In many businesses, much of the work does not happen at a desk: on-site surveys, call-outs, receiving goods, the entrance of an event. That is where the paper comes in, the photos in the phone's gallery, the message to someone – and in the evening, typing it all in at the computer.
A website does not help with that. A website is for your clients: it introduces you, convinces, brings in inquiries. It is not meant for your team to work with on site. That is what a web app on the phone is for.
What is a PWA – in plain words
A web app that behaves like a phone app: it has an icon on the home screen, opens full screen, and keeps working when the signal is weak. It needs no App Store or Google Play: you send a link, and one tap puts it on the phone.
Its name is Progressive Web App, PWA for short – but the people using it do not need to know any of that. To them it is simply "the job sheet app".
Where it helps in practice
Wherever there is paper, photos and typing things in afterwards today. A few typical situations:
- On-site surveys and job sheets. You fill it in on the phone, attach photos, the client signs with a finger – and the office already sees it.
- Receiving goods and stocktaking. You photograph what you received with the phone's camera, and the item goes straight into the system.
- Call-outs. The day's tasks in order, with addresses; one tap opens the route on the map.
- Events or reception. Checking attendees at the entrance, without a printed list.
The point is the same every time: data is recorded where it is created, and nobody has to type it in again.
No signal? No problem
In a basement, in the middle of a large hall or on the edge of town, the signal is often poor. A well-built web app lets you keep working: it saves what you recorded and sends it on by itself as soon as there is a connection again. Nothing has to be filled in twice, and nothing gets lost.
Camera, location, notifications
A web app can use the phone's camera, the location with permission, and it can send notifications – for example when you get a new task, or when a call-out is waiting tomorrow morning. On an iPhone, notifications need the app to be added to the home screen; we set that up once when it is introduced.
Why not a "real" app?
- One build, every device. The same app works on iPhone, Android, tablet and computer – no separate version for each.
- No store approval. Fixes and new features reach everyone immediately; nobody has to update anything.
- The same system as the office. The phone interface is part of the back office, so whatever is recorded on site lives in the same place as invoicing and deadlines.
Sometimes a native app is still the right choice: if you really need to be in the App Store, or you need a special phone capability the browser cannot reach (for example certain NFC or Bluetooth devices on an iPhone). We look at this at the start, and if that is your case, I will say so.
How to get started
Write down which steps happen away from the computer today – on paper, in messages, in photos – and what someone then has to type in. That list shows where a phone interface would help most.
If you are curious what could be solved this way for you, see the back-office development details or write a few lines about how you work – I will reply with a concrete suggestion.