As of January 2019, there are 5.1+ billion mobile users of which 4.3+ billion are having some sort of interaction with the internet. If we compare to last years statistics, there has been an overall growth of 2% for mobile users and a whopping 9.1% increment in internet users. It is fair to assume that the way we interact and consume information comes mainly from the internet.
Ever since the rise of smartphones, we have had an application where we could interact with the internet but, due to technological limitations, webpages were mainly consumed via a computer browser. The workaround to this was to create applications that were manageable by users on their smartphones.
With responsive web design becoming a standard on the web, being able to view full web pages on your phone became a reality. Although not perfect, we were able to visit our favorite sites on our phones.
Like all things, responsive web was not fulfilling the needs of mobile interaction, thus came mobile first as the new tendency. With mobile web browsers having more and more permissions on your phone (camera, microphone, contacts, etc.) web developers were able to focus their attention on creating sites envisioned for mobile devices and then adapt to larger screens.
As of today, we currently stand on PWA (Progressive Web Apps), providing a native look and feel to web pages, offering the possibility to “save” a site on your mobile device, creating a quick access to your favorite sites. What does this offer to users? The biggest thing is “offline mode”, being able to visit sites without an internet connection by saving static files to your device.
PWA’s offer the mobile app experience to users without actually having to develop an application. Why develop a PWA over a native application you may be asking? Well by developing a PWA, you are getting the look and feel of an app without investing in one. You are also getting a webpage that is mobile first and scales to larger screens, thus reducing development costs.
There are some excellent examples of web applications looking near spot on to their applications counterpart, Instagram being the first to mind.
It would seem that web technologies will just keep getting better, some even offering the possibility to develop native apps utilizing web development technologies. If you are looking into developing a native application for your business you should consider rather developing a PWA, as it will offer you a more scalable product for you and your end users.
Here at Mijo! Brands, a leading creative digital marketing agency with offices in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta, we are experts in digital marketing solutions. Through close collaboration with our clients, we propel their businesses into the digital world by using effective strategies and techniques to communicate why they are the perfect option for their customers. Contact us today!
Erik Torres is Fullstack Developer with Mijo! Brands, creative agency specializing in digital marketing with presence in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta. Erik is a daytime web developer and nighttime opponent in the Night Summoner’s Crevice. When he’s not out destroying newbs or setting his team members on fire during League of Legends games, you’ll find him making the world a better place one code at a time. He considers the web development as a modern art, where each pixel fulfills its own purpose, and professes a deep love for beautifully designed APIs. For this reason he strives to make back ends as legible and clean as possible from the understanding that the variables and objects are weapons massive construction when in the right hands.
