Progressive Web Apps

Looking for a PWA for your business? We can help!

If you’re looking for an expert developer to build your Progressive Web Application (PWA), you’ve come to the right place!

Blueberry has completed a number of PWA projects recently for business clients to help boost user acquisition, engagement and revenue.

Introduction to PWAs

PWAs are a type of application software that is delivered via the web, built using common web technologies such as HTML, CSS and JavaScript, but intended to work on any platform – desktop, tablet or mobile – in a way that achieves the same user experience as native applications on mobile devices.

PWAs provide a high-quality user experience across multiple channels and development costs can be significantly reduced compared to building separate web and mobile applications.

PWAs are like responsive web apps on steroids; a normal responsive website is designed to fit mobile screens by readjusting the layout and hiding/showing different elements to suit a mobile viewport. PWAs, on the other hand, offer similar features to a native app and are designed to give a seamless and integrated experience.

They are published in the same way as any other web page, and they behave like normal apps when opened on a mobile: they can send push notifications, have camera support, detector support, work offline (i.e. they are independent of connectivity) and be accessible from the home screen, just like a mobile app from an app store.

They achieve this by taking advantage of major advances in modern web browsers, web APIs, and front-end frameworks to deliver great app experiences to mobile and desktop users.

Key Benefits of a PWA

A key benefit of a PWA is that a company doesn’t need to develop a web application and additional native apps for iOS and Android platforms to provide the mobile app experience. As a result, your costs can be significantly reduced during software development, since one PWA will work just as well for users on a desktop as it does on mobile and tablets.

Moreover, Progressive Web Apps are easier to develop and maintain than native applications. They combine the best features of the web and mobile apps – plus they make use of the vast web ecosystem, plugins and community.

Compared to traditional mobile web apps, PWAs look and feel much more like a native app and are often indistinguishable from their native counterparts. They are also usually much smaller in size than native apps, which means they work better over low-bandwidth networks, so load faster, and take up less space on a user’s device. The result is a fast, user-friendly experience for your customers.

With 50% of consumer-facing mobile apps now being PWAs, and the growth of web-based apps continuing, it’s likely that in the long-term PWAs will take a significant slice of the market from mobile apps by taking advantage of major advances in modern web browsers, web APIs, and front-end frameworks that deliver good app experiences to all users, regardless of platform.

Get in Touch

Choose which expert you’d prefer – a specialist with technical skills, or a specialist with a business approach:

TECHNICAL CONSULTANCY

Martin Green

martin.green@bbconsult.co.uk

0121 285 6404

BUSINESS SALES

David Lee

david.lee@bbconsult.co.uk

01242 650404

Birmingham: 0121 285 6404

London: 020 3867 9404

Email: enquiries@bbconsult.co.uk

PWA Demo - SyncTimer

SyncTimer is a time tracking app that allows parents to keep track of the time spent by their kids on all their devices. Importantly, the timers are synchronised so that all the devices show the same information and all play any alarms that are set, making it impossible to ignore an expired timer.

SyncTimer works directly in the browser, or can be used as a PWA. It’s hosted on an Amazon S3 server and utilises AWS Amplify (Amplify is a wrapper around other technologies), and AWS AppSync to store the data.

A parent can extend a timer, and the app prompts for the number of minutes extension. This is immediately visible on other devices and will silence the alarm. When the parent extends a timer, it appears as 20+10 minutes on the list and the extension is recorded in history.
A parent can also add a new timer to the screen or remove an existing one.
There is also a history view that shows what has happened so far.