🧩 Why Your Daily Rosary App’s New Look Isn’t Showing

You launch your Daily Rosary App, a Progressive Web App (PWA) for prayer, and today’s Glorious Mysteries load fresh from the API. But that new “Play Audio” button or soothing blue background you added? Nowhere to be seen!

Your app’s service worker caches files like index.html and styles.css for speed and offline use, which can delay structural updates. Many developers turn to Workbox, but my custom service worker for the Daily Rosary App gets the job done.

Let’s uncover why updates lag, how my approach (plus a simple device restart) fixes it, and share code snippets and tips to keep your app fresh!

Why Are New Buttons and Colors Stuck?

Picture your PWA as a prayer journal: the service worker, your journal’s keeper, stores files like styles.css, js_today_rosary.js, and audio (e.g., audio-rosary-joyful-mysteries.txt.wav) to make the app fast and offline-ready.

For the Daily Rosary App, prayers update daily via an API, but static files are cached, showing old designs until the service worker refreshes. It’s like reading today’s prayers in last week’s journal!

Why Structural Updates Lag

Your app’s prayers update daily, but new buttons or colors don’t show because:

Cached Static Files: The service worker serves old versions of index.html or styles.css for speed.
Cache-First Fetch: Non-API requests prioritize cached files, missing your new button’s code.
Waiting Service Worker: A new service worker is installed, but waits until old tabs close.
No User Action: Users don’t know to refresh or restart, so they see the old design.

My custom service worker is lean and effective, but we can tweak it—and add a device restart trick—to show updates instantly!

My Trick to Show New Designs Fast

For the Daily Rosary App, I use a custom service worker (version dailyrosary-v7.23.2025) to cache files and fetch fresh prayers. To ensure structural changes appear, I rely on a few key fixes, plus a simple user trick.

Activate Updates Immediately: Uses self.skipWaiting() to activate new versions right away.
Refresh All Pages: clients.claim() updates all open tabs.
Smart Cache Management: Cache static files with short server-side expiration (e.g., one hour).
Prompt Users: Show a “New design ready! Refresh?” pop-up.
Restart the Device: Ask users to restart their phone or computer to force-clear the service worker.

Why Workbox Is Recommended

My approach is like crafting a custom rosary—simple and tailored. Workbox is like a pre-made prayer guide, loved because:

Saves Time: Pre-built strategies cache files with minimal code.
Smart Updates: Automatically refreshes service workers for new designs.
Flexible: Easily tweak caching for static vs. dynamic content.
Beginner-Friendly: Simplifies complex logic.

Code Snippets to Show Updates Fast

My Updated Service Worker

Save as serviceWorker.js:

const staticDevPWA = "dailyrosary-v7.23.2025";
const assets = [
  "/", "/index.html", "/about.html", "/privacy_policy.html",
  "/js_today_rosary.js", "/styles.css", "/serviceWorker.js",
  "/audio-rosary-sorrowful-mysteries.txt.wav",
  "/audio-rosary-luminous-mysteries.txt.wav",
  "/audio-rosary-joyful-mysteries.txt.wav",
  "/audio-rosary-glorious-mysteries.txt.wav",
  "/audio-rosary-sorrowful-mysteries-lent.txt.wav",
  "/audio-rosary-joyful-mysteries-advent-christmas.txt.wav",
  "/monthly-tracker.js", "/yearly-tracker.js", "/yearly-tracker.html"
];

// INSTALL — Cache assets & activate immediately
self.addEventListener("install", event => {
  self.skipWaiting();
  event.waitUntil(
    caches.open(staticDevPWA).then(cache => cache.addAll(assets))
  );
});

// ACTIVATE — Remove old caches & take control
self.addEventListener("activate", event => {
  event.waitUntil(
    caches.keys().then(keys =>
      Promise.all(keys.filter(key => key !== staticDevPWA).map(key => caches.delete(key)))
    ).then(() => self.clients.claim())
  );
});

// FETCH — Network-only for API, cache-first for static
self.addEventListener("fetch", event => {
  if (event.request.url.includes("/api/prayers")) {
    event.respondWith(fetch(event.request));
  } else if (event.request.mode === "navigate") {
    event.respondWith(
      fetch(event.request)
        .then(response => caches.open(staticDevPWA).then(cache => {
          cache.put(event.request, response.clone());
          return response;
        }))
        .catch(() => caches.match("/index.html"))
    );
  } else {
    event.respondWith(
      caches.match(event.request).then(cached => {
        if (cached) return cached;
        return fetch(event.request).then(response => {
          if (event.request.url.match(/\.(html|css|js)$/)) {
            caches.open(staticDevPWA).then(cache => cache.put(event.request, response.clone()));
          }
          return response;
        });
      })
    );
  }
});

// Manual update trigger
self.addEventListener("message", event => {
  if (event.data === "checkForUpdate") self.skipWaiting();
});

Workbox Alternative (Simpler)

Save as serviceWorker.js:

importScripts('https://storage.googleapis.com/workbox-cdn/releases/6.5.4/workbox-sw.js');

const staticDevPWA = "dailyrosary-v7.23.2025";

// Cache static files (1-hour max)
workbox.routing.registerRoute(
  /\.(?:html|css|js|wav)$/,
  new workbox.strategies.StaleWhileRevalidate({
    cacheName: staticDevPWA,
    plugins: [new workbox.expiration.ExpirationPlugin({ maxAgeSeconds: 3600 })]
  })
);

// Always fresh prayers
workbox.routing.registerRoute(/\/api\/prayers/, new workbox.strategies.NetworkOnly());

// Activate immediately
self.addEventListener("install", () => self.skipWaiting());
self.addEventListener("activate", event => event.waitUntil(self.clients.claim()));

// Manual update
self.addEventListener("message", event => {
  if (event.data === "checkForUpdate") self.skipWaiting();
});

Add this to js_today_rosary.js to prompt users:

if ('serviceWorker' in navigator) {
  navigator.serviceWorker.ready.then(reg => {
    setInterval(() => reg.update(), 300000); // Check every 5 min
    navigator.serviceWorker.addEventListener("controllerchange", () => {
      alert("New design ready! Refresh or restart your device.");
    });
  });
}

Tips for a Fresh Rosary App

Separate Caches: NetworkOnly for API, CacheFirst for static.
Short Cache for Design: max-age=3600 for .html|.css|.js.
Longer Cache for Audio: max-age=604800 (1 week).
Restart Device: Best fix for stubborn caches.
Test Updates: Use Chrome DevTools → Application → Clear storage.

Why Instant Updates Keep Users Praying

A PWA that delivers fresh prayers and the latest design keeps users engaged. My custom service worker is lightweight and tailored, while Workbox offers a quick setup. Restarting the device is a simple user fix to ensure updates shine through!

Keep Your Rosary App Fresh

Don’t let cached files hide your new button or background!

Tweak my service worker, try a device restart, or explore Workbox to make updates pop.

Got a PWA like the Daily Rosary App? Share your update challenges in the comments, and let’s swap ideas to keep your app vibrant!

Keep coding, keep praying, and keep your users smiling!

🧩 Why Your Daily Rosary App’s New Look Isn’t Showing—and How to Fix It! 🚀