How to Build PWAs Using Laravel: A Step-by-Step Guide for Enhanced UX

Progressive Web Applications (PWAs) help make websites work like mobile apps and provide a smooth experience on different devices. When you combine PWAs with Laravel, your website can look and function like an application while maintaining all regular website features.

Studies show that PWAs can improve site performance by 65%, with an average load time of just 2.75 seconds. They can also boost user engagement by 70% and increase website traffic by 66%. With a PWA, users can install your website on their home screen, access it offline, and receive push notifications. I will walk you through the steps to build PWAs using Laravel in this guide.

Steps to Build PWAs Using Laravel

With PWAs in Laravel, you can make your web app work on both mobile and desktop without needing to write a lot of code for different platforms. We will see the steps to build PWAs using Laravel.

Step 1: Set Up Your Development Environment

Before diving into the code, ensure you have a proper development environment set up:

Install Laravel: If you havenot installed Laravel yet, you can install using Composer. Open your command line interface and run:

bash
composer global require laravel/installer

Create a New Laravel Project: Create a new Laravel project by running:

bash
laravel new pwa-app

Navigate to Your Project Directory: Change into your project directory:

bash
cd pwa-app

Step 2: Install the Laravel PWA Package

To transform your Laravel application into a PWA, you will need to install a dedicated package. One of the most popular packages is ladumor/laravel-pwa. To install it, run:

bash
composer require ladumor/laravel-pwa

After installation, if you are using Laravel version 6 or later, you can skip adding the service provider and facade manually as they are auto-discoverable. If you are on an earlier version, add the following lines to your config/app.php:

In the providers array:

php
LadumorLaravelPwaPWAServiceProvider::class,

In the aliases array:

php
'LaravelPwa' => LadumorLaravelPwaLaravelPwa::class,

Step 3: Publish Configuration Files

Next, publish the configuration files necessary for your PWA setup by running:

bash
php artisan laravel-pwa:publish

This command will create several files in your public directory, including manifest.json, service-worker.js, and an offline page.

Step 4: Configure Your Manifest File

The manifest file is crucial for defining how your PWA appears on users’ devices. Open the published manifest.json file located in the public directory and customize it with your app’s details such as name, short_name, start_url, display type, and icons.

Example of manifest.json:

json

  "name": "My PWA App",
  "short_name": "PWA",
  "start_url": "https://techplanet.today/",
  "display": "standalone",
  "background_color": "#ffffff",
  "theme_color": "#317EFB",
  "icons": [
    
      "src": "icon-192x192.png",
      "sizes": "192x192",
      "type": "image/png"
    ,
    
      "src": "icon-512x512.png",
      "sizes": "512x512",
      "type": "image/png"
    
  ]

Step 5: Implement Service Worker

The service worker is at the heart of any PWA. It enables offline functionality and caching of assets. The package automatically generates a basic service worker file. You can customize it to implement specific caching strategies or background sync features.

For example, you might want to cache certain assets for offline use:

javascript
self.addEventListener('install', function(event) 
    event.waitUntil(
        caches.open('my-cache').then(function(cache) 
            return cache.addAll([
                "https://techplanet.today/",
                '/css/app.css',
                '/js/app.js',
                '/offline.html'
            ]);
        )
    );
);

Step 6: Update Your Blade Views

To link everything together, you need to include references to your manifest and service worker in your main Blade layout file. Add the following lines within the < head > section:

xml
<link rel="manifest" href="https://techplanet.today/post/ asset("manifest.json') ">
<script>
    if ('serviceWorker' in navigator) 
        window.addEventListener('load', function() 
            navigator.serviceWorker.register('/service-worker.js').then(function(registration) 
                console.log('Service Worker registered with scope:', registration.scope);
            );
        );
    
</script>

Step 7: Test Your PWA

• To see your PWA in action:
• Start your local development server:

bash
php artisan serve

• Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:8000.
• Use Chrome DevTools (F12) to inspect the application tab where you can see service workers and manifest details.
• Test offline functionality by going offline in DevTools and refreshing the page.

Conclusion

Creating a Progressive Web Application (PWA) with Laravel is easy because Laravel has many helpful tools and libraries. This step-by-step guide to build PWAs using Laravel will show you how to build a PWA that works offline, sends push notifications, and looks like an app. PWAs are becoming more popular and using their features can greatly benefit both your users and your business. Most of the companies hire Laravel developers to build PWAs and make the most of web and mobile technologies.