Why Your Business Needs a Progressive Web App (PWA)

Native mobile apps (Swift/Kotlin) are expensive to build and hard to distribute. The App Store tax (30%) and the friction of installation mean that only the most dedicated users will download your app.

Enter the **Progressive Web App (PWA)**.

What is a PWA?

A PWA is a website that behaves like a native app. It uses modern browser capabilities to offer:

**Installability:** Users can add it to their home screen.

**Offline Mode:** It works without an internet connection (using Service Workers).

**Push Notifications:** You can re-engage users just like a native app.

**Full Screen:** It runs without the browser URL bar.

The Business Case for PWAs

1. Lower Barrier to Entry

Asking a user to go to the App Store, type your name, download 50MB, and wait for it to install is high friction. A PWA is just a URL. One tap, and they are in.

2. Unified Codebase

Instead of three teams (Web, iOS, Android), you have one Web team. You maintain one React/Next.js codebase that serves all platforms. This drastically reduces development and maintenance costs.

3. Better SEO

Native apps are black boxes to search engines. PWAs are just websites. Every "screen" in your app is an indexable URL, meaning your content drives traffic directly into your app experience.

4. No App Store Approval

You deploy when you want. No waiting 3 days for Apple to approve a bug fix. No sharing 30% of your revenue for in-app purchases (though this landscape is complex, PWAs generally offer more payment freedom).

When to Go Native?

PWAs are powerful, but they aren't magic. You still need a native app if:

You need deep hardware integrity (ARKit, complex Bluetooth, background geofencing).

You are building a high-performance 3D game.

Your primary distribution channel *is* the App Store.

Conclusion

For 90% of B2B SaaS, e-commerce, and content platforms, a PWA offers a superior ROI. It delivers 95% of the native experience at 50% of the cost.