diff --git a/docs/docs/add-offline-support-with-a-service-worker.md b/docs/docs/add-offline-support-with-a-service-worker.md
index 1947f985da6da..731d27deb9b8e 100644
--- a/docs/docs/add-offline-support-with-a-service-worker.md
+++ b/docs/docs/add-offline-support-with-a-service-worker.md
@@ -45,10 +45,10 @@ Note: Service worker registers only in production builds (`gatsby build`).
 
 ### Displaying a message when a service worker updates
 
-To display a custom message once your service worker finds an update, you can use the [`onServiceWorkerUpdateFound`](/docs/browser-apis/#onServiceWorkerUpdateFound) browser API in your `gatsby-browser.js` file. The following code will display a confirm prompt asking the user whether they would like to refresh the page when an update is found:
+To display a custom message once your service worker finds an update, you can use the [`onServiceWorkerUpdateReady`](/docs/browser-apis/#onServiceWorkerUpdateReady) browser API in your `gatsby-browser.js` file. The following code will display a confirm prompt asking the user whether they would like to refresh the page when an update is found:
 
 ```javascript:title=gatsby-browser.js
-exports.onServiceWorkerUpdateFound = () => {
+exports.onServiceWorkerUpdateReady = () => {
   const answer = window.confirm(
     `This application has been updated. ` +
       `Reload to display the latest version?`
diff --git a/packages/gatsby-plugin-offline/.gitignore b/packages/gatsby-plugin-offline/.gitignore
index 10cf84f0d2dc8..8c9686624a187 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby-plugin-offline/.gitignore
+++ b/packages/gatsby-plugin-offline/.gitignore
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
 /*.js
 !index.js
-!sw-append.js
 yarn.lock
diff --git a/packages/gatsby-plugin-offline/package.json b/packages/gatsby-plugin-offline/package.json
index 3793abbf556a8..433db8a0fa786 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby-plugin-offline/package.json
+++ b/packages/gatsby-plugin-offline/package.json
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
   "dependencies": {
     "@babel/runtime": "^7.0.0",
     "cheerio": "^1.0.0-rc.2",
+    "cpx": "^1.5.0",
     "idb-keyval": "^3.1.0",
     "lodash": "^4.17.10",
     "workbox-build": "^3.6.3"
@@ -30,12 +31,14 @@
   "license": "MIT",
   "main": "index.js",
   "peerDependencies": {
-    "gatsby": ">=2.0.53"
+    "gatsby": "^2.0.100"
   },
   "repository": "https://github.com/gatsbyjs/gatsby/tree/master/packages/gatsby-plugin-offline",
   "scripts": {
-    "build": "babel src --out-dir . --ignore **/__tests__",
+    "build": "npm run build:src && npm run build:sw-append",
+    "build:src": "babel src --out-dir . --ignore **/__tests__,src/sw-append.js",
+    "build:sw-append": "cpx -v src/sw-append.js .",
     "prepare": "cross-env NODE_ENV=production npm run build",
-    "watch": "babel -w src --out-dir . --ignore **/__tests__"
+    "watch": "npm run build:sw-append -- --watch & npm run build:src -- --watch"
   }
 }
diff --git a/packages/gatsby-plugin-offline/src/gatsby-browser.js b/packages/gatsby-plugin-offline/src/gatsby-browser.js
index 947a2bc2649e6..a9ee410438ff9 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby-plugin-offline/src/gatsby-browser.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby-plugin-offline/src/gatsby-browser.js
@@ -7,6 +7,13 @@ exports.onServiceWorkerActive = ({
   getResourceURLsForPathname,
   serviceWorker,
 }) => {
+  // if the SW has just updated then reset whitelisted paths and don't cache
+  // stuff, since we're on the old revision until we navigate to another page
+  if (window.___swUpdated) {
+    serviceWorker.active.postMessage({ gatsbyApi: `resetWhitelist` })
+    return
+  }
+
   // grab nodes from head of document
   const nodes = document.querySelectorAll(`
     head > script[src],
@@ -63,6 +70,10 @@ function whitelistPathname(pathname, includesPrefix) {
 }
 
 exports.onPostPrefetchPathname = ({ pathname }) => {
+  // do nothing if the SW has just updated, since we still have old pages in
+  // memory which we don't want to be whitelisted
+  if (window.___swUpdated) return
+
   whitelistPathname(pathname, false)
 
   // if SW is not installed, we need to record any prefetches
diff --git a/packages/gatsby-plugin-offline/sw-append.js b/packages/gatsby-plugin-offline/src/sw-append.js
similarity index 78%
rename from packages/gatsby-plugin-offline/sw-append.js
rename to packages/gatsby-plugin-offline/src/sw-append.js
index b209013dd20d8..e4d296e70fc6d 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby-plugin-offline/sw-append.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby-plugin-offline/src/sw-append.js
@@ -13,20 +13,23 @@ const navigationRoute = new workbox.routing.NavigationRoute(({ event }) => {
       const cacheName = workbox.core.cacheNames.precache
 
       return caches.match(offlineShell, { cacheName }).then(cachedResponse => {
-        if (!cachedResponse) {
-          return fetch(offlineShell).then(response => {
-            if (response.ok) {
-              return caches.open(cacheName).then(cache =>
-                // Clone is needed because put() consumes the response body.
