PWA Implementation in GMS

What are PWAs?

Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are the next evolutionary step in mobile websites; capable of mimicking the appearance of their native counterparts without being affected by their inherent limitations. Where mobile websites often suffer from poor usability, little to no offline usage and a lack of access to hardware-related functions, PWAs promise a user experience that combines the advantages of web apps and native apps to deliver highly-responsive apps that can be accessed through URLs and Search Engines.

Think of a PWA as being like a website built using web technologies, but that acts and feels like an app.

Above all, a PWA is ONLY a PWA if it adheres to these three fundamental features, as defined (by way of example) via Google:

  1. They must be fast and reliable, as well as reliably fast – They should work consistently regardless of whether they’re online, offline, or using a bad network connection. The time it takes for the app to load meaningful, interactive content should be no more than 5 seconds and each application start should be as fast as the last, with little to no variance.
  2. They should be appealing – It goes without saying the UI experience of an app is key and will dictate the return rate of users. The UI should be simple, eye-catching and responsive.
  3. They should be installable – PWAs can run in a web browser, but are also locally installable, giving the user complete control over their launch experience.

How do PWAs work?

So, with all that covered, how do PWA’s actually work?

  1. The user first goes to a website (whether they’re using Chrome on an Android-enabled device or Safari for an iOS device).
  2. Either the visited website automatically notifies the user that they can place the PWA on their home screen (Android), or they must manually add it to their home screen (iOS).
  3. The PWA with its icon and title now appears on the start/home screen, in a similar fashion to their other native apps.

Implementing PWAs with GMS

At GMS, we’re always looking for ways to improve the interaction between customers and products. By working on the development of a single, discrete PWA variant containing the entire GMS app suite we’ll be able to deliver our engaging and immersive business productivity apps quickly and reliably, and completely independent of connectivity status.

If you’d like to learn more about the development of our GMS PWA then please get in touch with a member of our Sales team today.

Alternatively, if you’d like to find out more about what GMS can do for you and your business, please visit our website.