What Is PWA and How Can It Take Your Website to the Next Level?

PWA: definition, features, and benefits

If you’re running an eCommerce business, you’ve probably already heard about progressive web applications (PWA). In a nutshell, PWA is a website that looks and behaves like a mobile app. Why is PWA the future? Mainly, eCommerce businesses decide to go with a PWA storefront because a PWA frontend demands fewer production costs and provides the customers with a responsive, fast, and app-like experience across all touchpoints.

eCommerce businesses that switch to PWA storefronts see a boost in conversions and revenue—a PWA frontend usually turns out to be a keeper both for the company and its customers because they all enjoy interacting with each other via this solution. So how is this possible exactly? In this article, we will

compare PWAs to responsive web apps and native apps
talk about the benefits of using PWA for businesses and customers
show you some practical examples of PWA success stories of Scandiweb clients.

PWA vs Native App vs Responsive Web App

Ok, not to be too wordy right off the bat, we’ve assembled a spreadsheet comparing progressive web apps, native apps, and responsive web apps.

PWA, Native App, RWA: Table of Comparison

	Responsive Web App	Mobile Native App	Progressive Web App
Lower maintenance costs	✗	✗	✓
Cross-platform compatibility	✓	✗	✓
Unified code stack	✗	✗	✓
Offline support	✗	✓	✓
No download required	✓	✗	✓
No manual updates required	✓	✗	✓
Access from the home screen	✗	✓	✓
Automatic push notifications	✗	✓	✓
Full-screen experience	✗	✓	✓
Marketplace availability	✗	✓	✓*
SEO-friendliness	✓	✗	✓

*Thanks to technologies like Trusted Web Activity, which wraps a web tab into an application, you can convert any Progressive Web App into a native app within a few hours.

Donwload the Table

In general, PWA takes the best of the two worlds—native apps and responsive web apps–and makes life much easier both for the user and the brand. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of using PWA for users and companies.

PWA benefits for users

Let’s start with the benefits of using PWA for the customers. There are plenty of them, including

direct availability in the browser with no need to install an actual app
high speed of performance compared to native apps
ability to operate offline
background updates that don’t bother the user
lightweight, hence no need to occupy space on the device
enhanced security.

Also, the PWA frontend solutions positively affect the conversion rates by bridging the gap between mobile websites and native apps. This is possible thanks to

an app-like experience right in the mobile browser
ability to add a fast access icon right to the home screen
ability to receive push notifications.

With these useful functions, there will be no difference in interactions with your store compared to those in traditional apps.

Here’s a complete guide on setting up, developing, and deploying a fully functional PWA storefront in 10 minutes:

PWA benefits for an eCommerce owner

PWA provides a frictionless and pleasant customer experience. But what about the company and the development sides of progressive web apps? This is a win-win situation because PWA is a mutually beneficial solution. For companies and brands, a PWA storefront is a great choice because

it can be built with common web technologies, like Modern JavaScript, GraphQL, CSS, HTML, even
it demands fewer development production costs compared to traditional apps
it is a cross-platform solution that works on any system and device—no need to create different versions of FE and chunks of code for each platform
It is SEO-friendly—PWAs are indexed by Google, thus having a positive impact on traffic and conversions
It has a higher page load speed compared to responsive web apps and native apps—that is possible thanks to responsive design, image optimization, etc
it is easy to update, store, and deploy asynchronously
it works offline, which is especially important for users with a poor or unstable Internet connection
there’s no need to distribute it through app platforms—as was already mentioned, an ‘app’ icon can be added right to the device’s home screen.

So, all this looks great, but what about the real-life examples? Who is using PWA? How do you create a PWA that actually works? At Scandiweb, we got tons of PWA client cases, check some of those below.

What brands and companies use PWA

First, check out these seven real case studies to see why PWA is the best choice for your eCommerce store!

And here are some of our client cases, for which we implemented PWA solutions.

Technodom

With the migration to ScandiPWA, the largest mid-Asian retailer ($800M) got an increase of organic traffic increase by 20% and conversion rate by 11%.

Sportland

The largest sporting goods retailer in the Baltic region improved performance and user engagement thanks to updated UI and a powerful technology stack based on Magento/Adobe Commerce Cloud and ScandiPWA.

There are other examples—you can check them in our portfolio. Also, check out a PWA demo store here (desktop & mobile) built with our own-developed PWA solution—ScandiPWA.

How to get PWA

Would you like to increase your eCommerce store’s profit and improve customer experience on your website? PWA is perfect for you. Get all of the advantages of the latest technology and leave your slow, old website behind.

At Scandiweb, we proudly offer our customers game-changing PWA solutions, including those for Magento/Adobe Commerce stores. Are you ready to maximize your store’s potential? Click here to request a call back for a personalized consultation about PWA.

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