Creating Progressive Web Apps with Flutter and Benefits

Creating-PWAs-with-Flutter

Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) have become increasingly popular in recent years due to their ability to offer a native-like experience to users within a web browser. PWAs can be installed on a user’s device and work offline, providing a seamless experience like that of a traditional mobile application.

Flutter is a popular open-source framework for building high-performance, cross-platform mobile applications for iOS and Android. In addition to mobile apps, Flutter can also be used to build PWAs, making it a versatile choice for developers.

In this article, we will discuss how to create a PWA using Flutter.

Flutter Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) offer several benefits, including:
  • Cross-platform compatibility: Flutter PWAs can run on multiple devices, including desktops, mobile devices, and web browsers, with a single codebase.
  • Improved performance: Flutter PWAs are fast and responsive, providing a native-like user experience to users.
  • Offline functionality: PWAs can work offline or with slow internet connections, which makes them suitable for use in areas with poor connectivity.
  • Improved accessibility: PWAs are accessible to users with disabilities, including those using assistive technologies.
  • Easy to install: PWAs can be installed on the home screen of a device without having to go through an app store.
  • Cost-effective: Developing a PWA with Flutter is more cost-effective than developing a native app for each platform.
  • Easy to maintain: Flutter PWAs are easy to maintain, as updates can be rolled out to all users automatically.
  • Better user engagement: PWAs provide a more seamless and engaging user experience, which can lead to increased user engagement and retention.
  • Increased discoverability: PWAs can be found through search engines, which can make them more discoverable than native apps.
  • Increased security: PWAs are served over HTTPS, which provides an added layer of security and protects user data.
  • Better SEO: PWAs can be indexed by search engines, making them easier to find and increasing visibility.
  • Improved user experience: PWAs provide a fast, seamless, and responsive user experience, which can improve user satisfaction and lead to increased engagement.

Creating-PWAs-with-Flutter

Steps to Create Basic PWAs with Flutter
  • First Step:Install Flutter:

    To get started, you’ll need to install Flutter on your computer. To do this, follow the instructions on the Flutter website: https://flutter.dev/docs/get-started/install

  • Second Step:Create a new Flutter project:

    Open a terminal and run the following command:

    flutter create my_pwa

  • Third Step:Add the web support to your Flutter project:

    To add the web support to your Flutter project, run the following command in the terminal:

    flutter create.

  • Fourth Step:Update the pubspec.yaml file:

    Add the following lines to your pubspec.yaml file to add the web support:

    flutter:
    # The following line ensures that the Material Icons font is
    # included with your application, so that you can use the icons in
    # the material Icons class.
    uses-material-design: true
    assets:
    – assets/icon.png
    # The following line adds support for web.
    web:
    # The following line allows the use of `index.html` as the default web
    # entrypoint.
    include:
    – web/index.html

  • Fifth Step:Create a new index.html file:

    To create a new index.html file, run the following command in the terminal:

    flutter build web

  • Sixth Step:Create a new Dart file:

    To create a new Dart file, create a new file in your lib directory called main.dart.

  • Seventh Step:Add the following code to your main.dart file:

    import ‘package:flutter/material.dart’;
    void main() => runApp(MyApp());
    class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
    @override
    Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return MaterialApp(
    title: ‘My PWA’,
    home: Scaffold(
    appBar: AppBar(
    title: Text(‘My PWA’),
    ),
    body: Center(
    child: Text(‘Hello World’),
    ),
    ),
    );
    }
    }

  • Eighth Step:Add a Service Worker to cache all of the assets in the app:

    Create a new file in your web directory called service-worker.js and add the following code to it:


    let deferredPrompt;
    // This code listens for the beforeinstallprompt event.
    window.addEventListener('beforeinstallprompt', (e) => {
    e.preventDefault();
    deferredPrompt = e;
    deferredPrompt.prompt();
    deferredPrompt.userChoice.then((choiceResult) => {
    if (choiceResult.outcome === 'accepted') {
    console.log('User accepted the A2HS prompt');
    } else {
    console.log('User dismissed the A2HS prompt');
    }
    deferredPrompt = null;
    });
    });
    // This code caches all of the assets in the app.
    self.addEventListener('install', (e) => {
    e.waitUntil(
    caches.open('my-pwa-cache').then
    (cache => {
    return cache.addAll([
    '/',
    '/index.html',
    '/main.dart.js',
    '/assets/icon.png'
    ]);
    })
    );
    });
    // This code fetches the assets from the cache.
    self.addEventListener('fetch', event => {
    event.respondWith(
    caches.match(event.request).then(response => {
    return response || fetch(event.request);
    })
    );
    });

  • Ninth Step:Register the Service Worker in ‘index.html’:

    Add the following code to your ‘index.html’ file to register the Service Worker:

    if ('serviceWorker' in navigator) {
    window.addEventListener('load', function () {
    navigator.serviceWorker.register('/service-worker.js').then(function (registration) {
    console.log('ServiceWorker registration successful with scope: ', registration.scope);
    }, function (err) {
    console.log('ServiceWorker registration failed: ', err);
    });
    });
    }

  • Tenth Step:Build and run the PWA:

    To build and run the PWA, run the following command in the terminal:

    flutter run-d chrome

  • Eleventh Step:Deploy your PWA to the web:

    To deploy your PWA to the web, you can use a platform like Firebase or GitHub Pages.

    The steps to deploy will vary depending on the platform you choose.

    Congratulations! You have now created a PWA using Flutter. You can continue to develop and customize your PWA as you see fit.

Summary:

Building Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) with Flutter offers many benefits to developers and users alike.

PWAs are cross-platform compatible, fast, responsive, offline functional, accessible, easy to install, cost-effective, and secure.

By following the steps outlined in this article, you can create a basic PWA using Flutter and take advantage of these benefits.

With Flutter, developers can create high-performance PWAs that offer a native-like experience to users and provide an improved user experience, increased security, and better SEO.

So, we can say, using Flutter to build PWAs is a versatile and cost-effective option for developers looking to create engaging and accessible web applications.

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