With the advent of mobile applications, our daily lives have been transformed: these simple tools have become essential facilitators of daily tasks and catalysts for professional and personal interactions.
Thirdbridge began its journey in mobile app development during the era of the iPhone 4's debut, a time when apps were experiencing a surge in popularity. A restaurant menu, a travel guide, a small puzzle game… everyone wanted to have a presence on the App Store...
As of today, the numbers don’t lie: apps remain incredibly popular:
- In 2022, there was a 46% increase in time spent on mobile apps globally. (Statista)
- In 2023, the number of app downloads reached 257 billion. (Statista)
A mobile software presence is now more crucial than ever. Yet, creating a native mobile app can be both ambitious and expensive. Fortunately, there's an ingenious solution that enables the adaptation of a web app for mobile devices without the complexities of native development: Progressive Web Apps (PWAs).
Transforming the Web Experience into a Progressive Web Application:
PWAs provide a user experience similar to that of native apps, while being accessible through a browser without requiring a download from an App Store. They work offline, load quickly, and can be added to a mobile device’s home screen, making them an ideal solution for delivering an optimal mobile experience... for a web app.
Adapting the web experience to mobile via a Progressive Web App (PWA) offers an attractive scenario for businesses, allowing them to test concepts, customize, and develop digital products intended for mobile use while meeting user expectations.
In a context where companies use web and mobile as tools to enhance customer experience, generate traffic, or even increase sales, mobile apps help expand the target audience and create a closer connection with users.
The benefits of a Progressive Web App:
PWAs are a unique blend of web and mobile technologies, offering several advantages to various stakeholders:
- Cost-Effective Development:
A Progressive Web App (PWA) is much less expensive to develop than a native app. With a PWA, only one codebase is needed to cover your web app, mobile app, and desktop app, regardless of the operating system, while validating (or invalidating) hypotheses at low cost to demonstrate the value of their concepts and strategically reinvest in their digital product. This economical approach meets user needs while allowing companies to reduce costs.
Installing a PWA is simple and quick, requiring only a click without interrupting the user’s conversion journey. Just visit the PWA website using a browser or from the app store. The PWA can then be added as a shortcut to the home screen or desktop using options available in the browser menu. By being accessible from familiar discovery and launch points on their device, a PWA provides an experience similar to that of a native app.
Network reliability presents a major opportunity for PWA adoption, particularly in markets where connections are unreliable or mobile data is costly. Users expect these apps to function even in the absence of an internet connection. To meet this expectation, it is crucial to develop robust features enabling continuous offline use.
At Thirdbridge, we have developed hundreds of apps for various industries with very different business objectives. We have seen the effects of incorporating mobile into a digital strategy, not only on brand appeal and the offered product but also on user retention and satisfaction.
Developing a native mobile app might not be financially realistic in all cases at the moment, but a PWA is a viable alternative to test the impact of such a tool without the development and costs associated with native apps.
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