Why do you need a user to install your progressive web app? To make it easier for them to return to your site. If installing an Android app requires at least three additional actions (redirect to Play Store, download, restart the Android app at the top of the funnel), installing a progressive web app is seamless with a single click and does not distract the user from the current conversion funnel.
The installation process should be simple
Once the progressive web app is installed, the user can launch it by clicking the icon on the home screen. In addition, it will appear in the app bar when switching between apps and users can find it using the app search feature. We call such an app a dynamic Discover-Launch-Switch app, and the ability to install a progressive web app makes it easy to access.
In addition to being accessible through the familiar discovery and launch surfaces on the device, the progressive web app runs just like apps built for the platform: offline, separate from the browser. It also uses OS-level device services, such as the app switcher, and device settings.
People who install a progressive web app are likely to be your most engaged users with higher engagement metrics than casual visitors. The list of benefits includes more repeat visits, more time spent on the site, and higher conversion rates, which often equal those for users of apps built for platforms, on mobile devices.
For a progressive web app to be installed, it must meet basic criteria. If it meets these criteria, you will be able to offer to install it in the UI on computers and mobile devices, including iOS devices.
Progressive web apps can be installed everywhere
Once you start offering to install your progressive web app, you need to determine how many users are installing it and how they are using it.
To get your site installed by the maximum number of users, you can try using different advertising messages (e.g. “install in one second” or “add our shortcut to follow your order”), different placements (in the banner in the header, in the feed). Also, try offering it at different stages of the funnel (on the second page visited or after booking).
To understand where your users are going and how to increase their retention rate, you can measure the characteristics of the installation funnel in the four ways listed below.
The number of users who qualify to install a web app
The number of users who clicked the offer to install the app in the UI
Number of users who agreed to install and then declined
The number of users who successfully installed the web app
Measuring the benefit of the installation
An interesting use case related to Weekendesk: in order to maximize the installation rate, it suggests installing the web application on the second page visited. As a result, the company noticed that customers who returned using the icon on their home screen were more than twice as likely to book rooms with them.
For users who installed the web app, there was a 2.5 times higher conversion rate
Installing a progressive web app is a great way to keep visitors coming back to your site and increase customer loyalty. You can also think about personalizing the interface for these premium users.
If you already have an app built for the platform, you can offer it first and then offer a progressive web app to those who have refused to install the main app or have not responded to the app installation banner. Some of your “partially engaged” users may not meet the threshold for installing the app from the app store. This cohort of users can be offered the option to install a progressive web app, which is often perceived as an easier and less demanding process.