What if I told you most companies could cut their mobile development bills in half, increase mobile conversions, and still ship a fast, app-like experience without touching the App Store or Google Play?
You do not need a native app to win on mobile. You need a fast, installable, offline-ready web app where it matters. That is what a Progressive Web App (PWA) gives you. And yes, PWAs are still relevant. But they are not a silver bullet, and in some cases, you should avoid them. The short answer: PWAs are worth it when mobile traffic is high, app-store friction is killing signups, and your dev resources are limited. They are less useful if you need deep native features or you already have a strong, well-funded native app presence.
What a PWA actually is (in business terms, not dev jargon)
You do not care that a PWA uses a service worker or a web manifest. You care about what it does to revenue.
A PWA is just a website that acts like an app:
– It loads very fast after the first visit.
– It works with weak or no network.
– It can be “installed” to the home screen.
– It can send push notifications on Android and desktop.
– It runs in the browser engine, not as a fully native binary.
So you keep web reach, but gain a lot of app behavior.
A PWA is not a technology trend. It is a cost-control tool for mobile growth: one codebase, app-like performance, without app-store friction.
Here is how you should think about PWAs for SaaS, SEO, and web products.
| Option | Strength | Weakness | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Responsive website (no PWA) | Cheap, fast to build, SEO friendly | Slower feel, no offline, no install or push | Simple SaaS, content sites, early-stage MVP |
| PWA | App-like speed, install, offline, push (Android/desktop) | Apple limits, some native APIs missing, more engineering care | High mobile traffic, growth-focused SaaS, eCommerce, repeat-use tools |
| Native apps (iOS + Android) | Full device access, best performance, store presence | Two codebases, store fees, updates blocked by review cycles | Heavy usage, deep hardware needs, big mobile budgets |
So the real question is not “Are PWAs still relevant?” The real question is “Where in your funnel does a PWA give you an unfair advantage vs a normal site or native app?”
Why PWAs still matter for growth (and where they do not)
If you are selling SaaS or any recurring product, most of your traffic lands on the web first. Not in the app store. That is where PWAs earn their keep.
Here is why they still matter:
- They reduce friction at mobile signup and login.
- They boost conversion on slow networks and low-end devices.
- They keep your dev budget focused on one codebase.
But they are not magic. Let us break down the real business effects, and where they fall short.
1. Acquisition: SEO + PWA is still a strong combo
Search traffic lands on URLs, not app store listings. That means your web experience is your first impression.
Google does not give you a special “PWA boost,” but PWA techniques are often the same things that help search performance:
– Faster loading times (through caching and smaller bundles).
– Better Core Web Vitals scores.
– Lower bounce on mobile.
These signals support your SEO strategy, especially on mobile-first indexing.
If search is one of your main growth channels, your “mobile app strategy” should start with making your main web app behave like an app, not with hiring an iOS team.
Where SEO and PWA connect:
– A PWA that loads instantly from search reduces abandonment.
– Users are more likely to log in, explore, and come back.
– That behavior gives better usage signals, which supports long term growth from organic search.
You should still care about good content, technical SEO, and internal links. A PWA does not fix a bad content strategy. It just stops you from losing the traffic you already earned.
2. Activation: Reducing friction on mobile signups
Every extra tap kills signups. Linking to an app store download from your pricing page is almost always a conversion killer.
PWAs help here because:
– The user is already in the browser.
– They can sign up right there.
– They can install the app after they have seen value.
You flip the usual pattern. Instead of:
1. See an ad.
2. Go to app store.
3. Download.
4. Open.
5. Sign up.
You go:
1. See an ad or search result.
2. Land on PWA.
3. Sign up and use core feature.
4. Optional install prompt once trust is built.
That simple order change matters. Less friction, more new accounts.
So if your SaaS relies on mobile onboarding (for example, field service tools, delivery, fitness, habit tracking, simple CRMs), a PWA can lift activation without extra platforms to maintain.
3. Engagement and retention: Offline and speed still win
Retention is usually about habit and value, not technology. But technology can remove excuses for dropping off.
A good PWA gives:
– Fast repeat visits because assets are cached.
– Offline or flaky-network support for key actions.
– Push notifications on Android and desktop to bring users back.
For example:
– A project management PWA can let users open their last board offline, make notes, and sync later.
– A fitness SaaS PWA can preload the next workout, so it works in the gym with poor reception.
