The key points
- The question is whether people will open it a second time.
- A progressive web app installs, works offline and updates without store review.
- Native is justified by notifications people act on, camera or background location.
- One shared API can serve the app, the website and the admin.
How do you know an app is worth building?
The test is not whether an app would be nice, but whether people will open it a second time, which an MVP can find out before you commit to native builds. Apps earn their place when they are used repeatedly, benefit from the home screen, or need what the browser cannot reach: notifications people act on, the camera, background location. If a good mobile website would do the job, we say so, and often it would.
Where does a progressive web app fall short?
Background location and the deepest device integrations are the gaps. It can also be less discoverable than a store listing for some audiences. Within those limits it installs to the home screen, works offline, updates without a store review and costs a fraction of building and maintaining separate native apps.
What sits behind a successful app?
Most of the risk is behind the screens. A shared API means the app, the website and the admin agree on what is true. Push notifications need retry handling and a delivery log so the team can see what reached a phone rather than what was sent. An operations console lets staff intervene when something goes wrong. We build these together with the mobile app, and plan a staged rollout rather than a single launch.
Progressive web app compared with a native app
| Aspect | Progressive web app | Native app |
|---|---|---|
| Install | From the browser to the home screen | Through an app store |
| Updates | Immediate, no store review | Released through the stores |
| Offline use | Supported for what you design to cache | Fully supported |
| Device access | Limited; background location is a gap | Deepest integration |
| Codebases | One | Often one per platform |
App or progressive web app?
- What will make someone open this a second time?
- Could an installable web app do the same job?
- What must keep working when the connection drops?
- Do you need background location or deep device features?
- Who holds the store accounts and ships the next release?
Sources
Rules and guidance this answer relies on. Policies change, so check the current version before acting on it.