What Is a Progressive Web App and Should I Build One Instead of a Native App?

You've got a brilliant app idea and you're ready to bring it to life, but then someone throws a spanner in the works by mentioning progressive web apps. Suddenly you're second-guessing everything—should you build a traditional mobile app or explore this alternative that everyone seems to be talking about? It's frustrating when you think you know the path forward, only to discover there's another route you hadn't considered.

The mobile app world has changed dramatically over the past few years. What used to be a straightforward choice between iOS and Android development has become much more complex, with progressive web apps emerging as a serious contender. These aren't just websites pretending to be apps—they're sophisticated applications that can work across different devices and platforms without requiring separate development for each one.

The best mobile solution isn't always the most obvious one, and understanding your options before you commit can save you thousands of pounds and months of development time.

At Glance, we've helped countless clients navigate this exact decision over our eight years in mobile app development. Some have benefited enormously from choosing progressive web apps over native apps, while others have been glad they stuck with the traditional route. The key is understanding what each option offers and—more importantly—what your specific project actually needs. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about progressive web apps, when they make sense, and when you should probably stick with a native mobile app instead.

What Is A Progressive Web App?

A progressive web app—let's just call it a PWA to save ourselves some typing—is something that sits right between a website and a mobile app. It's built using web technologies like HTML, CSS and JavaScript, but it behaves much more like a native app than a traditional website does.

The clever bit is that PWAs can be installed directly onto your phone's home screen without needing to go through an app store. Once installed, they look and feel just like any other app on your device. You tap the icon, it opens full screen, and you can use it whether you're connected to the internet or not.

The Magic Behind PWAs

What makes PWAs special is their ability to work offline and send push notifications—two things that regular websites simply can't do. They achieve this through something called service workers, which are basically little programs that run in the background and cache important parts of the app on your device.

When you first visit a PWA, it downloads and stores the bits it needs to function. So even if your internet connection drops out completely, you can still open the app and use many of its features. The app will sync any changes back to the server once you're connected again.

Different But Familiar

From a user's perspective, PWAs feel remarkably similar to native apps. They load quickly, respond smoothly to touch gestures, and can access device features like your camera or location—though not quite to the same extent as native apps can. The main difference is that they're actually websites pretending to be apps, and they do a pretty convincing job of it.

How Progressive Web Apps Work

Right, let's get into the nitty-gritty of how progressive web apps actually work. At their core, PWAs are just websites—but they're websites with superpowers. They use modern web technologies to behave like native mobile apps, which sounds complicated but is quite clever when you break it down.

The magic happens through three key technologies working together. Service workers act like a middleman between your app and the internet, caching content so the app works offline. The web app manifest is a simple file that tells the browser how to display your app when it's installed on someone's home screen. And HTTPS keeps everything secure—no PWA can work without it.

The Technical Components

Service workers are the real heroes here. They run in the background, separate from your main app, intercepting network requests and deciding whether to fetch fresh content or serve cached versions. This is what makes PWAs work offline and load instantly, even on dodgy mobile connections.

• Service workers handle caching and offline functionality
• Web app manifest controls how the app appears when installed
• HTTPS provides the secure connection required for PWA features
• Push notifications work through the browser's notification system
• App shell architecture loads the interface first, then the content

The app shell pattern loads your app's interface immediately whilst content loads in the background—this makes PWAs feel incredibly fast, even faster than some native apps.

When someone visits your PWA, their browser automatically prompts them to "add to home screen." Once installed, your progressive web app launches fullscreen without browser chrome, making it indistinguishable from a native mobile app in everyday use.

Benefits Of Progressive Web Apps

Progressive web apps bring some serious advantages to the table—ones that can make a real difference to your business and your users. Let me walk you through the key benefits that make PWAs worth considering.

The biggest win? Cost savings. Building one PWA instead of separate native apps for iOS and Android means you're looking at roughly half the development time and budget. That's money you can put back into marketing or other parts of your business. Plus, maintaining and updating one codebase is far simpler than juggling multiple versions across different platforms.

User Experience Benefits

PWAs load incredibly fast, even on slower connections. They cache content locally, so users can browse your app even when their internet drops out—something that standard websites simply can't do. The installation process is smooth too; no app store downloads, no waiting around for approval processes.

• Work offline or with poor internet connections
• Load instantly from the home screen
• Send push notifications just like native apps
• Update automatically without user intervention
• Take up less storage space on devices

Business Advantages

From a business perspective, PWAs remove friction from user acquisition. People can start using your app immediately through their browser, then choose to "install" it if they like what they see. You're not losing potential users at the app store download stage.

Search engines can also index PWA content, which means better discoverability—something native apps struggle with. The automatic updates mean you can push fixes and new features without waiting for users to manually update through app stores.

Limitations Of Progressive Web Apps

Right, let's talk about the elephant in the room—progressive web apps aren't perfect. Whilst they offer brilliant benefits, they come with some proper limitations that could make or break your project. I've seen too many businesses jump into PWAs without understanding these constraints, only to hit roadblocks later.

Performance and Feature Restrictions

PWAs run through web browsers, which means they're naturally slower than native apps. Think of it like this: native apps speak directly to your phone's operating system, whilst PWAs need to go through a translator (the browser). This extra step creates delays, especially for graphics-heavy applications or complex animations. Gaming apps and augmented reality experiences often struggle as PWAs because they need that direct hardware access.

You'll also find that PWAs can't access all your device's features. Need to use the camera for advanced photo editing? Want to integrate with other apps seamlessly? These tasks are either impossible or severely limited with PWAs. Battery usage monitoring, advanced push notifications, and file system access—all restricted or unavailable.