-                cache.put(offlineShell, response.clone()).then(() => response)
-              )
-            } else {
-              return fetch(event.request)
-            }
-          })
-        }
-
-        return cachedResponse
+        if (cachedResponse) return cachedResponse
+
+        console.error(
+          `The offline shell (${offlineShell}) was not found ` +
+            `while attempting to serve a response for ${pathname}`
+        )
+
+        return fetch(offlineShell).then(response => {
+          if (response.ok) {
+            return caches.open(cacheName).then(cache =>
+              // Clone is needed because put() consumes the response body.
+              cache.put(offlineShell, response.clone()).then(() => response)
+            )
+          } else {
+            return fetch(event.request)
+          }
+        })
       })
     }
 
diff --git a/packages/gatsby/cache-dir/ensure-resources.js b/packages/gatsby/cache-dir/ensure-resources.js
index 7b2f38244c043..0c37dd50333d6 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby/cache-dir/ensure-resources.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby/cache-dir/ensure-resources.js
@@ -129,6 +129,8 @@ class EnsureResources extends React.Component {
 
   render() {
     if (!this.hasResources(this.state.pageResources) && isInitialRender) {
+      window.___failedResources = true
+
       // prevent hydrating
       throw new Error(`Missing resources for ${this.state.location.pathname}`)
     }
diff --git a/packages/gatsby/cache-dir/navigation.js b/packages/gatsby/cache-dir/navigation.js
index 9b50ec8b57ca4..798caa7e2aa76 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby/cache-dir/navigation.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby/cache-dir/navigation.js
@@ -67,10 +67,7 @@ const navigate = (to, options = {}) => {
 
   // If we had a service worker update, no matter the path, reload window and
   // reset the pathname whitelist
-  if (window.GATSBY_SW_UPDATED) {
-    const { controller } = navigator.serviceWorker
-    controller.postMessage({ gatsbyApi: `resetWhitelist` })
-
+  if (window.___swUpdated) {
     window.location = pathname
     return
   }
diff --git a/packages/gatsby/cache-dir/register-service-worker.js b/packages/gatsby/cache-dir/register-service-worker.js
index b2edd20569d4d..acb6347b450b0 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby/cache-dir/register-service-worker.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby/cache-dir/register-service-worker.js
@@ -23,8 +23,17 @@ if (
               if (navigator.serviceWorker.controller) {
                 // At this point, the old content will have been purged and the fresh content will
                 // have been added to the cache.
+
                 // We set a flag so Gatsby Link knows to refresh the page on next navigation attempt
-                window.GATSBY_SW_UPDATED = true
+                window.___swUpdated = true
+                // We call the onServiceWorkerUpdateReady API so users can show update prompts.
+                apiRunner(`onServiceWorkerUpdateReady`, { serviceWorker: reg })
+
+                // If resources failed for the current page, reload.
+                if (window.___failedResources) {
+                  console.log(`resources failed, SW updated - reloading`)
+                  window.location.reload()
+                }
               } else {
                 // At this point, everything has been precached.
                 // It's the perfect time to display a "Content is cached for offline use." message.
diff --git a/packages/gatsby/src/utils/api-browser-docs.js b/packages/gatsby/src/utils/api-browser-docs.js
index 170f8eb7fecc0..cce1fe014c78a 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby/src/utils/api-browser-docs.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby/src/utils/api-browser-docs.js
@@ -211,6 +211,14 @@ exports.onServiceWorkerInstalled = true
  */
 exports.onServiceWorkerUpdateFound = true
 
+/**
+ * Inform plugins when a service worker has been updated in the background
+ * and the page is ready to reload to apply changes.
