PWA’s Add To Home Screen

Progressive Web App (PWA) is undeniably one of the most prominent e-commerce website development trends nowadays. Integrating native app features and a responsive website, PWA truly offers the elite of both worlds. One of the most striking advantages driving the popularity of PWA is the Add To Home Screen (A2HS) feature.

This post will provide knowledge about this PWA’s A2HS feature and clarify how it can get enormous affection from users. Let’s move on!

What Is PWA’s Add To Home Screen?

A2HS is a feature that makes PWA totally different from any other type of website or mobile app. It allows the users to “install” PWA onto the device within a few touches. After that, they can access that website with a single tap on their main screen.

How To Install A PWA On The Home Screen?

As PWA is cross-platform, this function works smoothly on all devices and browsers, which means it can work on both iOS and Android – the two most prominent operating systems in the world. Therefore it could reach a vast number of smartphone users.

However, the performance of Add To Home Screen function is different between these two operating systems. Let’s see how it works on iOS and Android devices.

On iOS devices

The only exception of the function that we have to mention is that A2HS is not fully supported on the Safari browser yet. The result is that customers need to do more steps to install PWA since the popup does not appear on iOS devices.

There are some PWA theme providers quite subtle to create a popup to guide iOS users. We need to tap into the “Share” button on the iOS devices and then select the “Add to Home Screen” option.

On Android devices

Meanwhile, the A2HS function on Android devices works fluently. When the users visit a website that is integrated with PWA on their mobile devices, there is a popup to suggest that they should add PWA to the home screen.

By tapping the popup, PWA is installed on the devices right away, and the user could access it anywhere.

Although the PWA’s features are all equipped on Android and iOS, the level of support that iOS users receive is less than Android’s.

Nevertheless, we do not have to worry because Apple confirmed that they would support Service Workers from iOS 13.

What Are The Keys Benefits Of A2HS?

People are interested in the A2HS feature because of its breakthrough and convenience. Why don’t we explore its benefits to both end-users and PWA owners?

To Users

Easier and faster installation

Thanks to the Add to home screen feature, the installation process of PWA is incredibly simple and time-saving. 

All the thing that users need to do is to accept the A2HS request. After that, the PWA will be automatically added to their home screen. Moreover, the website shortcut is ready to use in just a couple of seconds.

Compared to the process of installing a native app, A2HS is, without a doubt, a stunning advantage. To install a native app, users need to go to Google Play or the App Store, search for the name, click the install button and confirm the behavior. Then, they need to wait for the download process to succeed. 

With such a complicated and time-consuming procedure, users are likely to become frustrated and abandon downloading the app.

More convenient experience

As usual, when the customers want to check out new products or special discounts, they need to open an Internet browser, search for store names and locate the exact website link. Apart from that, users will have to iterate these actions each time they would like to update information about your online stores. It ultimately takes a significant amount of time and effort.

In contrast, the A2HS feature creates a direct shortcut of the PWA on the user device. As a result, anytime they want, they can simply click on the icon and enjoy the website immediately.

Users are becoming increasingly busy, so simplicity and convenience are their top priorities. It is also an amazing advantage that A2HS brings to your users.

To Merchants

All of the above are the benefits that A2HS brings to the user, then how about the merchants?

A fast and effortless installing and accessing process as well as a pleasant experience are the factors that make customers choose an online store.

Additionally, the PWA inspires users with an inviting icon on their home screen. As a result, it can encourage them to use the app more frequently and even shop more regularly.

As a result, the Add to home screen feature benefits the company by boosting customer engagement and retention.

Myths And Facts

1/ PWA Add To Home Screen pops up on both iOS and Android 

The first misconception about A2HS is that it will have the same pop-up on all operating systems. However, this statement is wrong.

For Android users, there will be a pop-up window recommending them to add the Progressive Web App to the home screen.

Meanwhile, when users visit your website through iOS Safari, the Add to home screen pop-up will not appear. Despite that, it is not a significant problem as your users can manually add PWA to their iOS devices.

2/ The A2HS pop-up appears whenever accessing the website on browsers

The second common misunderstanding is that the A2HS pop-up will appear every time a customer visits the website. Regrettably, the opposite is true.

In fact, the pop-up appears only the first time a user visits the site. Then, it will no longer appear on the user’s next visit.

To view the pop-up again, the users must delete the cache of that website on their browser memory and open the site address again.

3/ A2HS is available on mobile only

Finally, many people believe that the A2HS feature is only available on mobile devices. Fortunately, desktops have this feature as well.

There will be a PWA shortcut that acts like a desktop application display on the user’s computer screen.

Discover how to add PWA to the desktop home screen in detail and the benefits of desktop Progressive Web Apps here.

Wrapping Up

Now, you probably understand more about the Add to home screen feature of PWA – how it works and what it brings to the table.

Besides the A2HS features, Progressive Web App also offers a lot of awesome features like sending push notifications, working without network connections, and background synchronization. Don’t miss the opportunity to integrate this technology into your website!