What is PWA (Progressive Web App)?
Turkish: PWA
A PWA uses a service worker, web app manifest, and responsive design to make a website installable, resilient, and closer to an app experience.
What is a PWA?
A PWA (Progressive Web App) is an approach that lets a website behave more like an application while still using web technologies. Users open it in the browser, can add it to the home screen, may access some screens offline, and can receive push notifications when supported.
PWA is not the name of a framework. The web app manifest defines the app’s name, icons, and display behavior. The service worker intercepts network requests and manages caching, offline fallback pages, and background updates. HTTPS is usually a required foundation.
When It Fits
PWAs are strong for catalogs, portals, field-team forms, news, learning, and lightweight e-commerce experiences. They are useful when users should get fast access without going through an app store installation. Native apps may still be the better choice for Bluetooth, heavy background work, advanced device APIs, or strict native performance requirements.
Business Use
The most important design choice in a PWA is the caching strategy. Incorrect caching can show old prices or inventory to users; a correct strategy speeds up repeat visits and preserves core flows on weak connections.
A service worker is the technical core of a PWA; it can be used with an SPA architecture, but not every SPA is automatically a PWA.
Related Terms
A hybrid app is built with web technologies inside a native container, sharing one codebase while accessing mobile device features.
IndexedDBIndexedDB is a browser database for storing large structured data persistently with indexes and asynchronous access.
Push NotificationA push notification is an app message delivered to a user's device through a permission and subscription flow, even when the app is closed.
Service WorkerA service worker is a browser script that runs separately from the page, intercepting requests to manage caching, push, and offline behavior.
SPA (Single Page Application)An SPA updates the interface without full page reloads after the first HTML load, using JavaScript routing and API-driven data.