Progressive Web Apps: Factors for Consideration in Development

Abstract

Web technologies have become more capable and feature-packed, with new browser APIs constantly being introduced and developed. Consequently, progressive web apps and their development have risen in popularity. However, progressive web apps are still relatively new, while also containing many crucial factors to be considered when developing them. This is especially the case when the goal is to create the best possible native-like experience to the user.

This thesis is a literature study, in which academic research articles, real-world case studies as well as online documentations have been gathered to create a cohesive and up-to-date guide on progressive web apps. The study explains what progressive web apps are, what are the benefits and potential drawbacks of progressive web apps, as well as what other factors should be considered when developing progressive web apps. The goal of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview of progressive web apps as well as become an asset for developers by introducing important factors related to progressive web app development.

The definition of a progressive web app includes identifying and explaining its core components, including service workers, the HTTPS protocol, as well as web app manifests. The benefits of developing progressive web apps proposed in this study include application reach alongside capabilities, cross-platform software with a single codebase, and flexibility. The potential drawbacks mentioned in this study include web security flaws and poor web performance. The other crucial factors of progressive web app development include web performance and optimization techniques, energy efficiency, and user experience of progressive web apps, which are gathered from case-studies and academic research articles.