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WebView CG - Chinese Community Survey

TPAC 2024
Anaheim CA, USA
hybrid meeting
24 SEPTEMBER 2024

WebViews Survey for the Chinese Community

The W3C WebView Community Group (CG) created a survey with the objective of identifying, understanding the issues arising from WebViews (apps that render Web technology-based content outside a Web browser). The CG appreciated the input of 34 anonymous developers and experts who took part in the survey.

The survey ran for over a month (until September 15^th 2024) with the kind support of W3C China. This presentation summarizes the insights of those 34 replies. (Spreadsheet)

#1. Is the majority of your users using WebViews or browsers to run your web application(s)?

Most of developers use WebViews (20), 11 respondents use browser and 3 only native

The description of the pie chart, here as a table:

Options	Replies
WebViews	20
Browsers	11
None (native only)	3

2. What do you use WebView for?

Hybrid apps (76%), Mini apps (52%), Browser apps (29%) are the top preferred options

The description of the pie chart, here as a table:

Options	Replies
Hybrid apps (Apache Cordova, Capacitor...)	26
Mini apps	18
Browser apps	12
Internal/Information pages	10
Offline web content	5
External links	4
Ads	3

3. What WebView features do you use?

JavaScript Injection (85%) and WebStorage (64%) are the most selected options

The description of the pie chart, here as a table:

Options	Replies
JavaScript Injection	29
WebStorage (localStorage, sessionStorage...)	22
Cookies	18
CSS Injection	17
Video playback	17
WebSockets	10
webRTC	1
offscreencanvas	1

This includes the replies to the question #4 (other...)

5. What are your top pain points with using WebView?

Inconsistency (23) and Performance (16) are the top pain points

The description of the pie chart, here as a table:

Options	Replies
Inconsistency	23
Performance	16
WebView bug	14
Lack of web functionality	8
Safety	5
Memory comsuption	2
Lack of updates & new features	1
Lack of extensibility to native alignment	1

This includes the replies to the question #6 (other...)

7. What specific platforms do you develop on?

Android (22), iOS (20) and Windows (16) are the top platforms used

The description of the pie chart, here as a table:

Options	Replies
Android	22
iOS	20
Windows	16
macOS	15
Linux	7
HarmonyOS	5
other	2

9. Which WebView implementation do you use?

Android WebView (24), WKWebView (16), WebView2 (12), and X5 (Tencent) (10) are the top implementations used

The description of the pie chart, here as a table:

Options	Replies
Android WebView	24
WKWebView	16
WebView2	12
X5 (Tencent)	10
ArkWeb (HarmonyOS)	4
UIWebView	4
Custom Tabs	3
SFSafariViewController	3
UCWebView	1
JxBrowser	1
other	1

This includes the replies to the question #10 (other...)

11. Do you know how to file bugs, search for documentation about WebView?

Five respondents know how to do it, 19 don't

The description of the pie chart, here as a table:

Options	Replies
Yes	5
No	19
Not sure	10

12. Do you feel WebView documentation is adequate?

Fourteen respondents replied 'yes', 10 'no', and 10 don't know

The description of the pie chart, here as a table:

Options	Replies
Yes, enough	14
No, not enough	10
Not sure	10

13. Documentation missing

Challenge found	Replies
Scarce documentation in MDN on WebViews	2
No standard documentation	2
WebViews loading mechanism	1
Performance optimization	1
How web features are implemented and the influence of the native environment in the webview	1
Limitations and restrictions of WebViews	1
How to build homogeneous layouts in different platforms	1
Existing documentation relative old	1

14. How do you keep track of web platform features that are available in WebViews?

Social Media (16), Blogs (14), Release Notes (13), Announcements (13)

The description of the pie chart, here as a table:

Options	Replies
Social Media	16
Blogs	14
Release Notes	13
Announcements	13
other	1

16. What programming language is utilized in your embedding solution?

Top one is JS (with 7); Swift and Java (with 2), also with one response: .net Core, ArkTS, Kotlin multiplatform, OCaml, JSPy, Rust

The description of the pie chart, here as a table:

Options	Replies
JS	7
Swift	2
Java	2
.net Core	1
ArkTS	1
Kotlin multiplatform	1
OCaml	1
JSPy	1
Rust	1

17. How are you achieving consistent behavior and rendering across different platforms and devices using WebView ?

Forcing users to upgrade
JS Bridge
Vue + component library
Using native capabilities, or using JS packages to smooth out differences
A cross-platform layer on top
HTTPS proxy to inject shims; restrict usage patterns to reduce differences
Electron
Smoothing original side
Uni-App (framework)

12. What approaches do you take to test WebViews for consistency across devices & platforms?

Approach	Mentions
Manual testing on different devices	5
Using only web standards	1
Regression Testing	1
Automatic testing with Playwright, Appium	1
Debugging with https://eruda.liriliri.io	1
End to end testing	1

19. Are there features or functionality missing from PWAs that if added would motivate you to maintaining a PWA instead of your WebView-based solution?

More PWA support in general (x2 mentions)
JS Injection
Printing API
MiniApp support
Filesystem API
Local exec()
Bluetooth API...
Sensors APIs
Multi-window capabilities
Yes :-)

20. How do you decide when to use a WebView vs navigating to a browser app?

Options	Mentions
Keep experience within the app	2
When all the pages are managed by the webview	2
When the user does not want to use the browser	1
If data interaction is required with the native app	1
When the the browser sandbox is reached	1

21. How do you work around some of the shortcomings of WebView today?

Options	Mentions
Avoiding using WebViews	2
Asking the community	1
Relying on "advanced technology"	1
Searching info and using examples	1

22. What are your thoughts about WebView from a privacy and security point of view?

Thoughts	Mentions
No opinion	3
"Profile needs to be promoted as a standard"	1
There are too many and too easy ways to bypass vulnerabilities	1

23. Are there features of functionality missing in the WebView you use? (e.g., prerender, WebviewPool,...)

Four respondents mentioned Pre-rendering. Two, WebView Pool. The rest: quicker startup, Efficient communication and Native UI interoperability

The description of the pie chart, here as a table:

Options	Replies
Pre-rendering	4
WebView Pool	2
Quicker startup	1
Efficient communication	1
Native UI interoperability	1