive web app, the network as well as the browser, synchronizing data between these entities. This communicates with your scripts via an API, since it does not have access to the DOM of your site.
The objective of this file is therefore to improve the performance of your progressive web app by managing in real time all the information necessary for the display of your site, and by loading in the background.
The application manifesto
This manifesto is used to provide information , such as its name, icon, description, specifics of the page orientation, etc. in a text document. It’s like the identity card of the progressive web app.
Safe browsing
The safety of Internet users is one of the essential elements to take into account when developing a site, whether mobile or not. You must therefore make sure that your site offers access via HTTPS , thanks to an SSL certificate, for example.
Examples of progressive web apps
Progressive web apps are becoming increasingly important, thanks to all the advantages they offer. Several types of site are therefore up to date and have chosen this type of operation to display their page on mobile:
The Team: the progressive sports web app
Sports media, the Team was one of the first media to launch a progressive web app. The media’s objectives were in particular to offer an offline mode and to improve site performance in order to retain mobile site users.
The development of this progressive web app has enabled the sports media to:
save time spent on each visit (+ 4%, from 225 to 234 seconds)
improve site performance (go from 54 to 7 seconds of 3G loading, from a weight of 3.2MB to 1.3MB)
Pinterest: the progressive social web app
The social network aims to develop internationally. In order to facilitate this development, Pinterest has opted for the development of a progressive web app, in order to facilitate its use on smartphones.
The development of this progressive web app has enabled the social network to:
save time spent on each visit (+ 40%, increasing to more than 5 minutes)
generate more clicks (+ 50% clicks)
improve site performance (go from 23 to 5.6 seconds of loading)
Uber: the progressive web app for access to the service
The automotive service provider has developed its progressive web app to offer its services to customers in white areas, or underserved places. To find out the performance of their progressive web app, Uber teams tested their app on a 2G network.
The development of this progressive web app has enabled Uber to:
reduce the weight of the loaded data (from 280 to 17kB)
reduce the charging time (from 2.5 seconds charging on a 2G network)
AliExpress: the progressive web app at the service of products
Same problem as Pinterest, AliExpress aims to develop its international domination. Same process as the social network to do this, the development of a progressive web app, making it possible to adapt to the M-Commerce demands of consumers.
The development of this progressive web app has enabled the marketplace to:
develop the conversion rate of new users (increase of 104%)
save time spent on each visit (74% increase)
Progressive web apps therefore make it possible to improve metrics to satisfy the user, and provide a smooth and seamless experience. Thanks to the various examples cited, we can see that progressive web apps allow to provide improved performance, allowing themselves to increase the conversion rate and the time spent on your page.
