Progressive Web Apps launched as concept a year ago. Now we have case studies: Flipkart (India), AliExpress (China), Washington Post (US) all report significant metric improvements after building PWAs. The data suggests PWAs work—but the adoption pattern is interesting.
PWAs are succeeding most where app stores create most friction.
Google introduced the term "Progressive Web Apps" recently, describing web applications that progressively enhance to feel native. With service workers enabling offline functionality and app-like experiences, this could fundamentally change mobile web development.
Or it could be mobile web's latest disappointment. We've been here before.
The mobile web is no longer the future—it's the present. With smartphones in everyone's pockets and tablet sales exploding, the days of designing exclusively for desktop browsers are over. Yet many web developers are still approaching mobile as an afterthought, creating desktop sites first and then trying to squeeze them onto smaller screens later.
There's a better way: mobile-first design. This approach flips the traditional workflow on its head by starting with the mobile experience and progressively enhancing it for larger screens. It's not just about screen size—it's about embracing constraints, focusing on content, and building experiences that work everywhere.
The mobile web is here. iPhones, Android phones, iPads – users access the web from dozens of devices with different screen sizes. The traditional approach of building separate mobile sites is becoming unsustainable.
Enter responsive web design, a term coined by Ethan Marcotte in his recent article on A List Apart. The idea is simple but powerful: use CSS to adapt your site's layout to the viewing device. One site, one codebase, works everywhere.