Best Frameworks to Build your Progressive Web Apps (PWA) | TechAhead — techaheadcorp.com

Although Progressive Web Apps (PWA) have been around for quite long, they have gained popularity in the past few years due to their ability to provide mobile users with a more immersive experience that is comparable to that of Native apps. For organizations, progressive web app frameworks bring several advantages such as being adaptable across different platforms, devices, and hardware, besides ranking the app on search engines.The first step in Progressive Web Apps development is to decide which framework to use. While there are several options available, it’s advisable to evaluate the pros and cons of each Progressive Web Apps frameworks before deciding on the most suitable one.The most popular Progressive Web Apps Frameworks:Angular, which was first introduced by Google in 2009, is among the most popular Progressive web app frameworks. It uses the JavaScript ecosystem for building responsive apps that are robust and reliable. The release of version 5, which has a new Service Worker for built-in support, has made this framework easier for developers to use as until then they required a high level of expertise to build a PWA using the AngularJS version. The recent release, Angular 6, comes with two additional CLI commands, which simplifies the process of downloading and installing a web app on a device. Pros: Large community and extensive support as Google maintain itClearly defined methodology for implementationMVC frameworkNewer versions have a smaller learning curve due to CLIComes with Typescript and IntelliSense Cons: The older version requires a high level of expertise.It is quite complex compared to some of the other frameworksThe learning curve is steeper, as one has to learn Typescript React, which is supported by Facebook, is the most well-known among PWA frameworks for its extensive JavaScript library as well as a large community. While Pure JavaScript is the base for React, it uses JSX for employing render functions to connect to HTML structures. Projects can be easily scaled with the addition of packages. Pros: The largest community, supported by Facebook, which owns and maintains the codeExtensive ecosystemDeveloping apps using React offers a high degree of flexibility and easy scalabilityThe same code can be used for Native as well as web appsA moderate learning curve compared to some other frameworksRendering is speedy with Virtual-DOM Cons The framework is more programmer oriented as it requires knowledge of JSXNot as simple as JavaScript and pure HTML for writing componentsThe high degree of flexibility often poses an issueLack of clearly defined methodology for implementation, since the community is relatively new and still evolvingMigrating from Angular JS requires a complete rewrite using JSX Currently, Vue has one of the fastest-growing libraries as its high-speed rendering and simplicity of coding makes it popular among developers. Like React, Vue is a progressive web app framework that allows scaling the project with the addition of extra packages. Pros: Supported by Alibaba and Laravel, it is growing to be the preferred PWA framework of many of the big playersThe simplicity of the code reduces the learning curve for new developersIts structure is simple and features many concepts from the React and Angular 1 frameworksExtremely flexible to set up using JSX and TypescriptSpeedy rendering using Virtual-DOM Cons: It has a very small support team since it is owned by a single person (compared to React and Angular, which are owned and supported by big players)The extreme flexibility in its structure sometimes poses issuesIt requires a significant amount of conversion in the legacy code from the existing Angular 1.5 Introduced in 2013 as an open-source SDK, Ionic, which is based on the Angular framework and Apache Cordova, has been used for developing over 5 million hybrid apps. It has a library of components for both iOS and Android. Ionic allows developers to create web pages that run inside the browser of a device using WebView, which essentially renders web pages so that they resemble a native app. Pros: Reduces the cost of development as it is free and Open SourceA shorter learning curve as it can be used by anyone familiar with web technologies and AngularEasy maintenance using debugging tools and built-in browser instrumentsIts popularity for hybrid app development has resulted in building a large community of active usersLarge library of plug-ins for accessing APIs without the need for coding Cons: Frequent updates require reworking the existing app to reflect the latest changes Polymer An Open Source framework developed by Google, Polymer offers an extensive range of tools, templates and web components that simplifies the process of a PWA development. It uses pure JS/HTML/CSS, making it an independent PWA framework. Pros: A wide base of components, including web components that work across various browsersFull web app stack support, including data tier, routing, and responsive layoutsExcellent documentation covering all phases of the app developmentEasy to understand APIBrowser embedded development tools ensure no need for special debugging tools Cons: Absence of server-side rendering results in high reloading time, low SEO-friendliness and increased HTTP requestsNo official IDE Founded by Microsoft, PWA Builder is an open-source, community guided framework that supports iOS and Android app development. It provides one of the quickest ways to build components for a PWA that functions across platforms and devices. Conclusion In the end, the decision on which Progressive Web App framework to use for your app depends on the skills and expertise of your developers. With the high frequency of updates every few months, the choice of a specific framework doesn’t matter as much as the ease of updating the app. At TechAhead, a leading mobile app development company, our team of developers has experience in working on diverse Progressive Web Apps frameworks for app development and maintenance, since we have helped clients from across the globe develop hundreds of mobile and cross-platform apps.

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