Introduction
Every day, more and more people across the world use the internet through their mobile devices, presenting a golden opportunity for companies to expand their consumer bases and deepen their relationships with their existing clientele. Progressive web apps are becoming increasingly popular as businesses focus on providing a top-notch user experience.
Not only giant corporations but also small set-ups have laid the ground for React PWA today. The combination of Progressive Web Apps with React Native Development has helped businesses to improve their functionality and website appearance to increase traffic, boost conversions, and drive engagement.
Therefore, programmers must constantly remain updated to keep up with the ever-evolving field of web development. In 2022, the cutting-edge progressive web app react.js will be a great addition to your aptitude stack. So, before cruising to any other guide, let's peek at the React PWA.
What are Progressive Web Apps?
You can't discover a web app's true value unless you understand it! Progressive web applications are exclusive web solutions that combine the best features of native apps with the mobile web. In a word, PWA is a dynamic solution that can run as a standalone.
So, the web application designed using front-end technologies like CSS, JavaScript, and HTML to behave and look like native apps are known as PWAs. In offline mode, they are also optimized for a wide range of viewports like tablets, FHD desktop monitors, mobile devices, etc. Hence, this paves the way for developing native-like applications operating offline and compatible with several platforms.
Now, if you are thinking about the installation of a PWA on your device, then here goes the steps below:
Why build a Progressive Web App Development?
Businesses are finding great success in embracing progressive web apps, which are gradually replacing traditional web apps. Creating a PWA from a normal web application may bring several benefits and increase user engagement with your app.
So, let's have a glance at what progressive web applications are built for and how they work like native apps in terms of stability, speed, and dependability.
Responsive
With the mobile-first design strategy, PWAs can adapt to different screen sizes and orientations. An ideal web application would be flexible, conforming to the proportions of its host device.
Reliable
PWAs are safe and reliable because they are always served over HTTPs.
Fast
PWAs can function even with limited or no network connectivity. In contrast to standard web applications or webpages, PWAs allow developers to decide how the program will function when there is no data connection.
Basic Features
PWAs provide comprehensive functionality, including push notifications, application updates, and more.
Step-by-step Guide to Creating a Progressive Web App with React
Now coming to the essential part of how to make a React progressive web application. Let's delve down the steps below to have a detailed understanding of the same:
Set up a simple React app
For those unfamiliar with developing PWAs in React, we'll use the Create React App (or CRA) tool, which provides a highly user-friendly environment. In addition, new features of JavaScript may be used with little trouble using the in-built support for tools like Babel and webpack.
Here are the terminal commands needed to install and bootstrap the application using CRA:
npx create-react-app cra-pwa --template cra-template-pwa
A command line tool, npx, is used to run packages from the npm repository. For example, when you run create-react-app cra-pwa, a new application with the name cra1-pwa is generated. Making a service worker-enabled app requires the —template cra-template-PWA option.
You may access the location of the files by using the command.
Contrarily, to run the app in the development mode, type:
Configure several WorkBox libraries
With CRA, you won't need to worry about how to build a PWA using React since you'll have everything you need right at your fingertips. But how can you enable offline mode in a React progressive web app? The automatically produced service worker file requires configuration, to be precise, registration.
A service worker is a JavaScript file that performs tasks like caching data, retrieving cached data, and delivering push notifications independently of the main browser thread. By utilizing service workers, PWAs can manage network requests, cache those requests to improve speed and guarantee offline access to the cached information.
You'll find index.js in the directory of your recently created projects. Take a look inside, and you'll see the below-mentioned string of code:
File: index.js// If you want your app to work offline and load faster, you can change
// unregister() to register() below. Note this comes with some pitfalls.
// Learn more about service workers: https://bit.ly/CRA-PWA
serviceWorker.unregister();
Here, above we can observe that the service worker has not been registered yet. Therefore, if you want to use it, you need to switch the unregister() call to register ().
That being said, the problem of making a PWA with a service worker using React is now answered. Now, let's move on to the next step.
Set up the manifest.json
The next thing to do is configure your progressive web app's manifest, which can be found in the manifest.json file in the public directory. In this case, you may change the app's appearance by editing its information.
After built, the manifest file will look as shown below:
File: manifest.json{
"short_name": "cra-pwa",
"name": "cra-pwa",
"icons": [
{
"src": "/android-chrome-192x192.png",
"sizes": "192x192",
"type": "image/png"
},
{
"src": "/android-chrome-512x512.png",
"sizes": "512x512",
"type": "image/png"
}
],
"start_url": "/",
"theme_color": "#F4BD42",
"background_color": "#2B2929",
"display": "standalone",
"scope": "/"
}
Test your PWA
After you have configured everything, it is time to verify that your application complies with PWA guidelines.
In production mode, launch the application and enter the following commands:
npm run build
npx server build_
That launches the program at the specified local host address. Then, in order to access the application, type in the URL once the dev server has been successfully launched from the command prompt. After that, you can try out PWA features like Lighthouse audit testing, installation, and offline viewing.
Why Choose React to build a PWA?
The JavaScript library React is used to create user interfaces. It's simple, flexible, declarative, and generic. Since its first release in May 2013, many front-end developers from around the world have come to like it. It is the go-to JavaScript UI framework because of its simplicity and strength. Powered by a sizable and engaged developer community, React is often updated, well-maintained, and user-friendly for beginners. In addition, the reliability, speed, and ease of use of React have made it a favorite among software developers.
Some advantages of React Native for Progressive Web App Development include:
Well-Equipped
The abundance of frameworks, boilerplates, and developer tools is much simpler to test, design, and debug with React. In addition, it provides several alternatives, from which you can pick the one that works best for you. Some of the most well-known include React Developer Tools, Semantic UI React, Ant Design, and Create React App by Facebook.
High-Powered
Making online apps that are both fast and scalable while avoiding performance concerns is a breeze using React. The virtual DOM that React employs allows for UI updates without requiring a full page refresh, saving time and reducing the overall page load speed.
Community backed
React is supported by a robust community that maintains up-to-date documentation and is willing to assist budding web application developers.
Flexible
An outstanding feature of React is its flexibility; it can be readily combined with other frameworks or libraries, which speeds up development and makes it a good option for both brand-new and continuing projects.
How Can Atyantik Help with the same?
At Atyantik, we have been helping our customers to develop their businesses by building robust PWA since 2015. We are also eager to share our knowledge and expertise for high-native end web app development. You can take full advantage of this and hire an app developer from us. We assure to help you by building an exceptional web application that will help you to expand your business more.
Final Takeaway
PWA and React are two of the most promising new frameworks for building modern web apps. PWAs are now obligatory since they have become a significant game-changer in the startup community. Making a PWA with React is quicker and simpler. Support from PWA technologies boosts the already potent React applications. The benefits of each individual technology are amplified in a React-based progressive web app. We hope you found this article useful in developing your own PWA using React. Get in touch if you want to develop your progressive web app with us.