Progressive Web Apps
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are web applications that use modern web capabilities to deliver an app-like experience to users, including offline functionality, push notifications, and home screen installation. They are built using standard web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, but enhanced with service workers and web app manifests to work reliably across various devices and network conditions. PWAs aim to combine the best of web and native apps, offering fast loading, engagement features, and cross-platform compatibility without requiring app store distribution.
Developers should learn and use PWAs when building applications that need to reach users across multiple platforms (e.g., desktop, mobile) with a single codebase, while providing offline access and native-like features. This is particularly useful for e-commerce sites, news portals, or productivity tools where users expect reliable performance even with poor or no internet connectivity. PWAs reduce development costs compared to maintaining separate native apps and can improve user engagement through features like push notifications and home screen shortcuts.