PWA vs AMP! How to pick the most suited one?

In the present era, mobile is behind each advancement in the industry whether it is any technology or any exploration. Following this trend, I have opted the topic of discussion revolving around it. Mobile-first indexing seems to be in full form, driving most of the web searches. Due to this, businesses cannot afford to stay behind without a great mobile presence over the web. In this post, I am to discuss the major differences between the two gems of mobile experience named PWA and AMP.

In the first instance, these two terms may appear to work similar but bear several dissimilarities. Let’s explore-

PWA (Progressive Website Apps) 

PWAs are termed as web pages that look alike mobile applications. Progressive web apps present the best from mobile and websites by presenting the similar design, interactions, navigation, and features. 

It will be right to refer it as mobile-responsive site furnished with additional features of an application. This provides an experience like an app, on the web (zomato.com) is an appropriate example of it. But, these cannot be stated as the alternative of the apps as these cannot perform everything that an application can do. 

AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages)

AMP (built with JavaScript) is an open-source platform that got approval from Google. The key role of this platforms is to accelerate the site load time. It enhances the speed by enabling the businesses to create web pages that showcase the most important information only. It strikes out the superficial features that one can find on an HTML website. Accelerated Mobile Pages eases the way for organizations to build mobile-friendly and faster content that does not make mobile device response time slower for the users. Right from its introduction in 2016, it has been performing superbly. 

A free ride towards robust features of PWA & AMP-

PWA

• Having responsive design, it is compatible with each device. 
• Irrespective of the browser, it works for each user seamlessly. 
• PWA can work wonderfully on weak network and on offline mode. 
• Ensures safe access via https and it offers unified experience for customers. 

AMP

• Accelerates website speed by reducing load time. 
• Strengthens keyword ranking and other SEO aspects. 
• Varied ad formats are supported by AMP. 
• Offers convenient caching of the web pages.  

Both come with certain disadvantages-

PWA

• Each browser does not support progressive web apps 
• It does not support cross-application login. 
• There is no basic call feature such as make a call or send messages, fetch phone number, etc. 
• All hardware functionality is not supported by PWA. 

AMP

• User activities cannot be tracked on accelerated mobile pages. 
• This does not come as suitable for the e-commerce websites. 
• The images do not load without scrolling them down. 
• It promises only loading speed but does not improve search engine ranking. 

Read More :- Mobile First Index

How can PWA vs AMP differences be explained? Describing major dissimilarities-

User Experience 

1. The prime focus of AMP remains on speedy loading time while fetching the crucial data. 
2. PWA aims to provide a richer user experience by rendering app-like features.

Components 

1. Standardized JavaScript, streamlined CSS, and great components are some of the special standpoints of AMP. 
2. PWA works with services worker, web application manifest and app shell. 

Functionality

1. In AMP, image loads when you scroll it down. 
2. In PWA, image or content loads at the rate of 60 frames per second. 

Compatibility 

1. AMP suits better for the content which is static and works great for heavy sites like blogs, articles and publishing pages. 
2. PWA works great for e-commerce websites as it renders app-like experience. 

Which one to opt? 

I discussed all the major features, difference and also the definitions of these two. So buddy, you are pretty clear regarding the working, components and user experience of both technology by now. Each of them works for a specific kind of website. You just require selecting the one as per your requirements. Stay tuned! I will be sharing more posts based on the latest technology.