Magento PWA Studio vs Vue Storefront: What’s the best solution for your ecommerce?
The Magento PWA Studio vs Vue Storefront debate is not a new one. Finding the ideal PWA solution can make dramatic changes to your ecommerce store with high scalability, ultra-fast shopping experience, offline shopping etc. So how do you choose the right one? Let’s dig deeper.
As a technology enthusiast, you must be aware of how mobile traffic is becoming as predominant as web traffic. Almost half of the internet now shops from their mobile phones. This is why organizations need to give more focus on developing a native app or optimizing websites for mobile browsing.
However, when you take into consideration the popularity of the web and mobile apps, developing and maintaining a native app can be challenging and expensive. This is where PWA development (Progressive Web Applications) comes into the picture. It is a combination of technology and native apps used through the web. Over the years, it has gained immense recognition and is set to become the most commonly used platform for developing e-shops.
What is PWA development?
In simple terms, PWA is a website that provides a complete impression of a mobile application on a smartphone. PWA development creates app-like features such as offline service, notification, and it can be downloaded from any app store.
Such apps are built with web technologies like HTML, PHP, or JavaScript with the exact functionality and feel of a native app. They are less complex and much quicker to build when compared to a native app.
Realising the potential of PWA, Magento launched the Magento PWA Studio, a set of tools used to develop online sites that function like apps. Another popular choice of open-source technology for launching online shops using PWA is Vue Storefront. However, to find out which is the best option among Magento PWA Studio vs Vue Storefront for your business, you need to look at their features separately.
Magento PWA Studio
It is a collection of tools that lets users develop and maintain a PWA storefront along with Magento 2. So instead of building a separate app/website, PWA develops an app icon on a user’s system. Simply put, it is a website that will perform like a native app with a mobile app experience.
Benefits of Magento PWA Studio
· Easy development, deployment, and maintenance
· Free open-source tool
· Works in offline mode
· Dedicated PWA team
· Reliable Backend
· Cross-browser compatibility
· Fast, secure and responsive
· Handle multiple users from different sources using GraphQL
Drawbacks of Magento PWA Studio
· Release process is slow
· Only available for Magento 2.3X
· Not compatible with an older version
· Validation issues
· Compatible only with Magento backend
· IOS apps don’t work in offline mode
· Lacks comprehensive features
Vue Storefront
It was launched by the Divante group to fill the gaps of PWA in ecommerce. It is an open-source, stand-alone, platform-agnostic developed to build an ecommerce storefront with a streamlined user experience. Its major advantage is that it can connect to any ecommerce backend like Pimcore, Magento etc.
Benefits of Vue Storefront
· Offline Browser Storage
· Open source
· Provides server-side rendering
· Platform independent
· Provides well-equipped PWA solutions
· Built with the latest technology stack
· Multiple features
· Compatible with both Magento 1 and Magento 2
Drawbacks of Vue Storefront
· Built by an independent company
· Lack of proper documentation process
· Unresolved issues with existing ecommerce platforms
· Bothersome installation process
· Feature incompatibilities with the iOS devices
· Does not involve Jquery or other dependencies
· Not feasible with all payment gateways
Comparing Magento PWA Studio vs Vue Storefront based on User Experience
Magento PWA Studio
Customers using Magento PWA have noticed a rise in average order value since the tool offers flexible and easy browsing options. Several big brands are built on Magento PWA. The tool helps them reduce operational costs and increase traction. Some of the noticeable changes most brands see are a rise in ‘pages per session’, faster average page load time, and average response time for servers.
Vue Storefront
Since it was launched before Magento, Vue Storefront has more customers. Some of the observations by its clients regarding the performance levels are an increase in the number of daily visitors, more keywords in the Top 3, and improved loading time.
Wrapping Up
It is an undoubted fact that as far as ecommerce is concerned, PWA will soon become the norm for online shopping sites. Most technology giants have already adopted them, and other businesses are following suit.
When you have to choose between Magento PWA Studio vs Vue Storefront, note that both of them are competent platforms are offer exceptional services. Consider all the pros and cons before making the decision. Make sure that it ticks all the checkboxes related to your business.
