We are finally releasing the PWA plugin for classifieds sites that many of our customers have been waiting for. The release of the plugin comes at a time when Progressive Web Apps are becoming a must-have technology in the IT world. It makes it possible for users to install the web app of your site on a user mobile device and get near-native mobile browsing experience of interacting with your website.
What is Flynax PWA plugn?
Flynax PWA plugin serves as a wrapper for your website turning it into a web app that may be installed on any mobile device on any operating system. The plugin installs a configuration JSON file containing the information about the app, the icon displayed on the home screen, background color, and other app data.
The JSON manifest file is added to the source of every page on your website, and the browser, upon seeing the file, automatically displays a PWA install banner offering the user to download the web app to his device.
If a user agrees to the install, the web app is installed to his device and he/she may now use the app and have all the benefits of PWA.
Why you need it
Google is interested in promoting PWA because it is one of its many products. There are a lot of case studies and success stories of companies which started using PWA on their websites. Many of them report enhanced user experience and up to 80% increase in conversions and better SEO performance.
When a user installs PWA (a web app) of your website to his phone, he will have faster access to your website right from the icon on his phone screen, bypassing the need to open the browser and enter the website URL. This will provide a full-screen native experience imitating the mobile app.
Push notifications
Our PWA plugin supports push notifications and if a user chooses to subscribe to them, he will instantly be alerted regarding a new listing added, which conforms to a user’s search criteria or a new message received.
Push notifications bring back the users to your website and turn them into returning visitors, thus bringing more traffic to your web portal.
Browser support
The use of PWA depends on a user browser. Currently, the following browsers offer full support of PWA plugin:
- Google Chrome (version 57+);
- Chrome for Android (version 62+);
- Mozilla Firefox (version 57+);
- Firefox for Android (version 58+);
PWA is a relatively new technology that is constantly developing. Therefore, you may expect that, as time goes by, more browsers will add full support of PWA.
iOS & Safari limitations
Unfortunately, the support of PWA on iOS and Safari browser is only partial offering no custom banner and push notifications. However, when you read this, the new version of Safari may have added the support of PWA.
Taking into account that iOS does not offer an automatic banner offering to install the PWA, we have added a custom banner option instructing the user on how to install the PWA to their iOS devices. On Android devices, the banner offering installation of the PWA is created automatically and displayed by the browser itself.
Requirements
When considering the PWA plugin for your website, keep in mind that it may only be installed on websites working on HTTPS protocol with a php version at least 7.2 or later. If your hosting does not support these requirements, consider upgrading before you move on with PWA plugin.
Configuration settings
The plugin works on a plug-and-play basis, the settings in the plugin manager allow you to configure its look visually, thus, you may change the background color for the app, choose an icon that will be added to a user’s phone and upload a load screen.
The plugin manager in the back end provides full overview of PWA use on your website in a grid, you may see from which country the plugin was installed, the date it was installed and other useful information.
PWA technologies are developing rapidly offering many benefits for users. Since this is a first plugin release, not all PWA’s options are supported; however, we will keep working on the plugin and updating it regularly to make sure that it encompasses all the benefits of PWA.
You may download the plugin in the admin panel of your site by navigating to the plugin manager section or you may purchase the plugin from the Flynax client area.