The biggest challenge we face with PWAs is explaining to clients why certain features simply can't be implemented the way they envision them

App Store Visibility Issues

Here's something that catches many people off guard: PWAs have limited presence in app stores. Apple's App Store has strict guidelines about PWA submissions, and even when accepted, they don't get the same treatment as native apps. This means reduced discoverability and potentially fewer downloads. Your marketing strategy needs to account for this—you can't rely on app store optimisation alone to drive users to your progressive web app.

When To Choose A Progressive Web App Over A Native App

Right, let's get down to the nitty-gritty. When should you actually choose a PWA over a native app? From my experience working with clients across different industries, there are some clear scenarios where PWAs make perfect sense—and others where they don't.

Budget is often the deciding factor for many businesses. PWAs cost significantly less to develop and maintain because you're building one app that works everywhere, rather than separate versions for iOS and Android. If you're a startup or small business with limited resources, this single codebase approach can be a real lifesaver.

Perfect PWA Scenarios

Content-heavy applications work brilliantly as PWAs. News sites, blogs, e-commerce stores, and portfolio websites all benefit from the fast loading times and offline capabilities. The web technologies that power PWAs handle text, images, and basic interactions really well.

Quick market testing is another area where PWAs shine. Want to validate your app idea without spending months on development? A PWA lets you get something functional in front of users much faster. You can test your concept, gather feedback, and iterate quickly. Making strategic decisions about whether to build an app or website becomes much clearer when you can test both approaches.

• Limited budget or tight timeline
• Content-focused applications (news, blogs, portfolios)
• E-commerce and retail websites
• Simple productivity tools
• Apps that don't need device-specific features
• Testing new concepts or markets

Cross-platform reach matters too. If you need your app to work seamlessly across desktops, tablets, and phones without building separate versions, PWAs deliver that consistency. They adapt to different screen sizes automatically and provide a uniform user experience regardless of the device.

When To Stick With A Native App

After spending years building both progressive web apps and native mobile apps, I can tell you that sometimes there's just no substitute for going native. Yes, PWAs are brilliant and cost-effective, but there are specific situations where a native app is still your best bet.

If your app needs to work seamlessly with your phone's built-in features—like the camera, GPS, contacts, or push notifications—native apps still have the upper hand. PWAs can access some of these features, but native apps can use them more deeply and reliably. Think about apps that need to scan barcodes constantly or use your location in the background; native apps handle these tasks much better.

Performance Matters Most

Gaming apps, photo editing tools, and anything that requires heavy processing power will almost always perform better as native apps. They can squeeze every bit of performance out of your device because they're built specifically for it. PWAs have improved massively, but they still can't match native performance for demanding tasks.

App Store Presence

Here's something many people overlook—app store discovery. If your business relies on people finding your app through browsing the App Store or Google Play, you'll need a native app. PWAs can be installed on phones, but they don't appear in traditional app store searches.

Consider your audience's expectations too. Some users still associate "real apps" with native downloads, and changing that perception takes time.

Budget permitting, native apps also give you more control over the user experience and access to platform-specific design patterns that users expect. Sometimes that familiarity and polish is worth the extra investment. Selecting the right development approach requires careful consideration of these factors.

Real-World Examples And Performance Comparison

Let's look at some companies that made the jump to PWAs and see what happened. Twitter created Twitter Lite as a PWA, and the results speak for themselves—65% increase in pages per session and 75% more tweets sent. The app loads quickly even on slow connections, which is exactly what users in emerging markets needed.

Pinterest saw similar success with their PWA. Time spent on the platform jumped by 40%, and user-generated ad revenue increased by 44%. What's interesting is that their PWA is only 150KB compared to their Android app which weighs in at several megabytes. That's a massive difference when you're on limited data.

Performance Numbers That Matter

When we compare PWAs to native apps, the performance gap isn't as wide as you might think. PWA performance compared to native apps shows interesting results—PWAs typically load within 2-3 seconds on 3G networks, whilst native apps can take 10-15 seconds to download and install. Yes, native apps run faster once they're open, but PWAs close the gap significantly—especially for content-heavy applications.

The real difference shows up in engagement metrics. Starbucks reported that their PWA is 99.84% smaller than their iOS app, yet daily active users doubled after launch. Forbes saw a 43% increase in sessions per user with their PWA.

Where Native Still Wins

Gaming apps and apps requiring intensive processing still favour native development. Instagram's camera features, for example, wouldn't work as smoothly in a PWA format. Banking apps often stick with native for security reasons—though this is changing as PWA security improves. Understanding the different types of mobile apps helps clarify which approach suits each use case.

Conclusion

So here we are—you've learned what a progressive web app is, how it works, and weighed up all the pros and cons against native apps. The truth is, there's no universal right answer here. The best choice depends entirely on what you're trying to build and who you're building it for.

Progressive web apps shine when you need to get something launched quickly, keep costs down, or reach users across different platforms without the headache of managing separate codebases. They're brilliant for content-heavy apps, e-commerce sites, or anything where you want users to access your service instantly without downloading anything first. Twitter, Pinterest, and Spotify have all proven that PWAs can deliver impressive user experiences.

But—and this is a big but—native apps still rule when you need serious performance, deep device integration, or want to tap into platform-specific features that users expect. Gaming apps, camera-heavy applications, or anything requiring complex animations will likely perform better as native apps. Plus, there's still something to be said for having your app icon sitting right there on someone's home screen.

The mobile app landscape keeps evolving, and PWAs are getting more capable every year. Browser support is improving, new APIs are being added, and the gap between PWA and native app experiences is narrowing. What matters most is understanding your users' needs, your budget constraints, and your long-term goals. Sometimes the answer might even be building both—starting with a PWA to test the waters, then developing a native app once you've proven the concept works.