Progressive Web App Tools

Progressive Web App

App development comes in many shapes and sizes, and as you consider how you want your app to function, you’ll have to decide the fundamental nature of your app. You could make a native app, or you could go with another approach. In fact, a Progressive Web App (PWA) could potentially provide all of the functions and options you need.

Let’s start with a simple Progressive Web App tutorial. A PWA is a web-based app that is intended to work on all operating systems. Unlike a native mobile app, a PWA is not hosted on an app store. Instead, you can develop it with a universal language (such as HTML) and distribute the app through a web server. This does a few good things for your app.

First, as it is hosted on a web server, you don’t have to write a unique version of the app for each operating system you want it to support. Progressive Web Apps for iOS are identical to those for Android. Additionally, you get complete control over deployment. Instead of being at the mercy of an app store and their verification process, you can distribute the software as you see fit.

This makes a React Progressive Web App easier and cheaper to develop. It has a higher profit potential, and it still offers a user experience that is in line with native app expectations. For all of these reasons, Alex Russell has led the charge and promoted PWAs as the future of mobile app development. And to see a quick PWA tutorial video, check out how to build a PWA using Lumavate here. 

Progressive Web App Tools

With Progressive Web Apps showing so much promise, it’s natural to want to find a little help in getting started developing them. Fortunately, powerful tools are available, and they can streamline the process far beyond your expectations.

Lumavate is a no-code PWA builder. First, you can browse the Progressive Web App template library. It’s full of pre-made templates that virtually design the app you want. Simply find a Progressive Web App template free download that matches your functions and goals, and you merely have to fill in some of the details. It’s a lot like using templates in a word processor, except the end result is a powerful app that can dramatically raise your business prospects.

Along with templates, you can also select a Progressive Web App theme. It will help you streamline the aesthetic parts of design. More than just color palettes, you can bring uniformity and congruence to your overall design. Another PWA tool is Google's Lighthouse. 

Progressive web app tools don’t stop at templates and themes. You can find an entire open-source library. From it, you can select specific functions or tools that you want to incorporate into your app.

From the bootstrap PWA template, you don’t have to worry about how to convert a website to a Progressive Web App. You can make everything unique, and you can get impressive performance without writing a single line of code.

Progressive Web App Example

A popular Progressive Web App example would be The Weather Channel. One of the most common means to check weather reports on any device is powered by PWA.

The Starbucks Progressive Web App is another on the PWA apps list. When they redesigned their ordering and points systems, they married the native apps and desktop experience through a PWA that has made the overall experience more consistent and enjoyable for coffee drinkers everywhere.

Just a few more Progressive Web App examples include Trivago and Fandango. You can read about both of their success stories in the Lumavate blog. You’ll also find the 2018 PWA Bracket Challenge and learn valuable lessons from the winner’s take on app design.

Learning about Progressive Web Application development by example is a great idea. Lumavate won’t just give you the tools to build your digital experience. You also get success stories, powerful examples and an entire culture of impressive app development.

Ionic Framework

As you get deeper into Progressive Web App development, you’ll start exploring frameworks. There are many popular choices. React is probably one of the most popular. It’s a JavaScript PWA framework that was very popular in 2019. Developed by Facebook, it was designed specifically to help developers make multi-platform apps that didn't suffer performance issues, despite not being actively developed.

The Ionic Framework is another popular choice. Rather than using HTML or JavaScript, it was built on Angular JS and Apache Cordova. Ionic primarily focuses on front-end experience. It can be used to build a user interface, lock in controls and gestures, and even make animations.

It’s hard to say which was the very best PWA framework in 2019, but having access to powerful Progressive App frameworks is vital to app design. You can look for an HTML PWA template and other similar tools to simplify the process.

Web App

While you’re comparing app development processes, it’s important to understand web apps. As a whole, they sit nicely between websites and PWAs. A website is designed to be accessed from a browser, and its primary purpose is to display information. Wikipedia is probably the best example of a website. A PWA is designed to perform a task, and while it is accessed through a browser, it is designed to feel like a native app. A web app is designed to perform a task, but unless it falls under a certain umbrella of web applications (such as PWAs), it isn’t intended to feel like a native mobile app. In fact, it’s not necessarily optimized for any one experience over another.

This makes more sense when you look at specific pros and cons of a web application vs website. A website is simpler in terms of development. Since it only needs to display and not be particularly interactive, it uses fewer resources and requires less innovation in coding. The functions of web applications make them harder to develop and host. They are more complicated bits of software, and as they have an interactive function, they tend to be judged harshly by users. If you consider that most users will not wait a full three seconds for a web page to load, you can see the primary challenge of designing web-accessed software.

It’s also important to understand caching from a perspective of web app development. In most cases, web apps do not cache offline. That means a persistent connection is necessary for all web app functions. Compare that to a PWA that can cache offline, and you get an entirely different experience. The PWA functions the same (from the user’s perspective) whether it is online or offline. It queues information dumps for periods of connectivity to create a streamlined experience.

Web App Builder

When you’re ready to start — even to build a simple web app — you need a web app builder. There are plenty on the market and each has strengths and weaknesses.

Take Budibase as an example. The all-in-one app builder is open source. It includes services for hosting, automation, and it supports multiple frameworks (including React and Ember). It has powerful building tools and a large library to help you design a web app with specific parameters that can truly fill your need. All of that is promising, but there is one thing missing from Budibase’s resume. It isn’t no-code. You have to understand the frameworks you use with this builder. It’s not for beginners with little to no coding experience.

Zoho Creator is another great example. It’s designed for low-code app building, and it even has a drag and drop setup that lets you do substantial development without writing a line of code. It’s not completely no-code, but it’s very beginner-friendly. It even has ready-to-use web application examples for beginners. All of that said, Zoho is streamlined for data management. It may shine in many business spaces, but there are a lot of apps you can never develop with this builder.

We could go on with examples, but what you should understand about Lumavate is that it is the premier no-code Progressive Web App builder. You can build any custom app you want, and you do not ever have to write code. Lumavate takes you from concept to launch. It covers hosting; it serves all types of web applications and it helped major companies make some of the best web apps of 2019. 

If you want the easiest way to build a web app, you need an app builder, and Lumavate stands tall.

Best PWA Builder

On top of everything above, Lumavate has a specialty that is truly special. The builder is designed for marketers. The people who have to sell the digital experience — or use it to generate sales — are the ones who can make it. Being no-code, marketers can apply their vast knowledge to develop digital experiences that they know will reach clients and/or customers. The marketers don’t have to spend years learning a new trade in order to be double threats. They can get to development right away, and the benefits can be reaped that much sooner.

Lumavate isn’t just the best Progressive Web App builder because it is easy to use and powerful in effect. It’s the best PWA builder because it was built from the ground up specifically to serve the needs of developers who aren’t computer scientists or software engineers.

You don’t have to take any of this on faith. You can build a PWA yourself here. You can experience Lumavate firsthand and decide if it’s right for you.