How to turn your favorite sites into web apps (and why)
You probably have a number of websites you regularly frequent that are more “application” than typical sites — for example, your blogging platform, a work-related site, Google Calendar, or maybe an online retailer. These days, many sites you visit probably look and feel more like apps and less like traditional websites.
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I have a number of sites I use every day (such as content management systems, admin tools, invoicing sites, and more). Sure, I can just open those in regular browser tabs and even pin those tabs for easy access. My problem is I typically already have a ton of tabs open in my web browser, so adding another tab can get messy.
I could use tab management, but not every browser handles that feature well. On top of that, there are some sites I’d prefer to A) work with as a more traditional app in its own window and B) quickly access from my desktop menu.
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If that sounds like you (and you use the Chrome browser), there’s a feature that’s been around for some time that makes it easy for you to create a web app from those sites. Before you get confused, you’re not actually building a web app. Instead, Chrome can turn any site you use into what appears like an application, isolated from the browser, in its own window. The site is still served up and rendered in Chrome, only missing many of the bits that would identify the window as a web browser.
Think about it: Instead of opening your browser and then opening yet another tab for the site in question, you simply click on your desktop menu and open the web app for that site. The site in question will open in its own window, minus all the typical browser features (no toolbars, bookmarks, address bars… just a window and the “app”).
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There are only two reasons why I still have Chrome installed: This feature and to cover Chrome when necessary. Even if I didn’t have to write about Chrome, I’d still have it installed for this feature alone (because there are still sites that perform better in Chrome than any other browser).
So, how do you do this? Let me show you.
How to create your first web app with Chrome
What you’ll need: The only thing you’ll need is the Chrome browser installed on any desktop operating system (as this doesn’t work on the mobile version). That’s it. Let’s create our first web app.
The first thing to do is open Chrome and navigate to the site you want to create as a web app. Say, for example, you run your own WordPress blog, so you might point Chrome to (where URL is the domain of your blog).
With the site loaded in the browser, click the three-button menu in the top right corner of the Chrome window.
Select More tools > Create shortcut.
Creating your first web app in Chrome. Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
In the resulting popup, you’ll want to do two things. First, give the shortcut a name. This is how it will be labeled in your desktop menu, so make sure to give it a memorable (but short) name. Next, you want to click the checkbox for Open as window. What this does is strip away all the features that are typically found in a browser window (toolbars, address bars, etc.). After you do that, click Create and you’re done.
Make sure to give your web app a memorable name so you can find it in your desktop menu. Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
After clicking Create, the site will open in its own window, where you can use it as though it was its own app on your desktop computer.
When you close it, you can reopen the app from your desktop menu by searching for the name you gave it when creating the shortcut.
Using the WordPress admin dashboard as a web app makes perfect sense. Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
And that’s all there is to creating your first web app with Chrome.
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I use this feature regularly when I don’t want to clog up my tab bar and for special sites that I use that don’t require a traditional browser interface. Give this feature a try and see if you don’t start using more and more web apps on your desktop.
