Build a Next.js 16 PWA with true offline support - LogRocket Blog

"Progressive Web Apps are often described as apps that work offline, but in practice, many fall short of that promise. They might load once and cache a few pages, but the moment the network drops, core functionality starts to break. Data stops loading, actions fail silently, and users are left with an interface that technically opens but isn't very useful."

"If you've built a PWA with Next.js and felt underwhelmed by the offline experience, you're not alone. Most tutorials stop at setting up a PWA plugin, adding a manifest, and caching static assets. That's a good start, but it doesn't solve the harder problems around handling real data, user actions, and state changes when the connection is unreliable or completely gone."

"In this article, you'll learn how to build a Next.js 16 PWA that keeps working when the network is slow, flaky, or offline altogether. We'll go beyond the basic app shell approach and focus on what real offline support looks like: deciding what to cache, storing data locally, syncing changes when connectivity returns, and designing an experience that feels dependable rather than fragile."

Progressive Web Apps frequently claim offline capability but often degrade once network connectivity is lost, causing data failures and broken actions. Many PWA setups only cache static assets and an app shell, leaving dynamic data and state transitions unsupported. Building reliable offline PWAs in Next.js 16 requires choosing what to cache, persisting data locally, queuing and syncing user actions when connectivity returns, and designing UX that surfaces offline state and fallback behaviors. An offline-first mental model guides app structure, error handling, and synchronization logic so users retain core functionality during slow, flaky, or absent network conditions.

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