Build A Progressive Web App With A Tight Budget: Possible Or Not?

Most businesses are hoping to open an online store to reach customers beyond the offline branch areas. Their concern is how to make their online store the best to attract customers and beat other rivals. The decision to build a Progressive Web App (PWA) can pave the way for business development.

The PWA is the perfect hybrid of a website and an app. Surfing the website feels just like being on a mobile app.

Any investment comes with a large amount of money to pay. What is the solution for start-ups or small businesses who hope to integrate this technology on their website?

This blog post will reveal the answer.

Why Should We Build A PWA?

Let’s take a quick look at what PWA can bring to the store.

Add to the home screen

Convincing consumers to install the app can be rather challenging. Customers may not know about the app’s existence, as they can only discover the app through the App Store or Google Play.

Also, most apps have a heavyweight as they store all the data in the device’s memory. By contrast, PWA is very light, and after installing, users still have a large storage space for other data.

Offline mode

It is now possible for users to continue to view the product regardless of the Internet connection quality on the website after PWA integration.

Also, customers can even fill in the shopping cart while offline, and their order will proceed after reconnection.

Push notification

Websites cannot inform purchasers of anything new in the store like sales promotion, limited product release, and more.

PWA brings along an advanced feature that helps fix this weakness of the old online store. Push notification provides an effective way for stores to remind customers of upcoming events.

Mobile-optimized design

Progressive Web Applications increase the level of mobile-friendly of the website to the new standard.

Customers can now enjoy shopping or swiping through the pages on any device. The store’s content and design adjust to different screen sizes.

Ways To Build A Progressive Web App

Depending on your current website platform (e.g.: WordPress, Magento, Shopify…) that you can find a suitable PWA development solution. Below are two common ways to integrate PWA into the website but those might not be available for some platforms.

1/ Installing A PWA Extension

This is the cheapest solution to build a Progressive Web App (under $300).

This is the only method that merchants can use without the help of developers. The extension providers have detailed and clear guidance on how to install their products. If firms find it hard, they can still pay the provider to assist in this installation process.

But there is nothing that comes for free, so do not expect much from the PWA extensions. If the business is of small size and the number of visitors is low, there is not much to worry about.

However, for medium to large businesses, problems are the poor performance of PWA’s key features (add to the home screen, offline mode, push notification). Plus, the structure of the site remains the same.

Overall, only some slight improvements are made to the website after using the PWA extensions. Some merchants even feel like their website stays the same after installing those extensions.

2/ Installing A PWA Theme

Compared to the previous solution to build a Progressive Web App, utilizing a ready-made PWA template will require a higher cost ($500 and above).

The high price is paid off with full PWA and more advanced features added to the website as well as a brand-new storefront design.

Why is the PWA theme so powerful?

While PWA extensions are installed on the website backend and show up only a few of PWA-imitating features on the frontend, PWA templates change the website structure completely. The PWA storefront will replace the slow frontend and keep connected with the backend thanks to APIs. Then, the new storefront will be equipped with exciting features such as add to home screen, push notifications, offline capability, and so on.

The time for installing the PWA theme is fast, but it also comes with a relatively high price. However, it will pay off with increased sales and more engagement of customers in the long run.

Start-ups can also opt for this PWA solution as they are only in the initial phase of business operation. A tight budget is what every start-up faces. However, things would change if merchants know how to attract customers and increase the number of orders.

How To Build A PWA That Suits Your Budget?

  • Calculate the budget and predict the store’s future

Before deciding which method to apply, try to limit how much you want to spend on developing your Progressive Web App.

Forecasting the future of the business is also essential. If they think that PWA can help the store attract new customers and engage the current buyers more, they can set the limit to a higher amount and accept the budget deficit at the moment.

  • Find out which solution to go with

This is the most challenging part. As we can define the strengths and weaknesses, using a ready-to-use Progressive Web App template is the best solution until this moment. However, the cost might exceed the budget of some firms.

Therefore, you should invest in PWA themes if you believe that your company would soon expand after PWA integration.

  • Choose the right partner

The cost varies among PWA development companies, even though their provided solutions are similar.

Usually, a company situated in Europe or the US would offer their package more expensive than those in Asia. This does not necessarily reflect the gap in service quality but rather the difference in living costs between countries.

Therefore, if you don’t have a large budget, outsourcing your project to an Asian PWA app development company is a good idea.

Final Words

A tight budget doesn’t limit the company to choose an expensive package if they see the Progressive Web App theme’s potential to boost sales and pave the way for development. It depends on how the company views the importance of integrating PWA into the business’s operation to determine which solution would be the best.

Overall, we hope that through our article, you can now decide which method to build a Progressive Web App best suits your store.

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Christophe Rude
Christophe Rude
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