Smartphones have changed the way businesses interact with their customers. It is not easy to run a business and ignore the opportunities that mobile offers.
As well as mobile apps that have become an essential tool for every business (communication, customer relationship management, monitoring ...): The higher demand of a mobile app to provide an excellent experience and better results is always present.
However, there are two types of mobile apps, Native apps that offer an exceptional user experience - an enhanced mobile user experience and greater functionality, yet PWAs that combine the features of a native application with the accessibility of a website help you keep costs under control and communicate with users on multiple platforms.
What is a Native App? What is a Progressive Web App? What is the distinction between the two architectures?
The answers to these questions come right after.
A Native App...
It’s software that is developed for use on a particular platform or device and is usually installed from the iOS or Android app stores.
Native apps work with the device's operating system in a way that allows them to run faster and easier than other types of apps. If the app is targeted to users on different types of devices, then developers create a seperate app version for each of these devices.
And because native apps are developed for a specific operating system, they promise optimized and faster performance, they can offer compelling user experiences, and they can obviously take advantage of the latest technologies.
Pros and cons of a Native App
The pros of native apps include:
- Fast and responsive software performance
- Push notifications
- A user interface that better matches the user experience of the operating system
- Quality control of the application through ratings in the app stores
While the cons include:
- Multiple code bases because each device has its own version of the app
- Additional costs to build and manage a code base for each platform
- Time spent on multiple platform versions in each feature update
A progressive Web App
A Progressive Web Application (PWA) is a hybrid between a responsive website and a mobile application.
PWAs are designed and developed as a website that uses modern mobile capabilities (Push Notifications, GPS, Camera...) but offers users an experience similar to that of a native mobile application. Unlike any other app, all content is accessible via a URL and indexed by search engines.
Why using A Progressive Web App?
Single Progressive Web App: one singular app that is developed to function on all platforms, IOS, and Android
Progressive Web Apps referencing: Like any other classic website, the application can be referenced on search engines through SEO
Progressive Web Apps are available offline: some the app data can be cached using scripts called "Service Workers"
Progressive Web Apps can be installed on your cell phone: a PWA is easy to access, as it is installed directly on the home screen of the device
Progressive Web Apps are modular: One of their strengths is the ability to access smartphone features such as notifications, camera, Bluetooth, etc.
Native App vs Progressive Web App
Both progressive web applications and native applications have their own strengths and weaknesses. But which one should you develop for your business?
Here are some specific features to help you decide between developing a PWA or a Native Application:
