Performance

Progressive Web App (PWA)

A Progressive Web App is a web application that uses modern browser features to provide app-like functionality: offline capability, home screen installation, push notifications, and fast loading from cached assets. Shopify stores can achieve some PWA characteristics via service workers.

Why It Matters for Shopify Stores

PWA features improve the experience for returning Shopify customers — particularly fast loading from cache and the ability to add the store to a home screen. However, full PWA implementation on Shopify is complex and rarely necessary for stores under $10M. The Lighthouse PWA audit score is a secondary concern compared to Core Web Vitals performance.

How to Check Your Store

Google Lighthouse includes a PWA audit in Chrome DevTools. Review the Lighthouse > PWA category. A basic manifest.json and service worker are the minimum requirements.

Use the free shopify speed test tool

How to Fix It

For most Shopify stores, focus on Core Web Vitals before PWA. If PWA is a goal, use Shopify's native manifest.webmanifest support and consider a service worker for caching critical assets.

Related Terms

Apple Touch Icon

Shopify

An Apple Touch Icon is the image displayed when a user saves a website to their iPhone or iPad's home screen.

Mobile-First Design

Trust & CRO

Mobile-first design is an approach where the mobile version of a page is designed before the desktop version, recognizing that mobile users represent the majority of traffic.

Browser Caching

Performance

Browser caching stores copies of web assets (images, CSS, JavaScript) on a visitor's device after their first visit, so subsequent page loads retrieve those assets from local storage rather than re-downloading them from the server.

Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals are Google's set of user experience metrics that measure loading performance (LCP), visual stability (CLS), and interactivity (INP).

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