PWA Browser Support

The next thing that concerns merchants must be the PWA browser support. After all, we cannot develop a fantastic online store that turns out to be inaccessible for website visitors. 

Whether it is worth integrating PWA or not depends on how browsers support this technology. 

PWA Features Are Supported On Most Browsers

The technology that upgrades PWA’s ability to serve online visitors better is the Service Workers. It has enabled several special PWA features to run smoothly on the site, including background synchronization, push notifications, offline mode,… 

Core PWA features to support the experience of users

• Background synchronization: This feature provides regular updates of data from the website. Users will always get access to the latest information from the site.
• Push notification: Notifications that appear on the home screen, and users can access the website by tapping the reminder
• Offline mode: This function provides access to users in the absence of a network connection. 
• Add to home screen: This feature from PWA allows the website to be installed on mobile devices. It creates a shortcut on the screen so users can quickly access the site by tapping the icon badge without having to type the link again. This function is available on all browsers. 
• Splash screen: Here comes another function that makes PWA more like an app by providing a screen with the logo instead of a regular blank page during loading time. Except for iOS, all browsers support this feature which helps lessen the stress when waiting for the site to load.

Except for iOS, PWA features can work well on all other browsers

At the moment, iOS does not use Service Workers but a specific system from Apple named APNs, so it still has limited support for PWA functions. Offline mode, Push notifications from PWA do not display outstanding performance on this browser.

For Chrome and Android, an automatic pop-up message will appear on the screen to guide users to install PWA. This feature is absent from iOS, and customers need to save PWA and then download it.

This problem is related to the performance of PWA features only appear on iOS only.

PWA browser support policy for outdated systems

PWA does its best to deliver the best browsing experience regardless of the browsers that users choose. The technologies applied by Progressive Web App create improvement in the appearance and performance of the website. However, PWA still offers the app’s essential functions to keep visitors engaged if these improved features are unavailable. 

It is obvious that modern browsing systems can easily adapt to advanced technology from PWA, but for those being used to old browsing systems, PWA does not let them down either. 

PWA is receiving more acceptance from different browsers

In 2021, Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Firefox for Android, and Microsoft Edge all share their approval for PWAs to appear on their systems. While iOS seems a little inferior to its rivals in assisting PWA users, the company has started to support the essential functions of PWA in iOS 13. 

Firefox for desktop might be the only browser that has yet to allow the existence of PWA. The popularity of this system is not so high, so merchants might not be overly worried about this issue. 

The good news for PWA browser support

Overall, PWA receives support from almost every browsing system in the world. While PWA on iOS is not working at its best, the system is starting to let down some certain barriers and enable some PWA functions to be active on Apple devices.

This may be the sign that browsers worldwide are seeing the future of PWA to be on the same level as native apps and start to offer more support to enhance users’ experience.