Progressive Apps: 3 Reasons Why You May Not Need To Build An App Anymore

Technology is evolving at breakneck speed – there is no denying that. The advent of smartphones
has meant that there has been rapid development in the app industry,
with developers and companies struggling to keep up with consumer
demands. However, a key factor for success in this new age? A keen eye
towards trends, and understanding what the future holds for app
development.

A shifting paradigm in this space is the rise of the
progressive apps rather than traditional app development. Simply put,
progressive apps are a new way of building cross-platform applications
rather than sticking to the old, convoluted methods. For example, if in
past instances where you had an idea for an app, you were usually
relegated to one platform such as building it for iOS. If you were interested in providing your app in an Android marketplace, that meant building a whole new app.

If you were interested in
providing your app in an Android marketplace, that meant building a
whole new app. However, considering the number of resources it takes to
build an app that is functional on both platforms, you might quickly
realize it is not worth the large investment it usually takes. This has
been a challenge that developers have been facing for a considerable
amount of time: How do you build an app that provides a great experience
across platforms, without comprising the integrity and feel of the app
itself when it moves to another platform? And how do you efficiently
allocate resources to meet that challenge, especially when it takes so
much time? In the past, it almost always came down to feasibility when
making that decision.

This has been a challenge that developers
have been facing for a considerable amount of time: How do you build an
app that provides a great experience across platforms, without
comprising the integrity and feel of the app itself when it moves to
another platform? And how do you efficiently allocate resources to meet
that challenge, especially when it takes so much time? In the past, it
almost always came down to feasibility when making that decision.

However,
progressive apps are changing the game – fast. Progressive apps aim to
use the best features of web technologies to provide an experience that
is fast, seamless and best of all, far more feasible for investment
purposes. When building progressive apps, the idea is to build one
application that will work like a mobile application.

Google describes a progressive app as an “experience”
that “combine[s] the best of the web and the best of apps.” Their
explanatory article further goes on to state that progressive apps are
useful to users because these experiences are able to hook users in
early on. There is little to none installation effort, and increased
interactions with the app lead it to become far more powerful and
intuitive. Progressive apps are able to load quickly, provide push
notifications and are able to adapt to phones,

Progressive apps
are able to load quickly, provide push notifications and are able to
adapt to phones, tablets, and other devices. Ultimately, these apps are designed to marry the best features of web APIs and trending design patterns without sacrificing quality or performance.

Benefits of Progressive Apps

[Image: Check mark on smart-phone screen. Hand holding smart phone using progressive apps. Finger on mobile device screen. Modern flat vector illustration. - https://i2.wp.com/vermillionsky.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Excellent-performance-app.jpg?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1]

1) Faster development cycle

One of the biggest benefits associated with progressive apps is the sheer speed by which they can be created.
Instead of spending time and money trying to build apps for individual
platforms, progressive apps are able to take on the shape of whatever
device they are on. By using a mix of web technologies and the app
experience, these progressive apps are able to enter a much faster development cycle than traditional methods.

2) Easier to build and test

Progressive
apps are incredibly easy to build, test and retool – a process that is
far longer when developing other apps. Not only will the app itself be
easy to build, but the user testing portion will go by much faster than by using other means. From design to actual experience,
each aspect of app development becomes far more simplified, without
losing the look and feel that comes from building apps for individual
platforms. The building process will take considerably less time, as
will testing and a progressive app usually fares better in the testing
age than its traditional counterparts.

3) Excellent performance

Progressive apps are not hampered by performance issues and bugs the way traditional apps may be. Because they incorporate a great deal of web technology that is able to load on different devices, the performance of the app itself is usually not an issue. These progressive apps are designed to be lightweight,
with a fast performance that is able to keep with heavy user demands.
And users can still have the same experience they would with traditional
apps, without the investment of time and resources to actually build for individual platform needs.

Progressive
apps are fast becoming the future, so it is critical for businesses to
embrace this growing trend and leverage it to match up with its business
objectives. Building a user experience that is seamless, and fast is
not necessarily easy, but it is a field quickly evolving towards that
goal. Businesses looking to drive further success must keep a lookout
for how to incorporate progressive apps into their overall user
experience for long-lasting customer satisfaction and retention.

Many believe that the web, and thereby progressive apps are truly where the future is headed. For example, a recent Ionic blog post discusses this concept and explains that the web is the future of app development because “it runs everywhere” and “it’s the most widely known technology stack” that will eventually power many future successful apps.