These days, the buzz surrounding Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) has been on the rise, but what exactly are they? In this article we’ll cover the basics of PWAs and how you can use Angular to create them.
PWA – why and what
Progressive web apps are websites that look and feel like native apps. They’re built using modern web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Unlike traditional web sites, PWAs load reliably even when there is no internet connection or slow internet connection (e.g., on a train).
PWA users can engage more deeply with your content because they get a prompt to save your site to their home screen if they want a fast-loading experience. And because they run in the user’s browser, PWAs don’t depend on an app store to be discovered or downloaded – thus making them more cost-effective than other types of mobile apps.
PWA – development environment
If you’re looking to build a Progressive Web App (PWA), there’s no better framework to use than Angular. In this post, we’ll show you how to set up your development environment and create a simple PWA using the Angular CLI. You’ll learn about building offline-first apps that are accessible from mobile devices or desktop browsers. Finally, we’ll cover the benefits of building PWAs for the web. It’s all too easy to think about them as just an app, but PWAs are something much more significant: a rethinking of what the browser is for and what it can do. And if you hire angularjs developers who understand progressive enhancement, they can help make sure your site works well in any device or browser condition.
PWA – using angular cli
The Angular CLI makes it easy to create an application that already works as a PWA. You just need to make sure you’re using the right flags when you create your build. The following flags will ensure your application is built as a PWA: A ng serve –aot
A ng build -prod-aot
When doing any production builds, be sure to use the –prod flag in order to reduce bundle size and increase performance of your app!
PWA – generating service worker
A service worker is a script that your browser runs in the background, separate from a web page.In order to make your Angular application a PWA, you need to generate a service worker. The @angular/pwa package will help you do this. Once you’ve generated a service worker, you need to register it.
PWA – create app shell
The app shell is the minimal HTML, CSS and JavaScript required to power the user interface and interactivity of a progressive web app. By creating an app shell, you can ensure that your app always loads quickly and reliably, even on slow or unreliable networks. Plus, an app shell can make your app feel more like a native app, giving it a smoother and more responsive user experience. Here’s how to build an app shell in Angular
PWA – how to build service worker
- In order to build a service worker, you need to have an existing Angular application.
- The service worker file must be placed in the root directory of your project.
- You need to install the @angular/pwa package in order to build the service worker file.
- After you’ve installed the @angular/pwa package, you can run the following command to generate a service worker file: ng add @angular/pwa
PWA – register service worker
In order to make our app a PWA, we need to register a service worker. A service worker is a script that your browser runs in the background, separate from a web page, opening the door for features which don’t need a web page or user interaction. registration is the process of telling the browser about the existence of our service worker file.
PWA – get icons from Google web fonts
If you want to build a Progressive Web App with Angular, one of the first things you’ll need to do is get icons from Google web fonts. This process is actually quite simple, and it’s a great way to get started with PWAs.
PWA – serve content from network first
One of the benefits of a PWA is that it can serve content from the network first. This means that if there is an internet connection, the PWA will load content from the server. However, if there is no internet connection, the PWA will load content from the cache. This makes PWAs more reliable and offline-first.
PWA – build an offline page
Building a Progressive Web App (PWA) means creating a web application that uses modern web technologies to deliver an app-like user experience. In order to build a PWA, you need to start by creating an offline page. This page will be the first thing that users see when they try to access your app, and it should provide them with basic information about what your app does and how to use it.