PWAProgressive Web App
A website that uses service workers, a manifest and modern browser APIs to behave like a native app — installable, offline-capable and re-engageable.
· Reviewed by senior engineers
A Progressive Web App (PWA) is a website that opts in to a set of capabilities — service worker, web app manifest, HTTPS, responsive design — that let it behave like a native app. Users can install it to their home screen, use it offline, receive push notifications and launch it in a standalone window without a browser chrome.
PWAs hit a sweet spot for businesses that want app-like UX without the cost of building and maintaining native iOS and Android codebases. Retailers, publishers and SaaS dashboards all benefit: one codebase, instant updates, no app-store gatekeeping, and discoverable URLs.
The limits matter. On iOS, PWA support has historically lagged Android — push notifications, background sync and certain hardware APIs are gated. App stores still drive significant install intent, so a PWA-only strategy can leave reach on the table. And service workers are powerful enough to break a site badly if you cache the wrong things, so they need careful versioning and a kill switch.
Devinsta builds PWAs as a layer on top of an already-fast website, not as a substitute for thinking about performance. Get Core Web Vitals right first, then add offline support and installability where users will actually use them.