WordPress Progressive Web App (PWA) Guide

Published April 21, 2026

WordPress Progressive Web App (PWA) Guide

A Progressive Web App (PWA) adds app-like capabilities to your WordPress site: offline access, push notifications, a home screen icon, and faster load times via service workers. Users get an app experience without installing from an app store.

PWA Core Technologies

• Service Worker: JavaScript running in the background, intercepting network requests to serve cached content offline
• Web App Manifest: JSON file defining the app name, icons, theme color, and display mode
• HTTPS: Required for PWAs — service workers only work over secure connections

WordPress PWA Plugins

Super PWA: Free, lightweight plugin that adds a manifest and basic service worker. Easiest starting point.

PWA for WP: More advanced — push notifications, custom splash screens, offline page, and multi-platform icon generation.

Progressive WordPress: Developer-friendly plugin with granular service worker caching control.

What to Cache with Service Workers

• App shell (header, footer, CSS, JS): Cache aggressively — these rarely change
• Recent posts: Cache with network-first strategy — try network, fall back to cache
• Images: Cache with cache-first — images rarely change after upload
• API responses: Short cache TTL to balance freshness and offline support

Push Notifications

PWA push notifications re-engage users without an app. They require user permission and work on Android and desktop Chrome. OneSignal for WordPress provides push notification management with a free tier covering up to 10,000 subscribers.

Measuring PWA Quality

Run Lighthouse (Chrome DevTools) on your site to get a PWA score. Aim for 90+ on the PWA audit. Core issues are usually HTTPS problems, missing manifest fields, or service worker errors.