Collaborating the power of the web with mobile has always been in talks, however, it is still a challenging task for the development community. Though businesses go through the confusion of either have a website for their business or an app and sometimes both. While the target audience is diverse, it is highly imperative to have a solid digital presence.

Here, progressive web applications come in power with the constantly growing popularity as a way to build apps with JavaScript, CS, and HTML having excellent capabilities identical to native apps. Progressive web app development is the new buzzword letting the users experience an app-like experience on the web and that does seem like a great deal to the business owners!

What exactly is Progressive Web App?

As the name suggests it is a Web Application or application software that is delivered through the web and built using common technologies including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It can be used and accessed on both mobile and desktop giving the users a native app-like experience. The major stand-out point here is they do not need a digital distribution system like Apple & Play Store! Why? Because the users are not required to install them. Seems interesting? It surely will! PWAs are supported by platforms like chrome and opera entirely, while firefox supports almost all features.

Working of a Progressive Web App

A progressive web app once developed, is then installed on a system. It works even on an offline mode or with low internet connectivity. How? It makes use of the data cached during the user’s last interaction with the application. A user does not require to install the app through the app or play store, it can be accessed as a website. If you need to know if a website is working as a PWA, you can simply make use of Chrome’s Lighthouse extension.

Best-Rated PWA Frameworks

Though there are an array of PWA frameworks and tools in the market, the below-listed ones seem more reliable amongst all.

• Angular

Introduced by Google in 2009, Angular is by far the most popular framework suggested by almost all progressive web app development companies. By making use of JavaScript we can expect to create responsive, reliable, and robust apps. The developers not having higher expertise can also use the framework for building a quality PWA. Angular is backed by Google and uses a clear methodology which makes the framework easy to implement. It includes IntelliSense and Typescript providing excellent support.

• React

A Facebook-supported framework, React is one of the most popular and highly functional PWA frameworks. It is quite a popular name amongst developers because of its highly exclusive JavaScript Library. It makes use of JSX to link with HTML Structures. Being a pervasive ecosystem,

Facebook maintains the code and ensures smooth operations and support throughout. React helps in creating scalable and flexible applications. A similar code used for web applications and be reused for native apps too! The major advantage is the speedy rendering process due to Virtual-DOM.

• Vue

Heard of Vue? Though it is quite new in comparison to Angular and React but, there is no doubt that it is a great framework. Offering one of the fastest evolving libraries among all other frameworks, Vue has managed to crack the code by delivering high-speed rendering and simplistic coding all together! It is supported by the biggies such as Laravel and Alibaba, since the code is simple it becomes easy for new developers to understand it.

• Ionic

Introduced in 2013. Ionic is an open-source framework having a foundation on Angular frameworks as well as Apache Cordova. Currently, the framework is used for creating over 5 million hybrid applications. The framework consists of a library of components for both iOS and Android allows developers to create web pages, run inside the browser of a device through Webview and render the web pages so that they can be identical to native applications. Since Ionic is an open-source framework it is acquired for free, reducing the development cost. While it is also easier for the developers to learn how the process is followed. Its built-in tools allow easy maintenance and feature a large community of users. The major advantage is their extensive library where one can access APIs without coding.

• Polymer

Developed by Google, Polymer is an open-source framework. Having a variety of tools, web components and templates included. It is a great choice for PWA development due to its highly simplified operation aspect. Additionally, the tools and components included in the framework are supported on various browsers which help the app to be more adaptable and accessible. Also, it uses HTML, CSS, or JavaScript, making it an independent framework. A polymer is an excellent option as it features full support including routing, data tier, and responsive layouts with an API quite easy to understand.

Wrapping Up

PWA is the trend of the hour, while it can boost in the coming time too! Each of the above-listed PWA frameworks has managed to deliver extreme convenience to developers. While choosing the right framework for your PWA should be the first step for determining your app’s success. One should also enquire on the costings and budget plays a highly imperative role. You can search “How Much To Make an App” or similar search terms to know the right costing and get started with your PWA development.

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