How to Integrate Progressive Web App (PWA) in Magento 2

To be successful in today’s business world, it’s crucial for Magento e-commerce stores to approach potential customers who have shopping habits on mobile devices. Although there are many solutions to appeal to mobile users such as creating a responsive website, building a native app or hybrid app, developing Progressive Web App - PWA in Magento 2 seems to be the hottest trend. Let’s figure out what this technology can bring about and how we can apply it to existing Magento stores.

What Is Progressive Web App (PWA)?

As you might know, a Progressive Web App is a web app that applies web capabilities (HTML, CSS, Javascript) to deliver a great user experience mimicking native apps. More specifically, PWA can function like a native app with an icon on the mobile home screen, splash page (after opening the app), full-screen display, push notifications, and so on.

All of the PWAs must ensure three essential criteria: Fast (respond to user interactions nearly instantly), Reliable (be able to work under poor network conditions) and Engaging (deliver smooth app-like experience).

Statistics about Progressive Web App (PWA)

In 2015, the phrase PWA emerged on Google for the first time. After mobile-friendliness was considered a ranking factor, Google helped to make PWA become more and more common. For this reason, a lot of website owners began to look at PWAs as a way to improve search engine optimization (SEO) among many other things.

PWAs were created by well-known companies including Jumia, AliExpress, Debenhams, and others. This list is regularly updated as mobile commerce’s annual market share increases. Insider Intelligence statistics predict that by 2024, mCommerce volume will make up 42.9% of all eCommerce and will total $620.97 billion.

Let us give you a significant case study to demonstrate the changes that PWA could bring. Being famous as a fast-paced social media platform, Twitter allows users to post or share their thoughts and messages quickly, retweet content, and even enjoy conversations about hot topics. However, in the past, it had not been lightweight, and lacked flexibility and agility before 2017 when Twitter decided to replace its application with a PWA named “Twitter Lite”. The results were really impressive:

• Tweet volume increased by 75%
• Pages per session rose 65%
• Bounce rate dropped by around 20%
• Storage space requirement decreased by 5% compared to the standard version for the Android app.

Requirements for Magento 2 PWA

To successfully integrate a Progressive Web App (PWA) with Magento 2, you need to meet several key requirements. These requirements ensure smooth integration and optimal performance for your eCommerce store.

• PWA Studio: Magento 2 provides PWA Studio, a complete toolset designed to create, configure, and manage PWA storefronts. Installing PWA Studio is a primary requirement to start building a PWA with Magento 2.

• Progressive Web App Manifest: Create a manifest file that defines the metadata and configuration for your PWA. The manifest file contains information such as the app’s name, icons, theme color, and other properties.

• Service Workers: Implement service workers, which are JavaScript files responsible for handling caching, offline functionality, and push notifications in a PWA. Service workers enable your PWA to function even when the user is offline or has a weak internet connection.

• Modern Front-End Technologies: Developers need knowledge of modern front-end technologies like React, GraphQL, and Webpack. These tools are integral to building and customizing PWA on Magento 2, ensuring dynamic content and a smooth user experience.

• App Shell Architecture: In case the remainder of your content is loading, the app shell architecture will show a page skeleton. It is what will remain when all dynamic content, or items that change from one page to another, has been eliminated.

• HTTPS Support: PWAs must be served over HTTPS to ensure security. This is not only a requirement for service workers but also for ensuring secure interactions between your Magento store and its users.

How to Integrate Progressive Web App in Magento 2

There are five options for Magento PWA integration for Magento store owners to consider:

1. Install Magento 2 PWA Extensions

This is the easiest way to add Progressive Web App features to your current Magento website. Now, there are many Magento 2 PWA extensions from different providers (both free and paid) for you to choose from.

• Pros: The cost of Magento 2 PWA modules is affordable (from $0.00 to $150). Also, it takes just a few hours to install those extensions on your site.

• Cons: In general, most of the PWA extensions for Magento 2 are not able to deliver the full features of Progressive Web App. Some modules can just perform the “add-to-home screen” and send push notifications while ignoring other essential features such as fast page load speed, offline mode, and background sync. You should not only read what the developers promote module, try their demo and you will see!

2. Take advantage of Magento PWA development services

Without doing everything by yourself, you can have Magento PWA developers implement this task for you. PWA development is an essential and complicated process, so it’s better to hire experienced developers. The cost of hiring them is actually much cheaper than the cost of making mistakes by yourself.

• Pros: You can spend your time on other essential business aspects, while ensuring that the process is successful.
• Cons: It’s challenging to find a reliable and budget-friendly Magento PWA development agency.

Mageplaza is a good option if you are looking for high-quality and trustworthy Magento PWA development services. Their progressive web application development services maximize user engagement, while combining the best of both web and mobile apps with smooth navigation. Their PWA solutions offer offline compatibility and access even in poor network conditions.

Their Magento PWA development services include:

• Custom progressive app development services
• PWA UX/UI design & optimization
• PWA upgrade/migration
• App shell model
• PWA testing
• PWA maintenance and support

If you want further information, don’t hesitate to contact them today for free consultations!

PWA Development Services

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3. Your PWA Using Magento 2 PWA Studio

Magento introduced Magento 2.3 PWA Studio to help us develop, deploy and maintain a PWA storefront for Magento 2 websites.

