A Progressive Web App, or PWA, is a website built so it can behave like a native app: it can be "installed" to a phone's home screen, work at least partially offline, and in some cases send push notifications — all without going through an app store.
What makes a site a PWA, specifically
- A web app manifest. A small file that tells the browser the app's name, icon, and colors, so it can be added to a home screen and launched like a native app.
- A service worker. A background script that can cache pages and content, allowing parts of the site to load even with a spotty or absent connection.
- HTTPS. PWAs require a secure connection, which — as covered in our piece on HTTPS — your site should already have regardless.
Why businesses consider it
The appeal is real: no app store approval process, no separate codebase to maintain for iOS and Android, and a single website that can also function like an app for repeat visitors. For a business with customers who visit frequently — think a loyalty program, a booking system, or a service people check daily — that installability and offline resilience can genuinely improve the experience.
Where it's usually not worth it
For a typical small business site — a landing page, a handful of service pages, a contact form — a PWA adds real engineering complexity (service worker caching strategies in particular can be finicky to get right) for a benefit most visitors will never notice, because most visitors to that kind of site aren't repeat, frequent users in the way a PWA rewards.
The bottom line
PWAs are a genuinely useful format for the right kind of business — one with frequent, repeat visitors who'd benefit from an app-like experience — and unnecessary overhead for most everyone else. It's worth asking about specifically if your business model involves customers coming back often, and safely skipping if it doesn't.