eCommerce Shopping 2020 – Part 2 – Create an App-like Experience for Your Online Store.

With society merging into a new online experience, online shoppers have grown exponentially.  According to Forbes:

::. U.S. retailers’ online year-over-year (YoY) revenue growth is up 68% as of mid-April, surpassing an earlier peak of 49% in early January.

::. There’s been a 129% year-over-year growth in U.S. & Canadian e-commerce orders as of April 21 and an impressive 146% growth in all online retail orders.

::. Online conversion rates increased 8.8% in February, reflecting a level of shopping urgency typically seen during Cyber Mondays, according to QuantumMetric.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2020/04/28/how-covid-19-is-transforming-e-commerce/#7338b073544f

Mobile devices, phones and tablets, are the most popular choice for online shopping.  Your eCommerce business can take advantage of the online shopping experience by updating your site using the latest technologies that includes a Mobile First approach and Progressive Web Apps (PWA’s). 

PWA’s can work with just about any eCommerce platform due to its headless architecture, meaning it is adaptable to any backend system.  Right now we are using this technology for Magento 2, the best open source full-featured eCommerce system currently available.  We disconnect the backend of Magento and its functionality from the front-end design and functionality.  When we separate the frontend from the backend this is called a headless approach.  This enables us to provide a faster website more similar to mobile apps while not changing the desktop experience.  This results in a better user experience and can increase your conversion rate.

There are two different approaches to PWA.  There is one approach specifically for Magento called PWA Studio.  There also is a system compatible with Magento and many other eCommerce systems called Vue Storefront PWA that isn’t limited to Magento.  Both have similar key features:

::. Platform-agnostic
::. Focus on performance
::. Mobile-first approach
::. Cutting-edge tech
::. No limitations in theming and customization
::. Open Source with MIT license
::. Exciting developer experience
::. Out-of-the-box Server Side Rendering (for SEO)
::. Offline mode

With the use of PWA’s headless approach in your eCommerce system, we can separate the backend functionality and the frontend functionality into different layers.  This gives us access to an efficient backend of your eCommerce system along with the freedom of creating a robust frontend. This can help us achieve lightning-fast performance along with your eCommerce’s reliable backend giving you the best of both worlds.  When using this approach with Magento, you can achieve a great user experience with all of the robust features and functionality Magento has to offer.

Depending on your needs, we can help you decide which version will work best with your eCommerce system.  If you are operating an eCommerce website and you are interested in taking your eCommerce web presence to the next level, then creating a Progressive Web App may be just the push you are looking for to get ahead. 

What is a Progressive Web Apps (PWA)?

#1 PWA’s match the mobile-first approach. This means that stores developed with PWA will function on mobile devices without any issues.

#2 PWA’s work offline, allowing the user to keep on browsing even without an internet connection. With any other web store, a user would have to drop this.

#3 Loading time of PWA’s is at least 2-3x faster compared to responsive or m.dot web stores. Google mobile-first indexing helps it to express the high speed of PWA and it’s smooth performance on mobile devices.

#4 With faster loading time, PWA’s reduce server load. Your store won’t crash or slow down during periods of intense traffic.

#5 PWA’s combine the user experience (UX) of a native app with the benefits of the mobile web. Stores with PWA run smoothly both as a web page and native app.

#6 Stores built with PWA save up to 75% of the costs of a native app (both development and maintenance). With PWA you simply don’t have to make a separate native app, it’s enough to adjust your storefront.

#7 PWA’s use headless architecture. It’s all about separating the frontend from your backend eCommerce platform. With this approach, PWA can be added to eCommerce platform by API in just 3 months. This includes a Proof of Concept.

#8 Browsing with PWA’s is seamless. This causes a huge increase in conversion rates.

#9 PWA apps are light. The weight of the apps is decreased by 80-90%. Just compare the Twitter native app 100mb+ with Twitter lite (PWA) 1.5mb!

Are you ready to create a better user experience?  Do you want to increase your revenue?  Do you want to create a website that is more user friendly and functional?  Whether you need an updated Mobile First architecture or want to take advantage of the latest eCommerce technologies, we can get you there.  It is what we do for our clients.  Everyday.

Please contact us or visit our website for reviews, projects and more information.

If you missed our first post, click ECOMMERCE SHOPPING 2020 – PART 1 – RESPONSIVE DESIGN AND PWA’S

#magento #magento2 #ecommerce #pwa #matt6studios #webdeveloper #webdeveloperusa