The e-commerce industry has seen a significant user increase over the past ten years. Today, there are more than 26 million e-commerce platforms across the globe, with more and more being created every day. According to a report by Shopify, the eCommerce industry is expected to grow by $11 trillion by 2025. These staggering numbers illustrate the potential that eCommerce has to transform businesses. Initially, the eCommerce industry relied on websites but has gradually turned towards native mobile applications. But nowadays, consumers rely heavily on Progressive Web Applications to quickly make online purchases. Let’s try to understand what Progressive Web Applications are and how do they benefit your business.
What is a Progressive Web App?
A Progressive Web Application is a web application that utilizes advanced web features to give consumers an exclusive and native app-like experience. The reason native apps have been popular among online shoppers is because they provide users with a much richer and more extensive experience. But over the years, Progressive Web Apps have evolved and now offer a high-end experience without the requirement of installing it. This Progressive Web App technology allows businesses to give users the experience of using a native mobile application while using technologies like HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.
Benefits of Progressive Web Apps for eCommerce
As mentioned above, the eCommerce industry is growing rapidly. In order to benefit from the growth of the eCommerce industry without spending a lot of money, businesses are inclining towards PWAs more than native mobile applications. Here are the benefits PWA provides to eCommerce:-
- A Wider Audience
Progressive Web Applications can significantly help in increasing the reach of your business. They are capable of perfectly fitting into different screen sizes. PWAs can function swiftly on any device without any obstructions. Since they are so easily accessible and function well, more and more people use them instead of downloading a native application.
- Speed
The loading speed is one the most critical factors in any application. More than half of the audience leaves the site if it takes too much time to load. But PWAs provide unparalleled speed to the user along with a smooth experience.
- Better Conversion
A fast and functional application can greatly help increase your business’s conversion rate. PWAs provide a better user experience for the users, along with a flawless interface. This leads to a significant increase in the conversion rate. The more happy your clients are with your application, the more leads you will get.
- Reduced Development Cost
Another advantage of PWAs is that they are cost-effective. The development cost of Progressive Web Applications is significantly lower than native applications. The maintenance cost of these highly robust and fast web applications is relatively lower as they do not require regular updates or maintenance services.
Best Frameworks for Creating PWAs
Now that we have gone over the benefits of Progressive Web Applications, let’s go over the best frameworks that can be used while optimizing Progressive Web Applications. We have shared the three best frameworks for creating PWAs below.
- Angular
Angular is one of the most reliable and flexible frameworks which can be used to optimize Progressive Web Applications. The development process of PWAs can be done quickly and efficiently with the help of Angular. Another essential feature of using the Angular framework for the development of PWAs is that the Progressive Web Apps optimized through Angular benefit from Ahead Of Time (AOT), which transforms Angular HTML and TypeScript code into JavaScript code efficiently even before the browser installs and starts the application.
- React
Although Angular is a reliable option for developing PWAs, React offers many advantages, making it a godsend for PWA developers. Due to the “Create a new React app” generator that Reacts offers, it is regarded as a “first-class citizen” in the PWA development community. It also uses virtual DOM in the development process, which is ranked at the top in terms of performance.
- Vue
Vue.JS is another excellent framework that can be used to develop Progressive Web Applications. Interestingly, Vue and React have a lot of features in common at their core. Vue also uses a virtual DOM to optimize the web app efficiently. Another reason that makes Vue highly desirable is that it is easier to learn and use to develop PWAs.
These are the three best frameworks that can be used to develop Progressive Web Applications.
Key Takeaways
Although native mobile applications have dominated the eCommerce industry, the growing popularity of Progressive Web Applications has drastically turned the tables. Believe it or not, PWAs are creating a massive shift in the industry and making eCommerce much more acckessible and fast. The eCommerce industry is expected to grow heavily in the coming years, which is why this is the right time for businesses to hop on the eCommerce bandwagon to enhance their conversion rates.
