Five of our Inchooers went to support, network and learn something at Meet Magento Italy. Inchooers Hrvoje, Ivan, Zelimir, Nenad, and Tomislav packed their bags and visited the dreamy city of Venice.
Nenad even had a special mission – to get on the #MM18IT’s stage and talk about PWA. He was explaining PWA as a concept in the context of Magento.
In this interview with the guys, you can read about the trip, the takeaways from Nenad’s lecture and about Inchoo’s plans with PWA. For this last matter, if it’s TLDR; we’re dedicating almost the entire development track of Meet Magento Croatia to PWA! 🙂
Hrvoje, how was Italy? Did you have fun or was it all just business?
We had an amazing time in Italy. It was a good combination of fun and business. The first two days we were at the conference where we spent some quality time listening to interesting topics and hanging out with the people from Magento community. After Nenad’s speech, which was also the last speech of the conference, we went out to celebrate and had a couple of drinks. The third day was reserved for some sightseeing so we visited the old town of Venice. Needless to say, Venice is a beautiful and unique place.
Ivan, this was your first Meet Magento event. What do you think of the conference and the Magento community in general?
The conference was great because we had a chance to see, listen, and talk to people that you usually see only online after searching Magento topics. The Magento community is very friendly and approachable. I got a feeling that everyone knows each other, and even if you are new there someone will approach you and talk about anything.
Zelimir, this is not your first MM conference, right? You have been on some very interesting events in Greece, France, Serbia, Croatia etc. With all those experiences in mind, what would you say was the best thing or should I say what struck you the most in Italy?
Well, that is an extremely tricky question, simply because everything was really good! I know, it sounds a lot like a cliche, but honestly, singling out one thing would be impossible. For starters, the MM18IT organization was a spot on – Webformat did a very good job yet again. The venue where the conference took place (NH Laguna Palace) was amazing – having a party on the waterfront with marina behind you was so cool. The speakers were great, and there was so much to learn. Picking which lectures to attend across 3 different tracks has proven to be a tough choice.
The city of Venice is a story of its own, and I believe that I can not say anything that has not been said already. We enjoyed walking around, sightseeing and then enjoying coffee at the small cafes in back alleys. But what struck me the most was the people! Where ever we came we felt very much welcomed. We visited some really cool places and met some very interesting people. It has been a long time since I have been so amazed by anything. Altogether, I can say that I could easily adapt to Venetian style of living.
Nenad, you were one of the speakers. For those who didn’t get the chance to attend MM18IT, what would you single out as a key takeaway(s) from your “Story about PWA and Magento” lecture?
Frontend world has been a “mess” for the last few years, with all the new technologies/approaches being introduced almost on the daily basis. It’s hard for a Developer to track all of the new things and play with them, especially if you are working in a specific industry with the specific set of technologies.
A few words about headless and @DEITY_pwa / @NenadAndrakovic on #mm18it stage ? pic.twitter.com/cSQ4jumGR9
— Monika Konieczna (@mbkonieczna) May 25, 2018
In my speech, I tried to explain PWA as a concept and put it in context of Magento.
Biggest takeaways are :
1. PWA is just a term, an “umbrella” that represents a set of modern technologies you can use to build your website. Today, PWA is one thing, tomorrow it can be something totally different. There is an “official” definition of what PWA stands for, but I think it is doesn’t quite explain the main idea behind PWA which is :
“Use most advanced technologies that are at your disposal and are supported by the majority of the browsers and build top experience for your visitors. “
It is as simple as that.2. It is same with Magento PWA studio – it delivers technology stack you can use, it defines standards and provides good documentation. You are not forced to use it, though.
3. It doesn’t have to be something already built – you can take your own path and try to create your own PWA solution. Currently, many people from community are building or partnering with others to build good PWA solutions. Currently, one of most advanced ones is Deity which was also presented in my speech.
Tomislav, Inchoo is investing a lot to get up to speed with PWA for some time now. Almost whole Development track at Meet Magento Croatia will be devoted to it! Do you think that merchants realize how important and valuable PWA can be?
Progressive Web Apps are a new way to deliver an amazing user experience to the web. With each new day, we see many popular websites embracing these technologies.
However, not many merchants are aware of the PWA and what can they bring. Besides, eCommerce is only starting to heat up about the topic, so only a dozen solution providers are ready to propose whole packaged solutions.
For the next couple of months, we will see many agencies starting to experiment with PWA. By the end of the year, I expect some development standards to start taking shape. One of them is Deity, Inchoo partnered with.
Good times at #MM18IT! Met again some friends and met some new guys in person. pic.twitter.com/d9X67qEMrN
— Tomislav Bilic (@tomislavbilic) May 25, 2018
We are now in exciting times when frontend could enter a new era after responsive sites became a standard. Interest in PWA is becoming larger with each day and this is the reason why we chose it as the focus of development track for Meet Magento Croatia 2018.
I would like to invite every developer or agencies interested in the PWA to register for the MM18HR conference and visit our hometown in September, 28-29. At the conference, we will discuss supporting technologies, organizational changes PWA could bring to our companies, the revolution of the role of frontend developer and many other. Seats are limited, so hurry to get your ticket TODAY!
