As the name suggests, an Integrated Web App (IWA) is web applications delivered by the Liquid Gears platform which run within a native iOS or Android Mobile App, or as a part of bigger Desktop Web App.
IWAs offer rapid development of highly customisable elements of the app which means that businesses can quickly test, fix and release the components without needing to update the complete app. Think of it as a part of your app which adds additional functionality; it could be an onboarding piece, the login screen, the settings area or a dedicated contact page.
How Does it Work?
Putting together a basic IWA is as simple as zipping up a HTML web page and uploading it to Ubiquity Dashboard. For mobile apps, IWAs are part of the iOS or Android app bundle file, but new versions of each IWA can be distributed to all devices who already have the iOS or Android app installed, simply by uploading a new zip file to your Ubiquity Dashboard account. This is particularly useful during development, giving you the ability to iterate and instantly distribute new features to teammates, testers and customers.
Technology
At its core, an IWA is a web page; you can make it as simple or as complex as you wish. Start with pure content with text and images in HTML, add CSS to brand and improve the presentation, sprinkle some Javascript to drive behaviour and complex interactions and you can rapidly go from basic content to an advance modern-looking application.
The real power comes from the interactions between the IWAs that you create and the Mobile & Web Apps that Liquid Gears provides you with. It solely lies at your discretion about what technology or framework to use for creating your IWA. You could use modern technologies like React, Angular and Vue.js or you can deploy IWAs using simpler Javascript code.
IWA Framework
Liquid Gears has developed a comprehensive IWA framework to let you interact easily with the Mobile & Web Apps, so you can make use of the great features of modern devices: receive push notifications, let users pick photos or documents, get the user’s location (with permission), enable sharing of content from other apps into yours etc.
Our IWA framework starts with a core that is framework or library agnostic (and written in Typescript). On top of this come various libraries and tools to help you out with rapidly putting together the basic infrastructure of a modern app:
- A collection of useful packages and snippets to deal with authentication, communicating with Ubiquity Dashboard, third-party backend integration etc.
- A generator to get your projects on the right foot within seconds.
- Our amazing Atomica User Interface System to create consistent and beautiful experiences.
Automica UI System
Make use of the Atomica UI System to quickly deliver IWAs for interactive mockups, functional Proof-of-Concepts or fully functional apps. The Atomica UI System is a library of pre-coded, but themeable React interface components, thus allowing for a rapid design and deployment of IWAs.
Generator
We’ve gone even further in establishing a productivity pipeline for the creation of applications by providing you with two additional tools: a generator and blueprints. Our Yeoman generator will get you started in no time with the creation of new projects and IWAs. Run the generator, answer a few questions, fill in the settings for your project and your app will be ready to run and be customised.
More Information
For more information and technical details, please refer to our Resources. Feel free to explore the documentation and all the components in the UI System.