+ * @param {object} $0
+ * @param {object} $0.serviceWorker The service worker instance.
+ */
+exports.onServiceWorkerUpdateReady = true
+
 /**
  * Inform plugins when a service worker has become active.
  * @param {object} $0
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index 8c425b086ba93..928cc88dd015f 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -3665,7 +3665,7 @@ babel-register@^6.26.0, babel-register@^6.9.0:
     mkdirp "^0.5.1"
     source-map-support "^0.4.15"
 
-babel-runtime@^6.11.6, babel-runtime@^6.18.0, babel-runtime@^6.2.0, babel-runtime@^6.22.0, babel-runtime@^6.23.0, babel-runtime@^6.26.0:
+babel-runtime@^6.11.6, babel-runtime@^6.18.0, babel-runtime@^6.2.0, babel-runtime@^6.22.0, babel-runtime@^6.23.0, babel-runtime@^6.26.0, babel-runtime@^6.9.2:
   version "6.26.0"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/babel-runtime/-/babel-runtime-6.26.0.tgz#965c7058668e82b55d7bfe04ff2337bc8b5647fe"
   integrity sha1-llxwWGaOgrVde/4E/yM3vItWR/4=
@@ -4662,7 +4662,7 @@ cheerio@^1.0.0-rc.2:
     lodash "^4.15.0"
     parse5 "^3.0.1"
 
-chokidar@^1.4.2, chokidar@^1.7.0:
+chokidar@^1.4.2, chokidar@^1.6.0, chokidar@^1.7.0:
   version "1.7.0"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/chokidar/-/chokidar-1.7.0.tgz#798e689778151c8076b4b360e5edd28cda2bb468"
   integrity sha1-eY5ol3gVHIB2tLNg5e3SjNortGg=
@@ -5487,6 +5487,23 @@ cosmiconfig@^5.0.0, cosmiconfig@^5.0.2, cosmiconfig@^5.0.5, cosmiconfig@^5.0.6:
     js-yaml "^3.9.0"
     parse-json "^4.0.0"
 
+cpx@^1.5.0:
+  version "1.5.0"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/cpx/-/cpx-1.5.0.tgz#185be018511d87270dedccc293171e37655ab88f"
+  integrity sha1-GFvgGFEdhycN7czCkxceN2VauI8=
+  dependencies:
+    babel-runtime "^6.9.2"
+    chokidar "^1.6.0"
+    duplexer "^0.1.1"
+    glob "^7.0.5"
+    glob2base "^0.0.12"
+    minimatch "^3.0.2"
+    mkdirp "^0.5.1"
+    resolve "^1.1.7"
+    safe-buffer "^5.0.1"
+    shell-quote "^1.6.1"
+    subarg "^1.0.0"
+
 crc-32@~1.2.0:
   version "1.2.0"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/crc-32/-/crc-32-1.2.0.tgz#cb2db6e29b88508e32d9dd0ec1693e7b41a18208"
@@ -8023,6 +8040,11 @@ find-cache-dir@^2.0.0:
     make-dir "^1.0.0"
     pkg-dir "^3.0.0"
 
+find-index@^0.1.1:
+  version "0.1.1"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/find-index/-/find-index-0.1.1.tgz#675d358b2ca3892d795a1ab47232f8b6e2e0dde4"
+  integrity sha1-Z101iyyjiS15Whq0cjL4tuLg3eQ=
+
 find-npm-prefix@^1.0.2:
   version "1.0.2"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/find-npm-prefix/-/find-npm-prefix-1.0.2.tgz#8d8ce2c78b3b4b9e66c8acc6a37c231eb841cfdf"
@@ -8649,6 +8671,13 @@ glob-to-regexp@^0.3.0:
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/glob-to-regexp/-/glob-to-regexp-0.3.0.tgz#8c5a1494d2066c570cc3bfe4496175acc4d502ab"
   integrity sha1-jFoUlNIGbFcMw7/kSWF1rMTVAqs=
 
+glob2base@^0.0.12:
+  version "0.0.12"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/glob2base/-/glob2base-0.0.12.tgz#9d419b3e28f12e83a362164a277055922c9c0d56"
+  integrity sha1-nUGbPijxLoOjYhZKJ3BVkiycDVY=
+  dependencies:
+    find-index "^0.1.1"
+
 glob@6.0.4:
   version "6.0.4"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/glob/-/glob-6.0.4.tgz#0f08860f6a155127b2fadd4f9ce24b1aab6e4d22"