News

Tools Suite Will Target Commerce-Based Progressive Web Apps

• By David Ramel
• April 27, 2018

Magento Commerce this week announced its upcoming Progressive Web Applications Studio, a suite of tools to help developers create business-oriented PWA solutions.

PWAs are a new-age approach to provide native-like mobile app functionality to Web-based apps.

Analysts such as Gartner Inc. have indicated enterprises developing their mobile strategies need to factor in the use of PWAs, a Google-backed initiative the company has called the future of the mobile Web.

Basically, PWAs are said to make Web-based apps look and act more like native iOS and Android apps on mobile devices. Google says PWAs provide the reach of the Web along with native app-like features such as reliability even in the face of uncertain network conditions, fast UI response and native, immersive look and feel, enabled by new technologies such as service workers and Web app manifests.

With mobile commerce solutions experiencing growth and expected by Forrester Research to contribute half of overall retail sales growth by 2022, Magento is offering up its new PWA Studio, which will be available via an early adopter program this summer.

Core features of the upcoming studio as cited by Magento will include:

• Tools to personalize content and add local preferences
• Build and manage all channels and experiences via one code base, one deployment and app
• Intuitive user experience with innovative commerce and CMS theming
• Modularized component architecture to help drive opportunities for extension resellers
• Purpose-built developer tools for fast prototyping, helpful debugging, rich feedback, and increased productivity

"PWA Studio will allow Magento Commerce solution partners and UX developers to deliver fast and simple front-end experiences on mobile devices," the company said.