IT Glossary
What is a PWA?
Progressive Web App: a website that behaves like an app — installable on the phone's home screen, with push notifications and offline mode.
Between a website and a native mobile app, a third path has opened with an unusually good cost-benefit ratio. A Progressive Web App is technically a site, but built to behave like an application: visitors install it to their phone's home screen straight from the browser — icon, full-screen launch, no address bar — receive push notifications, keep working partially offline, and reopen it almost instantly. The economics are what make executives lean in. One build covers both the web presence and the 'app', instead of a site plus two native codebases with parallel budgets and maintenance. Distribution skips the app stores entirely: no approval queues, no store commissions on digital content, updates published the moment they are ready. And acquisition loses its worst friction — a customer lands in the full experience from an ad or a search result, with no 'download our app' detour that kills most occasional-use apps. The honest limits: iOS support has historically lagged (push arrived late, installation is less visible than on Android), and deep hardware access stays below native. For commerce, catalogues, customer portals, bookings and content, a PWA usually covers the need at a fraction of the price; for games and hardware-heavy products, native remains. The vendor question that separates tailored advice from upselling: what would native give us over a PWA on our specific case, and what does the difference cost?
Let’s talk about your project
Message us on WhatsApp or send an email — you talk directly to a developer.
office@northdan.com · +40 752 070 247
Why it matters for your business
One budget instead of three
The same build serves the website and the 'app' — development and every later update are paid once, not across three platforms.
No toll gate at the app store
Instant publishing without approval queues or store commissions — distribution control stays entirely with you.
From ad to installed in one tap
Customers land in the full experience straight from a link — skipping the store-search-download detour that loses most occasional users.
Frequently asked questions
PWA or native app — how do I decide for my business?
Two questions settle most cases: which capabilities you need (commerce, catalogues, bookings, portals and content are PWA territory; intensive hardware use, games and deep OS integration favour native) and where your audience lives (arriving from the web and ads suits a PWA; searching app stores suits native or both). The cost difference should buy only capabilities that will actually be used.
Do PWAs work properly on iPhones?
Yes, with caveats worth knowing: installation exists but Safari promotes it less, push notifications work on modern versions but arrived late and require prior installation, and some capabilities stay narrower than on Android. For most business cases the iOS experience is fully usable — but if your audience is iPhone-dominant and notifications are central, discuss the details at specification time.
Can a PWA also be listed in the app stores?
Yes — it can be packaged for the stores (Trusted Web Activity on Android, a wrapper shell on iOS), gaining store presence over the same codebase. It is the both-and route for companies whose customers search there: moderate extra effort, store policies to respect, and Apple is stricter with thin wrapper apps. Many firms launch the pure PWA first and add stores once demand proves itself.
Let’s talk about your project
Message us on WhatsApp or send an email — you talk directly to a developer.
office@northdan.com · +40 752 070 247