Research from UXCam shows that 88% of users are likely to not return to a website if their first interaction was a bad experience. With stakes that high in the era of digital, more and more companies are putting unparalleled user experience at the top of their priority list.
Everyone is looking for ways to make their user experience as comfortable and contented as possible, and one of these ways is leveraging PWA for business.
Global companies using PWA technology to expand their customer satisfaction has been the talk of the town in the IT and SAAS industry, but what exactly is the buzz about? And is the investment really worth it? We’ll know by the end of this blog!
WHAT ARE PROGRESSIVE WEB APPS?
PWA stands for a progressive web app that you can install on your system. It uses the cached data from your previous interactions to enable it to operate offline or without a stable internet connection. A progressive web app is a website that functions just like a native app. It has all the functionality of a native app and still manages to deliver the usability of a website.
Google describes PWA’s as web experiences that are:
- Reliable: Loads instantly and never shows a website to be down, even under unpredictable network conditions.
- Fast: Response easily to user interactions, with silky smooth animations and without janky scrolling
- Engaging: Feels like a normal app, with an intuitive user experience
At Valere, we develop quality Progressive web apps that render an experience that is so consistent and seamless, that users can’t really tell the difference between a PWA and a native mobile application.
PWAs offer an enhanced user experience through progressive enhancement. Robust PWA solutions are useful in accelerating technological capabilities, empower companies and add the right balance to the business.
Since the advent of PWAs, many businesses have leveraged the power of this platform to reach new markets and enhance their user experience. After all, Progressive web apps are simple to develop, test and maintain, post-deployment.
HOW DO PWAS WORK?
“PWA” stands short for “Progressive Web App.” As the name suggests, a PWA is essentially a website that can replicate all features as well as the touch and feel of a mobile app. PWA gives user #bestofbothworlds experience.
Increasing mobile internet accessibility and the race for user experience has led to the progress of this technology which makes a website more reliable and richer like an app, while maintaining the original plus-points of being fast, secure, discoverable, and easily shareable.
PWAs can be installed on a users’ phone just like a native app, they work on all devices in a responsive manner and are functional on all browsers that are compliant with web standards. The main advantage of PWAs is that they are independent of connectivity and can be used even during the unavailability of a network based on the data cached during a user’s previous interaction with the page.
The best progressive web apps load even faster than an average webpage, which has been proven to be a direct contributor to their higher sales and higher engagement statistics.
PWAs are always up-to-date, without the need for the user to download the newest version, and they also support push notifications, which allows companies to keep in touch with the user. These features make it a lot easier to communicate with the audience, allowing companies to flash promotions, offers, last-minute deals, and other important notifications.
Let’s have a look at some of the most popular PWA apps and the impact on sales and engagement rates after adopting the technology.
STORIES OF TOP PWAs
FORBES
Forbes, one of the most well-known international business media publishers, was the one to pioneer PWA in its industry when they launched it in the spring of 2017. Reports from multiple renowned sources say that the PWA was able to load within 0.8 seconds, which was significantly better compared to the old website that would take a minimum of 3 to 12 seconds.
Consequently, the media house observed a steep 43% increase in sessions (web requests made within a specific time frame by a single user on your site), a 20% increase in ad impressions and a 12% increase in readership. Their engagement skyrocketed by 100%.
Users would now find it more convenient to finish articles — the rate of that improved 6x.
TWITTER LITE
Recently joining the troop is the — Microblogging giant Twitter (launched TwitterLite), a PWA meant solely to enhance user experience — which included faster loading time, better interactions and lesser data consumption. This is to date one of the best progressive web apps, which was easily adopted by people who use Twitter on their phones.
With the storage-friendly PWA option of 600KB, Twitter instantly observed rewarding results in terms of tweet activity (hiked by 75%) as well as pages per session (hiked by almost 65%). Their bounce rate was reduced by 20%.
ALIBABA
Alibaba, the world’s largest marketplace for suppliers, buyers, and manufacturers launched their B2B e-commerce platform “AliExpress” initially as a native app. But it wasn’t late until they realized that they were far from the expected response — both in terms of app performance as well as market acceptance.
They tested PWA for business and enjoyed a huge increase in the conversion rate — almost 104%. With better UX, higher speed and more security, their monthly active users have increased 14% on iOS and 30% on Android.
What’s more interesting is how their interaction rate went up 400% from the ‘Add to Homescreen” option single-handedly.
WEGO
One of the fastest loading sites in the world is unsurprisingly a PWA. The popularly known travel company has also leveraged AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) along with PWA for business in order to specifically optimize the experience for enhanced “search and shop.”
70% of Wego’s searches happen online, and switching to a PWA which reduced the loading time from 12 seconds to 0.5 seconds has really hiked their customer satisfaction levels.
Pinterest is an interesting story. This is one app that is there on almost every phone and one website where everyone lands up for ideas. But sadly, of all visitors, only 1 per cent converted as registered users or sign-ups. The culprit — Slow website and load time issues with the app.
With PWA, Pinterest now has 60% increased user engagement, with visitors spending 41% more time and 44% increased ad revenue.
We have discussed only a few examples of popular PWA apps in detail, but we shouldn’t fail to mention that it is being adopted by the most well-known global brands in the hustle for the best ever user experience.
Medium, Washington Post, Amazon, Walmart, MakeMyTrip, Instagram, and Pinterest are some of the leading companies using PWA. These names have only primed the base for smaller-scale businesses to test the tech stack.
Make no mistake, when we say PWA’s are the future and the future is here already. An article published in Forbes mentioned that on average, every dollar invested in user experience could be 100 of those in return. That’s an ROI of 9,900% right there. Make your UX investments smartly, you could be in the league of global businesses with one calculated choice.
Make no mistake, when we say PWA’s are the future and the future is here already. An article published in Forbes mentioned that on average, every dollar invested in user experience could be 100 of those in return. That’s an ROI of 9,900% right there. Make your UX investments smartly, you could be in the league of global businesses with one calculated choice. Building a Progressive web app is a great solution. It is optimized for performance with the results being reflected in enhanced customer experience, retention rates and conversions.
Valere is an award-winning software development agency that has built over 300 top-rated applications for startups and Fortune 500 companies in all verticals like healthcare, finance, sports, fitness, education, and more. Their apps have been featured by the New York Times, and have been consistently recognized as Apple App Store’s top featured apps, TechRadar, and Google Play Store’s top featured apps! Schedule a call with us today to learn how we can help your team create the perfect software or application that can Accelerate Your Business Goals!
