PWA Vs AMP- What To Choose?
“Design your website for your mobile device first then go the way up” – Exactly! You heard it correct. Why? Developers often face challenges when designing for smaller devices so when you start for the small device and then go up, you are actually designing the heart of the UX first, and that is called product enhancement. Why Mobile-First approach? Mobile-first means your design is precise, your content is not puffed up. The limitations and smaller screen breakpoints better fit around the content. Then why not Mobile-first approach? Today’s environment makes us more reliant on smartphones. Faster and convenient interactions give it an edge over any devices. Moreover, we prefer everything on the go! Why not gradual degradation? Well, in this case, you have to cut down the experience because the core and the supplementary parts of the all-inclusive design become hard to distinguish and separate. Mobile apps are more user-specific and cater to the smarter needs than web apps since they are advanced in terms of features and functionalities now, building web apps is easier but they are simpler in terms of features. Thus, we need the best of two which led us to progressive web apps (PWA). Progressive web app falls in between standard web app and mobile app and as Alex Russell says PWAs are “responsive, connectivity-independent, app-like, fresh, safe, discoverable, re-engageable, installable, linkable web experiences. PWA is able to work offline and load extremely quickly. Moreover, it doesn’t require downloading or installation. PWA & AMP cs.” The progressive web application is an advanced web page able to work offline, includes features of push-button and has device hardware access. It also has native app-like capabilities such as local storage, notifications, background synchronisation. Accelerate Mobile page is an open-source HTML framework that creates a web page faster, enables it with a smooth-landing page and prioritizes the user-experience. It has optimised AMP components and CSS. What to choose? Let’s dive into their pros and cons 1.1 Progressive Web APP In the following tabular format let’s look into what PWA is offering to us and not: Pros of PWA Progressive: Able to work on any browser due to its progressive improvement principles. Responsive: Adaptable to various screen sizes or dimensions of any device. App-like: Users experience alike feelings of using native apps in terms of interaction and navigation. Updated: Information is always up-to-date thanks to the data update process offered by service workers. Secure: Exposed over HTTPS protocol to prevent the connection from displaying information or altering the contents. Searchable: They are identified as “applications” and are indexed by search engines. Reactivable: Web notification capability makes the application easier to reactivate Installable: Complexities arising for using the app store can be avoided by saving the useful app through an icon present on the home screen. Linkable: Easily shared via URL without complex installations Offline: Keeps the user first approach by avoiding the usual error message in case of a weak signal. Based on two particularities: ‘skeleton’ of the app, which recalls the page structure and elements including header and page layout. And shows illustration that signals that the page is loading. Cons of PWA Latest Version iOS: iOS support from version 11.3 onwards; Battery Consumption: Reduces the battery life Multi-Device Support: Not all devices support the full range of PWA features (same speech for iOS and Android operating systems); Re-engagement for iOS: It is not possible to establish a strong re-engagement for iOS users (URL scheme, standard web notifications) Offline Execution: Support for offline execution is however limited Presence: Lack of presence on the stores (there is no possibility to acquire traffic from that channel); Body of Control: There is no “body” of control (like the stores) and an approval process; Accessibility: Limited access to some hardware components of the devices; Flexibility: Little flexibility regarding “special” content for users (eg loyalty programs, loyalty, etc.) 1.2 Accelerated Mobile Page Do they provide more features? Pros of AMP Increased speed: The increased loading speed of AMP content makes the content engaging and engagement rate increase due to its quick and hassle-free process. Shorter load times also mean that visitors are less likely to lose patience hence decreasing the bounce rate. Increased visibility: Right now AMPs cannot automatically increase domain authority of the page but it is eligible to be displayed in Google’s “Top Stories” carousel, which sits at or near the top of search results pages, depending on what you search. Increased visitor engagement: visitors are more likely to engage with the content on AMPs compared to traditional mobile pages due to its minimalist design as AMPs makes it easier for visitors to navigate through the content on your page Cons Of AMP AMPs may not increase site traffic: Because AMP content has a Google URL and resides in Google’s servers, AMPs won’t directly increase traffic to your website but Google has a solution to it. For example, AMP publishers can add a comment button which will redirect the visitors to an equivalent page where they can add comments. Coordination problem: While the AMPs themselves may load quickly, any external content on the page is likely to lag behind. This is a big problem when it comes to hosting advertisements. Visitors are likely to scroll past an ad before it has loaded, killing any chance at conversion. Analytics leaves much to be desired: Quality analytics of AMP is not par to google standard. Data based on the basic metrics are not available much therefore visitors’ experience cannot be enhanced. Trends around PWA and AMP Trends around PWA and AMP will enable developers to learn about the newest features and help them incorporate. Both are different mobile technologies, PWA is used to provide a feel of native apps whereas AMP helps in loading web pages faster. Today mobile devices have become important and businesses have started taking it seriously. Choosing either of them or both depends upon the knowledge of trends around them. In the following section, we will note the unique