Like any new trend, sometimes you have to be a little cautious. In truth, people are far too willing to utilize the very latest and greatest thing in their marketing campaigns without doing much in the way of research.
Not every single trend in the marketing industry is going to be something that you want to utilize in a game plan for your business, but this isn't the case with the Progressive Web App. It'll have a massive impact on the mobile marketing industry, seriously.
Progressive Web App?
Announced a while back in 2015 by Google and it’s set to become the new standard for how information is displayed and digested by consumers. The Progressive Web App (PWA) is a mixture of HTML5 and CSS3. It draws its inspiration from the native mobile app, to deliver what most are calling the app-like experience in your mobile web browser. Think about it like a mobile app that lives in your browser, so there is no need to navigate to the App Store or Google play!
Since the announcement of the Progressive Web App, there have been many developments that should be thanked, as they brought it into the mainstream. Let’s face it, Google has been pushing heavily for a mobile-friendly world for some time now, and they aren’t tip toeing around the issue, that became quite apparent when websites were devalued if they didn’t create a great experience for users utilising a mobile device.
At the end of the day, the PWA is faster, frictionless, and smaller when compared to its native app cousin, and the even more distant relative, the responsive website.
Is it worth looking into for your business?
Here are a few facts that showcase some of the early findings based on case studies from Google:
- 68% increase in mobile traffic
- 52% average increase in conversions
- Engagement is often increased by 137%
- 25X less device storage required
- 15X faster to load and install
- The average load time for a page is 2.75 seconds
- Sessions are on average increased by 78.25%
- Compared to mobile website’s, bounce rate is reduced by whopping 42.86%
Obviously, the technology is still relatively new, but ignore the facts for a second and think about what an app-like experience can do for your business.
With time, consumers have grown to expect a certain level of content, no, experience from their mobile devices. The large majority of users would use mobile apps that spoil their users with great design, refined funnels, and generally a UX that is hard to beat. Take those same consumers to a mobile website that isn't particularly quick to load, alongside a poor UX and you can see why most people spend the large majority of their time in apps.
But the Progressive Web App fixes all of those problems that exist with the mobile website and removes a huge one from the equation. With a native app, there is a long list of benefits, but much like Clark Kent, they do have one weakness.
The most deterring factor in using native apps is the hoops that users have to jump through to get that app installed in the first place. Which can lead to a relatively large amount of users dropping off before they even touch your native app!
On the other hand, the PWA doesn’t suffer any of these issues but can fall slightly short on functionality when complex functionality is involved, but for the most part it is easy to see why there is a tremendously reduced bounce rate and generally increased engagement across the board. The ultimate mobile experience without the friction.
If you are due for a marketing review - this is definitely something to consider as a stepping stone for building the foundations upon which your business sits.
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| Source: AppInstitute |