– A B2B SaaS PWA can keep settings and reports cached, so dashboards still load during travel.
Speed is retention. If your app feels instant, people forgive missing features. If it feels slow, they churn for something less powerful but faster.
PWAs give you a very fast “shell” that loads right away, then fills in data. That pattern is what users expect from native apps. You can copy that feeling in the browser.
Where PWAs fall short for retention:
– No iOS web push for a long time slowed adoption. Recent Safari updates began to support it with some friction, but you cannot rely on it as much as on Android.
– Some deep background sync behaviors are limited in the browser.
– If your value relies on persistent, heavy background processes, native still has more power.
So for most SaaS, PWA is enough. For heavy consumer apps that need constant native-level engagement, you might still invest in native.
4. Revenue: When does a PWA actually drive more money?
Revenue gain from a PWA usually comes from three angles:
1. Higher mobile conversion rates.
2. Better repeat usage from loyal users.
3. Lower development and maintenance costs vs native.
You can think in simple numbers.
Say you have:
– 100,000 monthly mobile visitors.
– 2 percent signup conversion.
– 20 percent of those become paying customers.
– Average revenue per user: 20 dollars per month.
That is:
– 2,000 signups.
– 400 paying customers.
– 8,000 dollars MRR from that segment.
If a strong PWA lifts conversion by only 20 percent (from 2 percent to 2.4 percent):
– 2,400 signups.
– 480 paying customers.
– 9,600 dollars MRR.
That is 1,600 dollars more per month, 19,200 dollars per year, without extra traffic. Many real-world PWA case studies report higher lifts, but let us stay conservative.
Now compare that with dev cost:
– A solid PWA upgrade might cost 30,000 to 80,000 dollars in engineering and QA.
– Two native apps plus APIs and maintenance can go well past 150,000 dollars in year one, then 30,000 to 70,000 dollars per year to maintain.
A PWA does not need to “beat” native to be worth it. It just needs to be good enough to raise conversion and retention above your current web baseline, at a lower cost and lower time-to-market.
If you can recover your PWA investment within 12 to 24 months from lifted conversion, it is a reasonable growth project.
Where PWAs are a bad idea (for now)
You should not force a PWA into every product. There are clear cases where a native app is a better fit, even if it costs more.
1. You need heavy native features
PWAs run inside the browser engine. They have access to many APIs, but not all. Support also differs between Android, iOS, and desktop.
PWAs are a poor fit when:
– You need low-level Bluetooth control, complex background sensors, or full access to contacts, SMS, and phone calls.
– You need serious 3D graphics, advanced AR, or heavy gaming performance.
– Your app runs long background tasks that must not be paused.
For example:
– A real-time GPS-based rideshare app will struggle as a pure PWA.
– A high-end AR measurement tool needs native.
– A heavy video editing app still works better natively.
So if your SaaS is deeply tied to device hardware, go native first. You can still keep a PWA-style web app for marketing site and dashboards.
2. Your growth motion depends on app store presence
Some models rely on app store discovery and ranking:
– Consumer subscription apps in wellness, meditation, or entertainment.
– Brands that live inside iOS search and “Top charts.”
– Businesses that use app store reviews as social proof.
In those cases, a PWA alone will not give you that distribution channel. You might run:
– Native app as the frontline product.
– Strong PWA for SEO, onboarding, and logged-in web use.
So PWAs still help, but they are not the main entry point.
3. Your team is not ready to maintain a PWA properly
A PWA is not just “add a manifest and service worker and call it a day.” Poorly done, it can create bugs that are harder to debug than normal web issues:
– Stale caches causing old JavaScript to load.
– Offline behavior breaking login flows.
– Users stuck in “you are offline” states when they are not.
If your web app is already unstable, adding caching logic will make it worse.
A PWA multiplies the quality of your current web stack. If your foundation is weak, a PWA magnifies the problems.
Before you invest in PWA features, you need:
– Stable build and deploy pipelines.
– Good error tracking (Sentry, LogRocket, or similar).
– A team that understands caching, versioning, and browser quirks.
If you do not have that yet, your next move should be stabilizing the core app first.
What has changed for PWAs recently (and why people ask if they are “dead”)
The “Are PWAs dead?” noise came from a few trends:
– Big platforms pushed their own agendas.
– Some promises did not match reality for certain use cases.
– Many PWA launches were half-done.
