For a while now businesses have been investing in their applications as a way to improve their customer experience and increase their market reach. A type of application that has been getting increasingly popular is web apps due to their significant accessibility and cost-effectiveness.
But traditional web apps may be falling behind progressive web apps (PWAs), as the latter have proved to give more advantages.
In this article, we are going to discuss the notion of progressive web apps, their benefits, and what the future looks like for them.
Progressive Web Apps (PWA)
Progressive Web Apps are web-based applications that behave like mobile apps. Web developers employ modern web technologies to create web apps that offer app-like features, such as push notifications, offline access, and home screen icons. Users access these through their browser on a computer, smartphone, or tablet.
Despite being web apps, PWAs are different from traditional web applications. They offer a more advanced and seamless experience. For example, users can access content and functionalities in PWAs with little to no Internet connection thanks to features like caching and local storage. Another advantage of PWAs is the app-like experience, which is more realistic and complete. The overall performance of progressive web apps is also superior, as it has faster loading times and is more reliable than traditional web applications.
Many companies have already realised the potential of PWAs and hurried to implement them. Big names like Pinterest, Starbucks, and Twitter are just a few examples of enterprises that improved their online user experience with PWAs.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are gaining traction as tools for web app development improvement. AI can help developers automate tasks that usually require human intervention, such as image recognition and voice commands. ML, on the other hand, is capable of interpreting and employing data insights for user experience enhancement.
AI and ML can, thus, relieve developers from repetitive tasks by automating processes, creating personalised experiences through recommendations generated by user data, streamlining processes, and reducing human error.
Amazon, Uber, and Google integrate AI and ML technologies in their web apps to create more personalised content and offers, improve service efficiency, and optimise data processing.
Blockchain
Crypto developers use the blockchain to develop decentralised web apps (dApps) as an alternative to central servers. Web app development within a distributed ledger technology is undoubtedly less known, but it has several advantages that make it worth considering.
Blockchain makes dApps more secure and transparent because its cryptographic algorithms protect against tampering and its consensus mechanism allows anyone with access to verify and validate transactions. Additionally, it simplifies transactions by removing intermediaries and associated fees.
Well-known companies such as IBM, Walmart, and FedEx have adopted blockchain-based web apps to improve their transparency and efficiency and reduce costs.
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)
Another piece of technology that can revolutionise web app development is digital reality. Developers can integrate augmented and virtual reality into their applications to enhance the user experience by making it more immersive and engaging.
The combination of virtual elements with reality is an idea that has proved to appeal to businesses developing their web apps. Customers tend to pay more attention to interactive and immersive experiences, which can be very helpful for companies.
For example, IKEA has used AR to develop an app in which customers can see how furniture looks in their environment by using the device’s camera. Ford has created a training program for technicians to practise their skills in a fabricated world.
Conclusion
Progressive web apps are becoming a favourite for many industries investing in the development of company apps. Their choice is motivated by the many advantages of PWAs, such as the app-like features, development simplicity and low development cost in comparison to native apps.
The future is looking great for progressive web apps as new trends on the horizon promise to optimise them thanks to new technologies. Keep an eye out for these trends and think about implementing them in your own web app development projects for more successful outcomes.