• Pros: Compared to available Magento 2 PWA extensions, developing your PWA from scratch using Magento 2 PWA Studio is a more comprehensive solution. It will replace your existing Magento storefront with PWA storefront that will be connected to your backend via API.

• Cons: Magento 2 PWA Studio is just a set of tools to support you in PWA development. There is still a long way to go. You can take a look at Venia storefront (PWA Studio demo), which is immensely basic and lacks of many Magento default features.

4. Magento 2 PWA Demo

This is Venia storefront as Magento 2 PWA demo:

https://venia.magento.com/

5. Convert Your Site To PWA Using Magento 2 PWA Theme

Magento 2 PWA Theme is an advanced PWA integration solution that is based on Magento 2.3 PWA Studio, ReactJS, and GraphQL. It includes two parts: an extensive PWA storefront and built-in API to connect this storefront and Magento backend.

• Pros: Up to now, this seems to be the most potential solution to integrate PWA in Magento 2 website. Firstly, it can deliver all we expect from a PWA: lightning load speed (on both desktop & mobile devices), shortcut on the home screen, splash page, fullscreen display, network independence, background sync, low data consumption, easy update, and so on. Secondly, its PWA storefront demo shows a much better version than the default Venia storefront with a complete layout for all pages of the site. As a result, it will reduce the significant time for your PWA development.

• Cons: Although this Magento 2 PWA Theme meets all criteria of the Progressive Web App as well as provides a great storefront that looks like a normal Magento 2 frontend, you still need to customize the PWA storefront according to your design. Also, if your site has some custom functions or installs some third-party extensions, you will have to check their compatibility with the new storefront and update the API as well.

Why Should We Integrate PWA in Magento 2?

Progressive Web App integration has been drawing huge attention from Magento users, especially since the release of Magento 2 PWA Studio. Below are the primary motivations for converting your website to Magento PWA:

• Enhanced User Experience: PWAs provide a native app-like experience to users, enabling faster page loading, smooth navigation, and seamless interactions. With features like offline browsing, push notifications, and device hardware integration, PWAs offer a highly engaging and immersive user experience.

• Improved Performance: PWA technology utilizes techniques like caching, prefetching, and lazy loading to optimize performance. By reducing page load times and enabling instant interactions, PWAs ensure that customers can browse and shop without any delays or interruptions.

• Cross-Platform Compatibility: PWAs are platform-agnostic, meaning they work consistently across different devices and operating systems. Whether users are accessing your Magento 2 store from a desktop, smartphone, or tablet, the PWA will adapt and deliver a consistent experience, eliminating the need for separate mobile apps.

• Increased Reach: Since PWAs are accessed through web browsers, they are discoverable by search engines and can be easily shared via URLs. This accessibility helps improve your store’s visibility and reach, as well as simplifies user acquisition and marketing efforts.

• Seamless Updates: With a PWA, updates and improvements to your Magento 2 store can be rolled out instantly. Users accessing the PWA will automatically receive the latest version without requiring any manual updates or app store approvals.

• Offline Capabilities: One of the most powerful features of a PWA is its ability to work offline. By caching key resources, a PWA allows users to continue browsing and interacting with your site, even when their connection drops.

By incorporating PWA technology into your Magento 2 store, you can provide a fast, engaging, and reliable shopping experience that meets the expectations of modern consumers, ultimately driving customer satisfaction and boosting conversion rates.

=> Learn more: How the Progressive Web Apps Can Revolutionize the Entire Magento Experience

PWA Development Services

Make your business accessible anywhere and anytime, while providing app-like functionalities on mobile devices.

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Challenges You Might Face to Integrate PWA in Magento 2

Nothing is perfect, and so is PWA.

Integrating a Progressive Web App (PWA) with Magento 2 can bring great advantages, but it also comes with several challenges that need to be addressed for a successful implementation.

• Technical Complexity: PWAs rely on service workers, caching strategies, and JavaScript. If developers are not familiar with these technologies, they can face difficulties. Proper handling of caching and dynamic content is essential.
• Learning Curve for Developers: Developers may need to learn new concepts such as service workers, web manifests, and using modern front-end technologies like React, which can slow down the development process.
• Customizing Themes and Extensions: Magento themes and extensions often require significant modifications to work with PWAs. Some extensions may not support PWA and require alternatives or custom development.
• Managing Service Workers: Service workers control caching and updates, which can be tricky. Misconfigured service workers might lead to outdated content or problems with site functionality, especially during updates.
• SEO and Performance Optimization: While PWA can improve performance, developers need to ensure that SEO is not compromised. Careful attention must be paid to server-side rendering and optimization strategies to maintain crawlability and fast loading times.

Final Words

Many experts believe that Progressive Web App will replace native apps one day. We can’t know for sure, but the substantial growth of PWA in the future is undeniable. That’s why integrating PWA in Magento 2 websites should be carried out as soon as possible.

Last but not least, we think that PWAs can be either an alternative or a supplement for native apps. If the store owners have a strong financial capability, developing both PWAs and native apps will help them reach the largest number of potential users. Ready to use PWAs nowadays? Contact us for more information!