1. Apple made it harder, then slowly opened some doors
For a long time, Apple:
– Limited many PWA capabilities on iOS Safari.
– Blocked web push notifications.
– Made add-to-home-screen prompts less visible.
This made PWAs feel weaker on iPhones than on Android. Some founders looked at that and decided PWAs “do not work.”
Over time, Safari gained:
– Better service worker support.
– Basic support for web push (with user friction).
– More API parity with Chrome in some areas.
But Apple still gives native apps a smoother push and install journey. So for iOS-heavy audiences, PWAs are helpful, but not a perfect substitute for native if push and deep native features are central to the model.
2. Hype vs real-world constraints
Early PWA messaging promised:
– “One codebase to replace all apps.”
– “Native performance in the browser.”
In real life:
– You still hit performance limits on weak devices if your JavaScript bundle is huge.
– You still need to design for mobile first, not just shrink a desktop layout.
– You still need to handle many edge cases for offline sync.
The pattern is powerful, but it is not magic. Businesses that treated PWA adoption as a quick win, rather than a serious product upgrade, often saw no benefit. That created the “PWAs do not work” stories.
3. Tooling and platforms caught up (quietly)
Many modern SaaS frontends now use frameworks that support PWA behavior with minimal extra effort:
– Next.js, Nuxt, Remix, and others offer PWA plugins or examples.
– Hosting platforms cache static assets aggressively.
– Bundlers and CDNs make it easier to serve smaller bundles.
So a lot of what used to be “PWA work” is now “standard modern frontend work.”
That does not mean PWAs are obsolete. It means the baseline for a high-quality web app has moved closer to the PWA idea. The label is less important. The behavior still matters a lot.
You do not need to sell your board on the term “PWA.” You need to sell them on faster mobile conversions, repeat visits, and a simpler tech stack.
How to decide: Should your SaaS or web product be a PWA?
You can reach a clear decision with five questions.
1. What is your mobile traffic share and conversion gap?
Look at your analytics:
– What percentage of your users are on mobile web?
– Is mobile conversion lower than desktop by more than 20 to 30 percent?
– Are mobile users bouncing more on key pages?
If mobile is a large share and underperforming, PWA features are a strong candidate. If almost all usage is desktop, a PWA is lower priority.
2. Do your users benefit from offline or flaky-network usage?
Ask:
– Are your users on the go, in the field, on-site, commuting, or traveling?
– Do they often work from locations with poor connectivity?
– Do you get support tickets about slow or failing mobile access?
If yes, a PWA with offline caching for critical features can be a real differentiator.
If most use is at the office on stable broadband, offline matters less, but speed still does.
3. Is your team ready to treat the web app as the primary product?
A strong PWA strategy puts the web at the center:
– You treat the web app as your main product.
– You design mobile UX with the same care as native.
– You optimize performance like it directly affects revenue (because it does).
If your culture still sees the “real” product as the desktop version, with mobile as an afterthought, you will not get full value from a PWA.
You might want to run a smaller performance project first, such as:
– Improving Core Web Vitals.
– Reducing JavaScript bundle size.
– Cleaning up mobile navigation.
Then layer PWA features on top once you have validated the gains.
4. Do you have a clear, narrow scope for PWA features?
One trap is trying to “PWA-ify” everything at once. That leads to broken offline behavior and bloated service workers.
A better approach is to define one or two high-value journeys:
– New user onboarding and first key action.
– Daily dashboard check for logged-in users.
– Checkout for eCommerce.
Then decide which PWA features support those journeys:
– Install prompt after the user completes a key action.
– Caching assets for those pages.
– Offline fallback screens for that flow.
You do not need offline for every page. You need it where dropping the user would cost you money or trust.
5. What is your 12 to 24 month roadmap for native apps?
Be honest:
– Will you realistically fund two full native apps soon?
– Do you have a strong reason to be in app stores early?
– Can you support three platforms long term (web, iOS, Android)?
If you cannot, then a PWA as your main mobile app is a practical path.
If you can, a hybrid path might be better:
– Start with a strong PWA to fix web performance and onboarding.
– Once that is stable and profitable, spin off thin native shells that wrap the PWA or call the same APIs with some native extras.
That way you do not throw away your web investment when native arrives.
How to design a PWA strategy that actually works
You should treat PWA work like a growth experiment tied to clear metrics, not a vague technical upgrade.
