How Progressive Web Apps Help Brands Increase Profits?
Technology finds its place in the world with the convenience it offers. If it improves the lives of people, it is accepted. First, we had websites then came web portals then mobile apps; each offering something better than the others.
Mobile apps offer great convenience and thus better user experience when compared to websites. Progressive web apps are a step ahead as these add convenience to users by combining the benefits of both websites and mobile apps and eliminating the limitations of both.
Progressive web apps are just application software delivered through the web or web apps with the benefits and convenience of mobile apps! While loading, a progressive web app focuses on the core web-page. Then, based on the users’ browser and internet connection capabilities, it progressively adds layers of presentation and features.
Progressive web apps are fast, engaging, and platform-independent. Users can save the progressive web apps on their mobile devices in the same way as mobile apps and can access these offline too. These responsive apps perform well on multiple devices including tablets, mobiles, computers, etc.
PWAs not just improve conversions and profits through higher user engagement, these also help save costs for businesses, especially eCommerce. Firstly, progressive web app development costs much less compared to mobile app development. Besides, there is no hassle of app store submission at all. This also saves app store costs for businesses. Deployment and maintenance costs are also much reduced with PWAs.
With so much to offer to the users/customers and the businesses, PWAs are the need of the hour!
Progressive Web Apps Ensure Better Customer Engagement — How?
User experience is the key to business success. Better user experience means better customer engagement. A report by Forbes suggests that PWAs have benefited brands significantly by increasing overall user engagement by 137%. The popular brands like Pinterest, Starbucks, Forbes, Spotify, and many more have adopted PWAs and seen a major surge in their business.
So, let’s see here how Progressive Web Apps offer better customer experience and user engagement!
#1. Effortless Installation and Updates
Many users are reluctant to visit app stores and download/install new apps because of time limitations and space shortage in their mobile devices. This limitation is eliminated with PWAs.
Progressive web apps offer numerous benefits to users including ease of setup and automatic updates. These apps are instantly installed on users’ home screens without downloading from the app store. With so many businesses and apps facing tough competition in the market, this ease drives the users to the brands that offer the users with such convenience of progressive web apps. Users need not worry about updates too as that happens automatically.
#2. Work Offline
Progressive web apps are connectivity independent and enable user interaction even offline and the data is synchronized as the network is restored.
For eCommerce, this is exceptionally beneficial as this can offer the users many functionalities and an uninterrupted browsing experience even in the offline mode. Thus, this would attract a wider range of customers, even those who have limited internet availability.
#3. Faster Page Loading
Page loading time is a major factor in better user engagement. Imagine you are busy and need to do some urgent online banking transaction or online shopping and the app page does not load!
For banking and eCommerce, a higher page loading time frustrates the user and may result in the user abandoning the app permanently. A frustrated user is also unlikely to recommend the app to others.
With progressive web apps, the major files get cached locally. This results in faster loading time and great app experience to the users.
#4. Security
Safety is another major advantage of progressive web apps due to transport layer security (TLS). The service workers that run only with TLS or on HTTPS are mandatory for PWAs.
PWAs behave like web applications when we talk about security. Their security is handled at the browser level. Isn’t this your major concern as a user while dealing with fin-tech apps? These apps add convenience to the busy lives of users and now these are safe too with the advent of PWAs.
#5. Push Notifications
Push notifications play a significant role in marketing and branding. These help in providing quick order updates and product offers. These remind the customers about your brand and offer one-click subscriptions. Their role in creating brand value and retaining customers cannot be ignored.
PWAs offer the advantage of push notifications that websites lacked. This helps the users get quick discount alerts and offers instantly and encourages them to shop more. Well, don’t you often end up buying something if you suddenly get an instant discount alert while browsing over your favorite products on the app?
#6. Ease of Sharing
When we get a wonderful experience with some app, don’t we immediately feel like sharing the same with a friend? But, how do we share the mobile app?
Well, PWA enables easy sharing through just the URL. So, users are more likely to recommend the same to others. This directly means more user-base and more business for the brand.
To Summarize
Progressive web apps offer great user experience and better engagement altogether. These thus ultimately help businesses earn better user-base, conversions, and profits.
As rightly said by Steve Jobs,
The customer is the final inspector.
With so much convenience that Progressive Web Apps offer to the users, these can reshape the future of businesses and the ones that adopt PWAs will lead the race!
The best part is that it takes just a few simple steps for a web developer to convert your website to a progressive web app effectively without much hassle or expenditure. So, get it done now!
