Progressive Web App (PWA)

Progressive web apps bridge the gap between websites and native mobile applications. They are accessed through a web browser but can be installed on a device, work without an internet connection, and provide experiences that feel native. PWAs use technologies like service workers for offline functionality, web app manifests for installability, and caching strategies for performance.

AI coding tools can generate PWA configurations, but the resulting implementations often have issues. Service workers might cache incorrectly, causing users to see stale content. The offline experience might be incomplete, with some pages working and others showing error screens. The install prompt might not trigger correctly across different browsers.

Testing a PWA requires going beyond standard web testing. Testers need to verify offline behavior, update mechanisms, installation flow, and push notification delivery. These PWA-specific features are easy to overlook during development and can significantly impact the user experience if they malfunction.