Why we needed a new way to build websites

When Apple released the iPhone in 2007, they initially intended that applications to be built using HTML. They provided an initial platform to create web applications. However, Mac developers cried put for a better native application solution and Apple answered. Apple did so with the caveat of taking 30% of the application's revenue and controlling the applications that were distributed through a closed App Store.

The closed App Store violates the openness of the web by introducing a third-party gatekeeper. This creates a layer of delay as Apple reviews your application. The review process can result in your application being censored or denied entry. The one advantage App Store offers is a sense of security and trustworthiness for consumers.

To make the App Store model interesting for Apple, they decided to take a big cut for tax-native applications. In return, Apple handles all payment and distribution infrastructure for applications. However, the web has not had a problem collecting money from consumers, nor a distribution issue.

Credit card merchant accounts typically take 2% to 3% of a transaction. Hosting has become a cheap commodity, often costing $10 or less a month for most websites.

The next perceived problem the web has suffered from is performance. Performance issues are amplified on mobile devices. Smartphones and tablets have underpowered CPUs compared to their desktop counterparts. And while more mobile devices use WiFi, cellular connections, even in the developed world, are still unreliable.

When the iPhone was first released, the web was still very static compared to what we experience today. Up to that point, the web was not a platform with animations and dynamic content.

Over the last decade, rich user experiences have become commonplace on the web with the rise of single page applications and many large frameworks. These changes have been driven in large part due to the user experiences consumers have come to expect from many native applications.

Many developers have tried to hack their way to mimicking native application experiences on mobile devices. This has led to some good progress as well as some bad experiences and coding practices.

Most bad experiences are due to a lack of awareness of the available APIs and how to use them. Poor coding techniques have also created more issues than perceived value.

A common mistake I have seen a lot is the application of server-side architecture in the browser. While outside the scope of this book, it is important to note that for a good modern web user experience, you may have to let go of preconceived notions of how to develop websites.

A prime example of misunderstanding how to use the web platform and the capability gap can be demonstrated by an interview in 2012 with Mark Zuckerberg, at a Tech Crunch event. You can check out the following link for the article: http://tcrn.ch/2hwN6HF

Facebook tried to make the web its primary platform, but due to many engineering mistakes and browser/hardware limitations, they failed. At that point, they switched to native apps as a primary focus and have since created a very large, walled off community of data and interactions.

As you will see later in this book, Facebook dominates the mobile native application space. This leaves very little room for anybody else to gain screen time.

This is where PWAs can empower businesses and organizations to engage with consumers at a deeper level. This book is designed to give you the tools and knowledge to create PWAs to reach consumers for less money and effort. The web possesses several superpowers that native applications can't touch. Now, with emerging native APIs, the web surpasses native applications.