Step 1: Set simple, measurable targets
For example:
– Raise mobile signup conversion from 2 percent to 2.6 percent.
– Reduce mobile homepage bounce rate by 15 percent.
– Cut average mobile first-page load from 4 seconds to under 2 seconds.
Tie those to potential revenue impact as earlier. This keeps everyone focused.
Step 2: Fix performance first, then add PWA features
Many teams start by adding a service worker. That is backwards.
First, focus on:
– Reducing JavaScript and CSS bundle sizes.
– Lazy-loading non-critical content.
– Using a content delivery network well.
Only then:
– Add a basic service worker for caching static assets.
– Configure cache strategies for HTML and API calls with care.
– Add a manifest for install capability.
A slow PWA is still a slow app. Caching bad performance does not solve the core issue.
Performance improvements alone can deliver part of the gains you want. PWA features then amplify that.
Step 3: Design install prompts as part of the funnel
Randomly nagging users to “Install our app!” is not a strategy.
You want install prompts:
– After the user has seen value (for example, completed a first project, created a workout, run a report).
– On pages where app-like usage makes sense (for example, dashboards or daily tools).
– Timed so they do not interrupt key tasks.
Measure:
– Install rate from those prompts.
– Engagement differences between installed vs non-installed users.
If installed users have clearly higher retention or revenue, you have a strong case to refine PWA investment.
Step 4: Pick offline behaviors that protect revenue
Offline support should not try to mirror your entire app. It should protect business-critical flows.
Examples:
– Allow users to view last loaded dashboard, even when offline, with a clear badge.
– Let users create drafts (notes, orders, tasks) that sync when back online.
– Show a friendly offline page that lets users access cached content and explains what will sync later.
Avoid:
– Complicated offline editing with heavy conflict resolution if your team has never built sync logic before.
– Caching sensitive data in ways that violate security policies.
Your goal is to make the app feel reliable. “It works when I expect it to.” That builds trust and habit.
Step 5: Close the loop with analytics
You will not know if PWAs are working for your business without data.
Track:
– Time to first byte and time to interactive on mobile.
– Conversion rates before and after PWA changes, by device type.
– Usage behavior of installed PWA vs non-installed.
– Frequency of offline mode usage and success rates.
Look at these numbers 30, 60, and 90 days after launch. Then decide:
– Double down and expand PWA coverage.
– Trim or adjust offline features.
– Pause and fix core web issues that surfaced.
Where PWAs fit in a broader SaaS, SEO, and web strategy
Think of PWAs as one piece in a three-part system:
1. Traffic: SEO, paid, social, referrals.
2. Product: Web app, PWA features, user experience.
3. Retention: Email, notifications, in-app messaging, account expansion.
A PWA sits mainly in part 2, but influences all three.
| Stage | Question | How PWA helps |
|---|---|---|
| Traffic | Are we wasting acquired traffic on slow mobile pages? | Faster loads and better mobile UX keep organic and paid clicks from bouncing away. |
| Product | Do mobile users experience the same power as desktop users? | Install, offline, and app-like UX let you bring core value to mobile, not a stripped-down version. |
| Retention | Do users come back without heavy remarketing spend? | Push notifications (where supported) and instant re-open increase usage without extra ad spend. |
If you already have strong traffic and a solid SaaS value proposition, PWA work can be one of the most cost-effective growth levers. If you do not yet have product-market fit, a PWA will not fix that. It will just make an unproven product a bit nicer.
Do not ship a PWA to impress your dev team. Ship it to lower your cost per acquisition and increase lifetime value. If those numbers do not move, your PWA strategy is wrong.
So, are PWAs still relevant?
Yes, PWAs are still relevant. But not as a buzzword or a checkbox. They are relevant as a practical method to:
– Turn your web app into a serious mobile product.
– Raise mobile conversion and retention without doubling engineering headcount.
– Delay or reduce the need for expensive native builds where they are not truly needed.
Use them when:
– Mobile web is a major source of signups and revenue.
– You want app-like behavior without store friction.
– Your team can support a modern frontend and smart caching.
Avoid relying on them alone when:
– Your business model needs deep device integration.
– App store discovery is your main growth engine.
– Your web foundation is unstable.
If you treat PWAs as a focused business tool, not a trend, they are very much alive and useful for SaaS, SEO-driven products, and modern web apps.
