Best 5 Progressive Web Apps for Productivity in 2021
Progressive web apps — or PWAs, as they’re often called — are one of the most promising app-related advancements of the past several years, but they’re still relatively uncommon, completely confusing, and consequently quite misunderstood.
In 2020, As 71% of customers expect a comparable product experience across channels, companies turn towards progressive web apps (PWAs) — advanced websites that provide app-like functionalities on mobile devices.
What are progressive web apps?
First, a quick overview of what, exactly, a progressive web app even is — because as we’ve already established, it’s pretty darn confusing. A PWA connects to your browser and relies on regular web technologies, but it’s packaged in a way that makes it look and feel more like a traditional standalone app.
The simplest way to think of a progressive web app is as a mix between a website and a locally installed program. A PWA offers enough to substitute for a native app as a budget-friendly option that can be deployed in a matter of days, months, or years, depending on its complexity.
1. Stance
PWA technology helps retailers. Stance — a young accessory brand — wanted to increase in-store purchases by adopting self-checkout technology for their 18 U.S. stores without spending a fortune on equipment. Receipts are provided through an email, which helps the brand with retargeting.
After PWA launch:
- The app covered 30% of transactions in a pilot store.
- Stance registered 91% of emails from all app transactions.
2. The Washington Post
As one of the U.S.’ greatest publishers, The Post races to deliver breaking news to a base of 80M followers. The medium’s progressive web app leverages the AMP framework for near-instant page loading. With 55% of readers on mobile devices, they commissioned a PWA to increase retention for the channel.
After launching the PWA:
- Page loading time increased by 90%
- 23% of mobile readers returned in 7 days.
- AMP content loaded 88% faster in PWA as compared to responsive websites.
3. AliExpress
The store’s new progressive web app helped with market adaptation in over 230 countries by providing an installation-free experience that felt the same on desktop and mobile. Amazon’s biggest eastern competitor couldn’t secure enough native app downloads.
After PWA launch:
- Sign-ups grew by 104%
- Session time bumped up by 74%
- Users visited 2x more pages per session.
4. Rooted Objects
As the founders recorded major purchasing drop-offs, they concluded that a weak network reception was a hot issue. The e-store brings luxury fashion and home products to the Indian market — one heavily reliant on smartphone use.
After PWA launch:
- Revenue grew by 44%
- Pages load 25% faster
- +162% conversions increase
- -10% bounce rate
5. Spotify
The goal for this PWA launch was to register new users for the free version who will update premium after witnessing Spotify’s incredible product experience. They didn’t even have to look for the link, as the buzz for the app design software grew around the option to send or embed an interactive playlist.
After Spotify’s PWA launch:
- +40% average listening hours per month.
- There were +30% of monthly active users.
- The number of desktop users rose by 45%
