Progressive Web App
ELI5 — The Vibe Check
A PWA is a website that put on a trench coat and convinced your phone it's a real app. It can work offline, send notifications, and live on your home screen. No app store needed. It's not quite as powerful as a native app, but it doesn't ask you to download 200MB either.
Real Talk
Progressive Web Apps use service workers, web app manifests, and modern APIs to deliver app-like experiences through the browser. They support offline functionality, push notifications, and home screen installation. PWAs work across platforms without app store distribution.
When You'll Hear This
"Ship it as a PWA first — if users want a native app later, we can always build one" / "The service worker caches critical assets so the PWA works offline"
Related Terms
Capacitor
Capacitor wraps your web app in a native shell and gives it access to device features like the camera, GPS, and push notifications.
Notification API
The Notification API lets websites show native system notifications — those little pop-ups in the corner of your screen.
Web Share API
The Web Share API triggers the native share sheet from a website — the same one native apps use.