PWA Statistics 2020 & Web Development Trend in 2021

A lot of technologies gained popularity in 2020, and progressive web apps are one of them. Although the term progressive web app was coined in 2015, it has started gaining popularity recently. One of the reasons behind that is that many people were not aware of PWA earlier despite many unique advantages. 

According to a survey, around 50% of the entire global population has started using smartphones, and on the average US, people spend more than 3 hours daily using their phones. Those numbers reflect the importance of smartphones and how trendy it is. 

Progressive web apps are web applications that have incorporated all the features of the native apps along with some additional features, and the users no longer have to download these apps from the store. 

Statistics of the PWA in 2020, let’s look at some numbers:

1. Progressive Web Apps Cost 30% Lesser to Maintain:

The cost does not stop once the app has been developed; in fact, that’s when it starts. Once the app is developed, significant efforts are required to maintain and keep them updated with the new technologies. 

Depending upon the app’s complexity, it may incur more cost for servers and fixing the bugs. However, there is only a single web application across different app stores in PWA, and there is no need to update the app manually. It will be automatically updated.

2. Decrease in Page Loading Zpeed by up to 10 Times:

Page loading is one of the most critical factors for performance because even though the application looks pretty impressive but if it takes a lot of time to load, no one is going to use it.

According to a study, more than 50% of the users leave the website, if it takes more than 3 seconds to load, that shows how important is the loading time. Using the PWA, it was observed that the loading speed is breakneck than native apps.

Along with that, there is a significant difference in the interaction time of the users with the products using the progressive web app. 

3. Around 50% Higher Customer Engagement:

Companies that have switched to these apps observed a significant increase in customer engagement that is indirectly related to revenue and conversions. 

For the people who do not download apps on the phone because of space and other factors, the progressive web app is the best choice. 

4. 36% higher conversion rates than native apps:

In a survey conducted in 2020, it was noticed that even though the traffic on mobile is more than the web when it comes to conversions, the web outperforms. 

One of the reasons might be that poor UI on the app can not open multiple screens to compare. On the other hand, it was observed that the PWA has 36% higher conversion rates, and the reason is pretty straightforward that it combines the best of both. 

5. 90% Smaller than Native Apps:

One of the reasons why the progressive web app is trendy is because of the space it takes. It occupies no more than 1MB space. That’s why people don’t download apps from the store unless it is necessary. 

It isn’t very pleasant to delete the older apps and make room for the new apps. If a similar experience can be achieved using the PWA, why download the apps and restrict the space on the phones. 

Progressive web apps are definitely the future in 2021. It offers cutting-edge technologies that support responsive actions, interactive mode, and provide high-quality applications. Its architecture consists of four pillars, the service worker, HTTPS, icon, and the web manifest.

When a customer visits the website for the first time, the service worker will download all the contents in the background, and since the content is already cached, the loading speed is comparatively breakneck. Using them, notifications can also be sent.

Also, one of the service workers’ prerequisites is that they make websites available over HTTPS and hence, this will make the connection secure. Looking at the advancements in security, it is really a significant concern when it comes to websites. 

The web manifest gives the information about the application in a JSON text file, and it also installs the web applications on the home screen on its own, leaving the customers with a better user experience and faster access. 

Once the user installs this application, they will have a clear picture of the features and how they look. Despite all the unique and beneficial features, PWA is still in the developing and initial phase. 

Few features such as push notifications, web manifest files are still not supported on the safari browser. Even the iOS does not support all the features of PWA. Apple is encouraging people to use the progressive web app instead of the native apps. 

Many famous and big companies have already built PWA to provide responsive performance for their customers. For example, Pinterest shared the experience after building a PWA, and they noticed around a 44% increase in the revenue rate with a 40 % increase in traffic. 

One of the fascinating features of the progressive web app is that some of the application’s site features can be accessed offline by storing the static files into the browser cache. 

As PWA supports digital marketing, there is no longer a need to ask customers to download an additional application.

Looking at the discoverability, they exist on the web, so just like any other website, they can be found via a search engine or on any social media. It is easy to integrate the PWA with the content and the strategies as there is no need to install the store’s application. 

There are a lot of successful stories of the progressive web app. For instance, Tinder, a dating application, built their PWA in 2017 and noticed that many customers prefer to spend more time on PWA than the native apps, along with an increase in purchases. 

Wrapping up!!

Looking at the statistics in 2020, it definitely seems that the progressive web app will replace the native apps. Although there are some downsides to this application, those are covered by the unique features. 

The best way to know about this application is by installing and trying out the features and feel the user experience. 

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