Why PWAs Are Exploding in 2025 — And How You Can Build One in a Weekend

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Source: Author

1. Introduction — Why PWAs Matter More Than Ever in 2025

There’s a quiet revolution happening on the web — and most people don’t even realize how big it’s becoming.

Over the last decade, companies have spent millions building separate native apps for iOS, Android, and the web. But in 2025, the question is being asked more seriously than ever:

“Why do we maintain three versions of the same product when a single progressive web app can reach everyone?”

It’s a question driven by:

Rising development costs
Browser advancements
Fast 5G networks
Tight budgets for startups
User fatigue with App Store installations
The push for lighter, faster experiences

PWAs — Progressive Web Apps — have matured into the perfect balance between the power of native apps and the reach of the web.

In 2015, they were an experiment.
In 2020, they became a trend.
In 2025, they have become the default way to build installable, offline-first, user-friendly apps.

From solopreneurs building micro-SaaS products… to enterprises moving away from native development… PWAs now have real-world traction, real business results, and real support from every modern browser.

This guide is your complete beginner-friendly map to the world of PWAs — written in a way that even a non-developer can follow, yet technical enough for developers to build production-ready apps.

By the end of this article, you’ll understand:

What PWAs truly are
Why they matter in 2025
How to build one from scratch
How service workers work
How to add offline support
How to use IndexedDB & Dexie.js
How to deploy, test, and publish your PWA

Let’s start simple.

2. What Exactly Is a PWA?

Before diving into code, let’s demystify the buzzword.

A Progressive Web App is simply:

A web application enhanced with superpowers traditionally available only to native apps.

Those superpowers include:
1. Offline access
2. Installability
3. Push notifications
4. Background sync
5. Access to device features
6. Faster loading via smart caching
7. ==Native-like UI & UX==

But here’s the simplest analogy:

Think of a PWA like a really smart website.

A normal website loads everything from the server every time.
A PWA saves what it needs on your device and works even when you’re offline — like a native app.
You can install it from your browser’s “Add to Home Screen” option.
It opens full-screen and feels app-like.

The magic behind PWAs comes from just three core ingredients:

HTTPS (for security)
Service Worker (for offline + caching + background features)
Manifest.json (a file telling your browser “Treat this like an app”)

That’s it.

If a web app has these three, browsers like Chrome, Safari, and Edge will say:

“This is installable.”

No App Store review.
No heavy APK.
No 300MB native bundle.

Just a fast, light, powerful app delivered through the web.

3. Key Components of a PWA

Let’s break them down one by one.

3.1 HTTPS — The Foundation

All PWAs must run on HTTPS.
This protects your users and allows service workers to run safely.

If you deploy with:

Netlify
Vercel
GitHub Pages
Cloudflare
You automatically get HTTPS.

3.2 The Web App Manifest (manifest.json)

This file declares:

App name
App icon
Colors
Orientation
Display mode (standalone, fullscreen, etc.)

A simple manifest:

{
  "name": "My First PWA",
  "short_name": "PWA Demo",
  "start_url": "/",
  "display": "standalone",
  "background_color": "#ffffff",
  "theme_color": "#0d6efd",
  "icons": [
    {
      "src": "/icons/icon-192.png",
      "sizes": "192x192",
      "type": "image/png"
    },
    {
      "src": "/icons/icon-512.png",
      "sizes": "512x512",
      "type": "image/png"
    }
  ]
}

Add it to your HTML:

<link rel="manifest" href="/manifest.json">

3.3 Service Worker — The Brain of a PWA

This special JavaScript file runs in the background, separate from the main thread.

It handles:

Caching
Offline access
Push notifications
Background sync
Fetch interception

Think of it like a traffic controller deciding:

“Should I load this from cache… or from the network?”

You register it like this:

if ('serviceWorker' in navigator) {
  navigator.serviceWorker.register('/sw.js');
}

3.5 IndexedDB + Dexie.js (Client-Side Database)

PWAs need offline data storage — that’s where IndexedDB comes in.

But IndexedDB’s native API is complicated.
Enter Dexie.js, a small library that makes everything simple.

We’ll cover this deeply later.

Component Summary Table

Source: Author

4. Build Your First PWA (Step-by-Step)

Now let’s build a simple PWA from scratch.

