Soon, Microsoft Edge will have buttons on websites that let users directly install a related web app
The functionality works on Progressive Web Apps
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According to a post by Leopeva64 on X (formerly known as Twitter), Microsoft Edge is working on a feature within the browser that can make discovering and installing web apps easy.
The feature will let websites have buttons that allow users to install a related web app directly. It builds upon Progressive Web Apps (PWAs).
PWAs are generally web applications that utilize web techs such as JavaScript, HTML, or CSS but provide an app-like experience.
These apps can be installed on your device, which makes them more accessible. They may even work offline in certain situations.
With this designated install app on websites, you can easily shift your preferred web experiences into app-like functionalities on your device.
Implementing Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) on a website can be quite useful. For starters, you can discover handy web apps you might not have known about before while perusing a website’s selection of installable options, thereby enhancing your app discovery experience.
Another benefit could be their ability to provide a more app-like experience than accessing a website using a browser, hence a more seamless experience.
Furthermore, certain PWAs also come with offline functionality, which will allow you to access content when your internet connection is not stable or unavailable, thereby enhancing accessibility.
Now that we know how useful and convenient installable web apps are for you, let’s look at the potential drawbacks. Expanding these apps could result in clutter, as you may install many of them indiscriminately, similar to what usually happens on our phones.
To conclude, this upcoming feature is being tested to make PWAs more discoverable and easy to use. Once it is live, it will prove to be useful, but you may have to think critically about how many PWAs you should install to avoid cluttering your device.
Will this feature be useful for you? Share your thoughts with our readers in the comments section below.
