What Framework to Choose When Developing a Progressive Web App

PWAs (or Progressive Web Applications) are web platforms that are optimized for mobile devices and, normally, built on a JavaScript framework.

When developing it, make sure to clearly set goals that you want to reach with the PWA. There are several aspects that you should take into account:

• Performance.
• Size of the platform.
• Development speed.
• Desire to migrate to a native app afterward or its absence.

Depending on the goals, you’ll have to choose a certain technology (frameworks) for PWA development. And there are quite a few.

In this article, we’ll try to walk you through the main information regarding these technologies, their pros & cons, and help you find an answer to the main question: How to choose one?

⚙️ React, Angular & Vue Technologies

The first 3 PWA frameworks are:

• React — the most popular framework from Facebook.
• Angular — one of the oldest frameworks from Google.
• Vue — one of the leading frameworks in Asia that was partially modeled on the best sides of Angular.

In fact, these 3 libraries have a lot in common.

They provide developers with a component-built system to build the UI & have sustainable communities that grow every year.

The differences are hardly noticeable. However, there are a few strong points of each framework that help them stand out.

Luckily, there’s only one drawback worth attention. You would need to write a new code to develop a proper mobile iOS/Android native app from the existing code for PWA.

Of course, you could reuse the so-called “business logic”, meaning, you can take the existing data to reduce the development time. But in fact, you’ll have to start the development from scratch if you stick with these PWA frameworks.

🔵 Ionic Technology For Building Progressive Web Apps

Ionic is an open-source set of software development tools for building cross-platform PWAs and more.

Meaning, you can get a both native and web app with just one code.

⚛ React Native Technology for Web

This technology was initially built for mobile apps, but now it’s a cross-platform framework that makes developing web apps using native API components possible.

So generally, this framework provides one of the best PWA development experiences.

❓ Progressive Web Application Development Technologies: Which One to Choose?

Now let’s get to the main question: How can you decide which PWA framework to use?

Well, analyzing the article, you could tell that the crucial factor is your business needs.

For instance, whether you need a native app in addition to the progressive web app or not:

• If yes, then consider Ionic or React Native for Web.
• If no, React, Angular or Vue are better options.

And there are quite a lot of factors that might make a certain PWA framework more suitable.

For instance, if you want the mobile experience to be truly native, take a look at the react-native-web. However, if your goal is to develop a both native app and PWA incredibly fast, you might want to go for Ionic.

Or if you are looking for great performance, you can exclude Ionic from your list.

If you need any help with the development or have any questions on which technology you should choose for developing PWAs, or how they differ from one another, feel free to reach out to us. We’ll find a way to help you!