Web apps on Windows are getting nearer to their native counterparts

Progressive net apps on Windows look extra like native Windows apps than ever earlier than. Thanks to a brand new function that Microsoft simply introduced, the Window Controls Overlay, builders can now customise the title bar of their PWAs.

Previously, net apps didn’t have entry to this function, which may result in empty house, clashing colours, and different oddities that made some PWAs look decidedly un-app-like. The new function ought to assist builders repair these issues. Web apps now have entry to the “full surface area” of their app window, excluding solely the buttons within the top-right nook — decrease, and so forth. stay untouchable.

“Recently, with many new web capabilities in the Chromium browser engine and UX changes in Microsoft Edge and on Windows, installed desktop web apps are really starting to look and feel like native apps,” writes senior program supervisor Patrick Brosset in a blog post for Microsoft. “While native apps have been able to display content anywhere in the app window, including in the title bar, installed web apps have been forced to go with the default experience, making them visually different. We’re excited to announce the availability of a new PWA feature that closes this gap and helps blur the line between apps and websites even more.”

This is probably not surprising information to anybody who recurrently makes use of PWAs. Microsoft builders initially proposed the function in January 2020, showcasing it with a demo web app. Chrome started supporting the Window Controls Overlay as a beta function in April, and the function made it into Chrome 105 again in August. With Chrome and Edge each now supporting the software, it looks as if this new search for net apps might turn into pretty widespread.

“We believe PWAs are a great fit for making desktop web applications. Turning your website into an app that really feels like it belongs on desktop has never been so easy and using the Window Controls Overlay feature will help you create desktop apps that look much more modern and engaging to your users,” Microsoft’s put up reads.