You know that moment when you open a website and it suddenly says:

“Add me to your home screen!”

You tap it, and BOOM 💥 — it now feels like a real mobile app.

• No browser bar.
• Works offline.
• Even sends notifications.

That’s the magic of a Progressive Web App (PWA).

What is a PWA?

A Progressive Web App (PWA) is just a website that behaves like a mobile app.
You don’t need the Play Store or App Store. Users can simply install it directly from the browser.

Think: “Websites with superpowers.”

Why Use PWAs?

• 📴 Works offline (via Service Workers)
• 📱 Installable like a native app
• 🔔 Push notifications support
• ⚡ Super lightweight (Twitter Lite is 3% the size of the native app!)
• 🌍 Cross-platform — one codebase, everywhere
  

Real Examples

• Starbucks → order offline
• Uber → works on 2G
• Pinterest → 60% higher engagement
• Twitter Lite → installable in seconds

My Apps as PWAs

I’ve built a couple of PWAs myself:

Tap the App Name to open

QuotesGlow (opens in new tab)→ Motivational quotes, works offline, installable on mobile.

SpendRabbit (opens in new tab) → Track your expenses & install it as a mini app.

How to Install a PWA

Here’s the flow (with my app as example):

1. Open the app in Safari/Chrome/Edge.
2. Tap the three-dot menu → “Install App” or in Safari, tap share icon.
3. Done 🎉 → now it lives on your home screen like a native app.

How to Build One (Quick Guide in Next.js 15)

Step 1 → Install the PWA plugin

npm install next-pwa

Step 2 → Configure it in next.config.js

const withPWA = require("next-pwa")({
  dest: "public",
  register: true,
  skipWaiting: true,
});

module.exports = withPWA({
  reactStrictMode: true,
});

Step 3 → Add a manifest.json file in /public

{
  "name": "My PWA App",
  "short_name": "PWA",
  "start_url": "/",
  "display": "standalone",
  "background_color": "#ffffff",
  "theme_color": "#000000",
  "icons": [
    {
      "src": "/icon-192.png",
      "sizes": "192x192",
      "type": "image/png"
    }
  ]
}

Step 4 → Build & deploy. Done ✅

Now your app is installable and works offline! 🎉

Final Thoughts

PWAs may not be “hype” anymore, but they’re still relevant in 2025.

• Businesses love them (no app store hassle).
• Users love them (fast + offline + installable).
• Interviewers love asking about them 😉.

And honestly, I love building them because they give me native-like experiences from just a website.

Oh, and here’s a cool bonus 👉 you can even publish PWAs on the Google Play Store or iOS App Store using tools like Trusted Web Activity (TWA) for Android or Safari’s Web App support on iOS. 🚀

So the next time someone asks “Do PWAs still matter?” — just point them to SpendRabbit, QuotesGlow… or this blog.

🪄 This cleared things up?

If it helped you understand the role better, that means the job’s halfway done. Feel free to pass it along to someone exploring this path.

coff.ee/ashishgogula (opens in new tab)

Check out more blogs like this (opens in new tab)