Folder Structure

/public
  index.html
  sw.js
  manifest.json
  /icons
     icon-192.png
     icon-512.png

Step 1: Setup index.html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8" />
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
  <link rel="manifest" href="manifest.json" />
  <title>My First PWA</title>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Hello PWA!</h1>
  <p>This app works offline.</p>

  <script>
    if ('serviceWorker' in navigator) {
      navigator.serviceWorker.register('sw.js');
    }
  </script>
</body>
</html>

Step 2: Create manifest.json

{
  "name": "My First PWA",
  "short_name": "PWA Demo",
  "start_url": "/",
  "display": "standalone",
  "background_color": "#ffffff",
  "theme_color": "#0d6efd",
  "icons": [
    {
      "src": "/icons/icon-192.png",
      "sizes": "192x192",
      "type": "image/png"
    },
    {
      "src": "/icons/icon-512.png",
      "sizes": "512x512",
      "type": "image/png"
    }
  ]
}

Step 3: Add a Simple Service Worker

self.addEventListener('install', event => {
  event.waitUntil(
    caches.open('v1').then(cache => {
      return cache.addAll(['/', '/index.html']);
    })
  );
});

self.addEventListener('fetch', event => {
  event.respondWith(
    caches.match(event.request).then(response => {
      return response || fetch(event.request);
    })
  );
});

You now have:

Offline support
Installability
Basic caching

You just built your first PWA.

5.1 Install Event

Used to cache assets.

self.addEventListener('install', event => {
  console.log('Service worker installing...');
});

5.2 Activate Event

Used to clean old caches.

self.addEventListener('activate', event => {
  console.log('Service worker activated');
});

5.3 Fetch Event

Intercepts network requests.

5.4 Caching Strategies

Cache First

Fastest load.

Network First

Good for news apps.

Stale-While-Revalidate

Best UX — serves cache, updates in background.

event.respondWith(
  caches.open('dynamic').then(async cache => {
    const cached = await cache.match(event.request);
    const network = fetch(event.request).then(response => {
      cache.put(event.request, response.clone());
      return response;
    });

    return cached || network;
  })
);

5.5 New 2025 APIs

Periodic Background Sync
File System Access
Web GPU Integration
Storage Buckets (prevent automatic cleanup)

PWAs are getting more powerful each year.

6.1 Install Dexie

CDN:

<script src="https://unpkg.com/dexie@latest/dist/dexie.js"></script>

6.2 Create a Database

const db = new Dexie("PWA_DB");
db.version(1).stores({
  todos: "++id, title, done"
});

6.3 Add Data

await db.todos.add({
  title: "Learn PWAs",
  done: false
});

6.4 Query Data

const todos = await db.todos.toArray();

6.5 Update Data

await db.todos.update(id, { done: true });

6.6 Use Case: Offline-First Notes App

Dexie allows:

Offline typing
Syncing when back online
Background sync + service worker queue

7. Add-to-Home Screen, Push Notifications & Background Sync

PWAs can be installed on:

Android
iOS
Desktop
ChromeOS
Windows (Edge)

Push Notifications

Supported on:

Chrome
Edge
Android
Safari (as of 2024+)

Not allowed without user interaction — for user safety.

Background Sync

Allows:

Offline form submissions
Upload queues
Message sending even offline

8. Testing, Debugging & Performance Optimization

Use Lighthouse

Chrome DevTools → Lighthouse → PWA Audit

It checks:

Installability
Offline support
Fast loading
Best practices

Storage Quota

Browsers now offer hundreds of MB to several GB depending on storage availability.

9. Real-World PWA Success Stories

These companies publicly reported improvements:

Starbucks PWA

2× faster loading
233% increase in daily active users
Offline ordering

40% increase in time spent
44% increase in revenue

Indie developers

Examples:

Offline-first note apps
Invoice apps
Simple CRMs
Study tools
Digital diaries

PWAs allow solo developers to compete.

10. Should You Build a PWA in 2025?

If you need:
1. Installability
2. Offline support
3. Push notifications
4. Fast performance
5. Cross-platform reach
6. Low development cost

Then PWAs are the best choice.

If you need:
1. Heavy 3D rendering
2. Deep OS integrations
3. Native-only APIs
4. High-end gaming

Native apps still win.

But for 90% of apps built today —
PWAs are enough. Often more than enough.

11. Summary — What You Learned

What PWAs are and why they matter in 2025.
How service workers work
What manifest.json does
How to add caching and offline support
How to store data with IndexedDB & Dexie.js
How installability, notifications, and background sync work
How to test, deploy, and optimize your PWA

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My name is Ashok Reddy, and I am a passionate full stack developer with expertise in.NET, front-end technologies, and cloud technologies

Responses (7)

Talbot Stevens

What are your thoughts?

==Native-like UI & UX==

I have build 1 pwa web app and integrated with Cordova Capasitor then published Apple Store and Google Store as well without re writing my react code with react native.No code changes required.

I am on my 5th mobile app using ionic with angular. I decided to make this one a pwa and skip the app stores. Life is good so far. I’m code complete and doing what some call acceptance testing.FYI, I did some user testing on installing my pwa vs…

I have been working on the PWA for a few years now, but I’ve noticed that users still experience issues with the installation process, especially on iOS. Do you have experience with tools such as PWABuilder to make a PWA available in App stores?I’m…

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