All your dreams came true overnight with progressive web applications

With the release of the newest version of Apple’s iOS, a four-year-old technology called Progressive Web Applications (PWAs) just became an overnight success.

Like the term “Ajax” in 2005, the term “Progressive Web Application” is a buzzword applied to a handful of new technologies. Specifically, it’s the way that web browsers on desktop and mobile devices will now grant their native-application powers to websites.

Chrome and Firefox users on Android and Windows (yes, on the desktop!) have had access to these features for some time. Now that they’ve been released to iOS, those Progressive Web Application superpowers will quickly be everywhere!

And that means opportunities for you.

What can my site do once it’s a Progressive Web App?

Once your site is running over a secure connection and you’ve added two pieces of code, you can:

• Make your website available offline.
• Make your site run just as quickly over 4G as it does over wifi.
• Get your site onto users’ home screens without putting them through the app-store process.
• Did we mention the app store process? While you’re at it, you can save yourself the three weeks of hair-pulling since you won’t need app-store approval.
• Do all of the above using a web tools, using web skillsets, on a web budget and a web timeline. All managed in just one code base. Think how simple your Trello boards will get!

Soon, PWAs will be able to access Bluetooth. That will completely reshape how the Internet of Things works with the average user. And that’s just getting started.

Sound Interesting? Join us at the Philly PWA Meetup!

Maybe you’re a business stakeholder that wants to know how using Progressive Web Apps can reduce the cost of developing applications. Maybe you’re a product owner that dreams of releasing features with just one developer team instead of three. And maybe you’re a developer that wants to play with the big new box of toys that PWAs provide. Please join us at the Philly Progressive Web App meetup, and let’s explore what’s possible together!