Remember when progressive web apps were gonna be the next big thing? KaiOS remembers.
The Website vs. Web App Dichotomy Doesn't Exist | jakelazaroff.com
Submitted 10 months ago by ooli@lemmy.world to technology@lemmy.world
https://jakelazaroff.com/words/the-website-vs-web-app-dichotomy-doesnt-exist/
Comments
LWD@lemm.ee 10 months ago
Deebster@programming.dev 10 months ago
They’d be a lot more of them if iPhone supported the technology better.
I say that a someone who’s pitched Paws to companies, but since many of the managers and owners seem to be in on the Apple ecosystem, demos often aren’t that impressive. Having to answer “kinda” to can they do x questions doesn’t go down well.
ThankYouVeryMuch@kbin.social 10 months ago
I'm using the Kbin pwa on an iPhone and it works much better than I expected it to, I don't know they must have better support now. I think the functionality should be more than enough for many companies and much cheaper than a custom native app
masterspace@lemmy.ca 10 months ago
Notification support for PWAs on iOS should come soon and that’s far and away the biggest showstopper rn.
isVeryLoud@lemmy.ca 10 months ago
PWAs are still a thing, we’re just waiting for Apple to open the walled garden.
I’m excited for PWAs personally as this will allow everyday apps to run on devices not running Android or iOS, like Linux phones.
LWD@lemm.ee 10 months ago
I’m confused about where development of PWAs is even going. Between the two and a half big browsers, only Chrome/Android seem to be adopting them seriously, I’ve seen people complain about Firefox not doing a great job, and I have no idea about Safari (but on iOS, I can see why Apple would have a huge incentive to prevent people from bypassing their Developer account fees)…
ThankYouVeryMuch@kbin.social 10 months ago
I'm right now browsing the fediverse and writing this from the Kbin pwa. It seems to work quite well, with some quirks that I guess could be polished, but overall better experience than most installed apps that should be a website instead
masterspace@lemmy.ca 10 months ago
They’re still a thing. If your work uses Google Chat instead of Slack / Teams the only way to install an app version is as a PWA. A company I recently worked for just got most people to use the Outlook PWA instead of the traditional desktop client, and I frequently use Spotify and Soundcloud’s PWAs.
iOS has been the biggest barrier and the final showstoppers (like notification support) are finally starting to appear.
kaitco@lemmy.world 10 months ago
You know what really irks me? Lately people are using the terms “website” and “app” synonymously and there’s just no reason for it.
I was on the phone with customer service for my grandmother a few weeks ago, and the agent on the phone kept saying that my grandmother needed to go “on the app” to set her router name. I went three rounds with the agent explaining that my 94-year-old grandmother didn’t really have a phone capable getting to the app before I realized that the agent meant website, but was still saying “app”.
The improper usage of the words is far more an issue than the discussion about whether JavaScript is creating an application experience that is no longer a “website”.
I get that my generation is aging out of the “target audience” for tons of things, but I’m willing to stand my ground on this one til the day I die. An app and a website are two different things. 😡
anticonnor@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Another one that gets me is “portal”. I’m often asked to create a this portal or that portal, but once I finally get them to describe the requirements it’s just a standard web form or static web page.
asdfasdfasdf@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Is anything a legit portal? Or are you saying people should just stop using the term altogether? What’s the difference between a portal and a website?
bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 10 months ago
Webapp is pretty well understood though. As long as there has been WWW there have been webapps.
kaitco@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Well that’s just goes back to the crux of the article. At what point is the web_site_ a web_app_?
But, more to the point “app” entered the casual lexicon about 15 years when smartphones became ubiquitous. If you’re speaking to someone and they say “is there a web_site_ I can use, like on a laptop?” and they respond with “yes, there’s an app”, it’s not a matter of webapp versus website, but of lack of understanding that not everything that showcases the internet is an “app”.
masterspace@lemmy.ca 10 months ago
As an engineer who builds web sites / apps, I can assure you that no, they are not two different things.
For instance, the non profit news organization that I’m working for right now has a website, an android app and an iOS app, with all three being created from the exact same code base that is mostly JavaScript files.
Hell if you have to use the Google Chat app for work (their equivalent of slack / teams), you install it by literally just adding the website to your desktop.
VonReposti@feddit.dk 10 months ago
As a software developer a website is not an app and a web app is not an app. A web app is a hybrid solution and calling it just an app is pure confusion for the end users. Always refer to your web app as a website for end users unless you want them to literally install an application.
itsnotits@lemmy.world 10 months ago