Google AdSense And Progressive Web Applications (PWA)

Google recently announced migrating their AdSense app for Android and iOS to a Progressive Web Application (PWA) that will work across all platforms, even including the mobile web interface

Johnson Huynh

Published: July 18, 2019

Modified: June 20, 2020 (5 years ago)

Progressive Web Apps (PWA) are the future and Google is leading the way with their AdSense application

The company is intending to deprecate their AdSense app for Android and iOS by the end of 2019. This may bring initial concerns to some, but there is definitely nothing to worry about! Google Adsense as a PWA will actually bring in many great benefits for everyone.

What is a Progressive Web App (PWA)?

If you don't know what a Progressive Web Application is, it is basically a dynamic website that gives the experience of a traditional or native application. PWAs are reliable, fast, and engaging. They load quickly and respond almost instantly to user interactions, just as if you are on an Android and iOS application. Once you have loaded all the contents, the application can also work offline too!

Ventrips is a Progressive Web App? No Way!

In fact, this website that you are on right now is actually a Progressive Web Application! The greatest thing about PWAs is that you don't have to install anything from the app store because they are entirely built from HTML, CSS, and Javascript. This means you can go on your mobile browser or desktop browser to view this application. And if you ever find yourself frequently visiting the website, you can simply bookmark it to your Home Screen. This will then offer you the full-on look, feel, and silky-smooth experience of a native application.

If you are on a mobile device, try adding https://www.ventrips.com to your Home Screen to see what I mean. (Psst... Come on... You know you want to! 😉)

Note: PWAs are still a fairly new web technology, so they may not work as expected just yet. It was only last year in 2018 that Safari and Opera announced their support for Progressive Web Apps. Based on my experience, I currently have to re-add my PWA back to my Home Screen if I want to see any new code changes because they have been cached. This can be faster than installing an update from the App Store, but how will users know when to re-add the PWA back to their Home Screen whenever there are major updates? I say give it some time and this will eventually get resolved. PWAs are still the future!

Benefits of Progressive Web Apps

The main goal of Progressive Web Apps is that they can work across all different browsers, screen sizes, platforms, and devices. For users, they will have the convenience and flexibility to access the application any where or any way they like. For companies, they won't have to separately build and manage their product on different platforms (i.e. Android, iOS, Web, etc). They can now just focus on building a single website that will work smoothly across all platforms and devices.

AdSense serving as a Progressive Web Application is a win-win for both users and Google!