In the last few years, online business owners have invested in web applications for the growth of the business. The standard websites are no more appealing to customers. Implementing new technologies and building web apps can help them reach more customers and improve store performance.
Two technical approaches will allow you to build your first web app, which is Progressive Web Application (PWA) and Single Page Application (SPA). As people think they are alike and have no differences between them. So, it is essential for store owners and developers to know about two popular concepts which are not the same.
Today in this article, we will look at the features of PWAs and SPAs to decide which one is the better choice for you?
Table of Contents
What is a Single Page Application?
SPAs are single-page web apps written using JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. It needs to be loaded once. When the user navigates through the website, the content and other information get altered or re-rendered without reloading the page.
In this way, it saves the time spent on the traditional round trip between server and browser. Some Single Page Applications examples are Facebook, Gmail, Airbnb, Netflix, Gmail, and so on. It provides faster interactions and better user satisfaction.
What is a Progressive Web Application?
PWA or progressive web apps (PWA) act more like mobile apps that work on any device. It offers all the native features, such as push notifications, offline functionalities, etc. PWA is built from the same web technologies used in developing SPAs (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript). The best PWA examples are Twitter. Lite, Starbucks, Pinterest, Uber, Aliexpress, etc.
How do they work?
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Magento Single Page Application: This single-page web app will load at once. When you visit the web app for the first time, the browser will load the complete application and presentation. After that, when you navigate the website, only relevant content will be changed or presented.
SPA always takes advantage of repeating content. The app layouts, footer, header, and sidebar will remain visible in the browser, whereas the content and elements will be retrieved automatically. It increases the store’s loading speed.
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Magento Progressive Web Application: Three features make the progressive web apps faster, reliable, and engaging. A PWA website should meet the three requirements:-
- Should have a secure web connection using HTTPS protocol.
- Has a valid web manifest file.
- Should have registered a service worker with a fetch event handler.
Pros and Cons of SPA
- Fast Loading Speed: HTML and CSS get downloaded on the browser for the first time. Only new updates and content will be retrieved later. It explains why SPA loads faster than any traditional website.
- Improve User Experience: It has a smooth navigation process which increases the overall user experience. As it loads faster and responds to user requests quickly, also customers feel less frustrated during the loading process.
- Offline functionality: SPA stores the cached data locally in the initial requests, so users can access a single web page with poor network connections.
- Slower first load: In the beginning, SPA put more pressure on the browser as it has to load more content and files. This results in a slower first-page speed. It can cause a problem for users and make them frustrated.
- Security Issues: SPA is built using cross-scripting, which hackers can easily access and put their scripts in the client-side server. It hinders the loading of new pages and also discloses the sensitive data of users.
- Not much SEO-friendly: For businesses, SEO is a crucial part of attracting customers and convert into sales. However, single-page apps will work with fewer pages, some keywords, and unique URLs, which can further lower the rank of the site.
- No way to go back: After using SPA, you will not see any browsing history that allows the user to go back to the site. If you click the back button, it will redirect you to the previous page or take you out of the app.
Pros and Cons of PWAs
- App-like Feature: It shows a hybrid appearance of both website and native apps. Thus, Progressive applications are mobile-friendly, responsive web pages, attractive user interfaces, work offline without the internet, and are SEO-friendly.
- Easy Installation: To install a PWA, click on add to home screen button on the right of the website. Users can access the app by clicking on the home screen icon. It saves time and data by downloading from the Google play store.
- Safe and Secure: PWAs use HTTPS to keep the user information secure and minimize security threats. HTTPS protocol offers a secure online shopping experience to the customers without worrying about threats.
- Better User Engagement: Easy navigation and responsiveness of PWAs attract potential customers to engage more. Using push notifications, store owners can reengage the customers with appealing content.
- Can’t work on iOS devices: Progressive application can’t run on old iOS devices. Recently, with the launching of the iPhone 13, this problem has been solved.
- Consume more battery: It has some features like native apps, however, some of them are not available that PWA web apps do not fully support. For instance, users can’t access their stored contact numbers or use the Bluetooth functions.
- Fewer functionalities: It consumes more battery than a normal website. Because it uses complex codes that are harder to interpret.
PWA or SPA: which one is good?
The pros and cons of both SPAs and PWAs may clear your doubt regarding choosing one for your website. However, Progressive apps are ruling over single-page apps. Store Owners are opting more and more for PWAs, because of reasonable costs and other benefits. In the end, it is
up to you, which one you choose: PWA or SPA. Also, check out that we offer the best Magento PWA development services for online merchants.
