Preface

I’ve been fortunate to have been a web developer for almost 15 years now. The web has changed a lot since I first started out, and with each year that passes, it feels like it’s getting better and better.

About five years ago, I was sitting in a conference room listening to Google’s Alex Russell talk about Service Workers and how they were the next big thing that was going to change the web. Many people in the audience (me included) weren’t too sure about this newfangled feature and the benefits it might bring to the web. But true to his word, Service Workers and now Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are here to stay and have forever changed the web for good.

I remember when I first started experimenting with PWAs. At first, things seemed a little complicated, but as soon as I wrote my first working Service Worker it all seemed to click. That “a-ha!” moment struck, and I realized how powerful these features could really be. Ever since then, I’ve been hooked.

I’m wholly passionate about web performance and producing fast web pages that delight users. In fact, many years ago, I wrote a book with Manning about web performance and ASP.NET websites (who knew, right?) For me personally, the best thing about PWAs is that they help you build fast, resilient, and engaging web applications that delight your users. By the time you’re finished reading this book, I hope that you too have that “a-ha!” moment and that you’re as passionate about PWAs as I am.