How to Integrate Progressive Web App in Magento 2

To be successful in today’s business world, it’s crucial for Magento e-commerce stores to approach potential customers who had shopping habits on mobile devices. Although there are many solutions to appeal to mobile users such as create a responsive website, build a native app or hybrid app, develop 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.

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Table of Contents

• What Is Progressive Web App (PWA)?
• Why Should We Apply PWA In Magento 2?
• What Are Available Methods To Convert A Magento 2 Website To PWA?
  • 1. Install Magento 2 PWA Extensions
  • 2. Take advantage of Magento PWA development services
  • 3. Your PWA Using Magento 2 PWA Studio
  • 4. Magento 2 PWA Demo
  • 5. Convert Your Site To PWA Using Magento 2 PWA Theme
• How Much Does It Cost To Implement Magento Progressive Web App?
  • 1. Magento 2 PWA Extensions:
  • 2. Magento PWA Development Services
  • 3. Magento 2 PWA Studio:
  • 4. Magento 2 PWA Theme
• Final Words

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 great user experience mimicking native apps. More specifically, PWA can function like a native app with an icon on mobile home screen, splash page (after opening the app), full-screen display, push notifications, and so on.

All of the PWAs must assure 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).

There are some major differences between a PWA and a native app:

• A native app can only run on a certain operating system (iOS or Android) while PWA is powered by mobile browsers and supported on both iOS and Android.
• You have to download the native apps from an app store; meanwhile, PWA can be installed quickly after adding to home screen.
• Users must access their app stores to get the latest version of the native apps but refreshing to get PWA updates.
• Since PWA runs right in a web browser, it is easier for store owners to share and promote the PWAs than native apps. PWAs work on-demand without taking up the device’s memory like the native apps

Why Should We Apply PWA In Magento 2?

Progressive Web App integration has been drawing huge attention from Magento users, especially when Magento 2 PWA Studio was released. Below are three primary motivations to convert your website to Magento PWA:

• Enhanced user experience on mobile devices: Getting the PWA on users’ mobile is effortless, no download required, but it’s just the door before they experience amazing functions like offline mode (access the app even when losing your Internet connectivity), background sync (postpone actions until the network connection is stable) and other app-like features.
• Lower cost of development & maintenance compared to native apps: For native apps, you will have to develop two separate apps (one for iOS, and another for Android), which leads to doubled time and effort for app development and maintenance. On the other hand, a single codebase is needed to create a PWA that can run regardless of the operating system.
• PWA in Magento 2 website is not simply a heated trend, it will be the future of the apps: Many Magento stores have adopted this technology and found their mobile user satisfaction significantly improved, and more to come!

Finding more benefits of Progressive Web App for Magento e-commerce stores here.

What Are Available Methods To Convert A Magento 2 Website To PWA?

There are three options of 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 are 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 full features of Progressive Web App. For some modules, they can just perform the “add-to-homescreen” 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 when you look 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!

CONTACT PWA DEVELOPMENT EXPERTS

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) that is immensely basic and lack 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, which 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 homescreen, 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 significant time for your PWA development.

• Cons: Although this Magento 2 PWA Theme meets all criteria of 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.

How Much Does It Cost To Implement PWA In Magento 2?

As we mentioned, there are three methods to convert Magento 2 websites to PWA, which are associated with different costs:

1. Magento 2 PWA Extensions

You need to buy the module (up to $150) and pay for the installation service (or install and configure the extension yourself).

2. Magento PWA Development Services

It depends on some factors, like your particular requirements, types of features, development time, design complexity, etc. However, by trusting Mageplaza’s experts, you’ll receive the best possible PWA development services at a reasonable and competitive price.

3. Magento 2 PWA Studio

You have to hire PWA developers who have strong experience in both Magento 2 and PWA to build your PWA from scratch. It will take up to 6 months to develop your PWA storefront and new API using Magento 2 PWA Studio tools. You should prepare a generous budget for this integration.

4. Magento 2 PWA Theme

Since both PWA storefront and core API were ready built, your cost will mainly depend on your level of customization. This cost would be more reasonable than the second solution and higher than the first solution but it deserves your investment.

Read more: Magento 2 PWA Theme extension - Magento 2 PWA Theme converts the Magento 2 website into an app-like mobile application.

Final Words

Many experts believe that Progressive Web App will replace native apps one day. We can’t know it 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 to reach the largest number of potential users. Ready to use PWAs nowadays? Contact us for more information!