Progressive web apps (or PWAs) enable websites to function more like native mobile apps in exchange for some flexibility. You get native mobile app functionality (or close to it) without all the overhead of app store approvals and tons of platform-specific native code. Users can install a progressive web app to their home screen and launch it just like a native app. However, the app is launched into a pseudo-app frame that has some restrictions and only allows access to pages that are sub-paths of the initial path of...

This is the first in a series of blog posts examining the evolution of web app architecture over the past 10 years. This post examines the forces that have driven the architectural changes and a high-level view of a new architecture. In future posts, we’ll zoom in to details of specific parts of the system.

The standard web application architecture suitable for many organizations has changed drastically in the past 10 years. Back in Heroku’s early days in 2008, a standard web application architecture consisted of a web process type to respond to HTTP requests, a database to persist data, and a worker process type plus Redis to manage a job queue.

Most modern mobile apps depend heavily on the app’s back-end. That’s because many of the expectations users have for mobile apps today -- for the application to work regardless of network connectivity, to notify them when relevant content changes, to have integrations with the social networks they use, for appropriate levels of security, and a hundred other things -- are reliant on the app’s back-end services.

The most common pattern for mobile back-ends we see today is for developers to design, build and maintain their back-end architectures on Heroku. This approach is as flexible as it is powerful, but it requires significant engineering effort. A faster alternative would be to use a...

One of the challenges when starting a mobile app project is deciding what technology stack to use. Should the client app use iOS or Android native, mobile web, or a hybrid? Do the backend in Node, Ruby, or Java? Or skip the backend and use an Mobile Backend-as-a-Service?

To help avoid needing to answer all those on your own we are open sourcing the Heroku Mobile Template. This app provides a full-stack starting point for creating new hybrid mobile apps and deploying them to Heroku.

Heroku has a strong tradition with open source projects. Engineers have dedicated countless hours to the projects that developers count on every day. Open Source Software is in our DNA.

Speaking personally, I’m passionate about building tools like AFNetworking and cupertino, in order to help developers build insanely great experiences for mobile devices. It’s with great pleasure that I introduce something new I’ve been working on:

Helios is an open-source framework that provides essential back-end services for iOS apps. This includes data synchronization, push notifications, in-app purchases, and passbook integration. It allows developers to get a client-server app up-and-running while...