Add-to-Homescreen Mobile Websites: A Viable Option for Startups in 2023
A look at the advantages of creating an Add-to-Homescreen mobile website vs releasing an app to the Apple and Google Play App Stores
The Original Vision of Apps
Steve Jobs’ original vision for iPhone applications was a website-only experience with no third-party native apps. In 2007, he said:
You can write amazing Web 2.0 and Ajax apps that look exactly and behave exactly like apps on the iPhone. And these apps can integrate perfectly with iPhone services. They can make a call, they can send an email, they can look up a location on Google Maps… You’ve got everything you need if you know how to write apps using the most modern web standards to write amazing apps for the iPhone today. So developers, we think we’ve got a very sweet story for you. You can begin building your iPhone apps today.
— Steve Jobs, 2007
In 2023, it’s evident that Apple’s anticipated trajectory has shifted drastically. Native apps now reign supreme on mobile devices, while mobile websites often find themselves in a subsidiary role, rarely serving as the primary interface for businesses.
The Advantages of Add-to-Homescreen Websites
Though native apps are great, there are good reasons why you may want to opt releasing an add-to-homescreen mobile website instead.
- Bypass App Censorship
Apps on the App Store are subject to the policies of Apple and Google, and not all apps are approved for listing. Some instances of App Store censorship include:
- Platforms that promote free speech, such as Parler and Twitter, have been removed or threatened to be removed.
- Adult Content restrictions have meant that the entire adult entertainment industry is nonexistent in App Stores.
- Alternate Gaming Platforms are restricted on the App Stores, so Xbox, Nvidia, and others have launched add-to-homescreen web gaming platforms (see below).
- Payment platform restrictions and store requirements to take 30% of the app revenue have caused Fortnite maker Epic to file a lawsuit against Apple, a case headed to the Supreme Court.
- Regulated industries like healthcare sometimes have longer app review cycles. I’ve had a healthcare app sit in in-review status for weeks without feedback or ETA, waiting on the Apple medical review team.
If you are building an app in a controversial category, launching an add-to-homescreen web app may be a much smoother experience than attempting to get approved by the App Stores.
2. Better User Testing
Testing new apps with users can be particularly difficult on iOS. Before you can even start testing, your beta app must be reviewed and approved by Apple. Then, users need to install the TestFlight app or get a provisioning profile. In the past, I’ve had apps sit in the review process for weeks without any feedback on the issue, and I’ve had plenty of customers who could not use TestFlight correctly.
In contrast, my experience with testing apps using an add-to-homescreen website has been much smoother. Contrary to my initial reservation of using an add-to-homescreen approach, users had fewer problems installing the app to their homescreen; it worked seamlessly on both iOS and Android, and I could iterate on test versions quickly without having to resubmit updates to the App Store for review.
3. Organizational / “Micro” Apps
The app stores are designed for public apps, thus internal apps meant for only members of an organization are difficult to release. As a result, many organizations, such as companies, schools, and hospitals, keep their internal HR+Intranet tools private from the app stores, thus burying their usefulness.
A world with web apps that can be easily added to the homescreen would help elevate these internal tools. This would allow organizations (or your SAAS startup) to create custom, branded apps that can be accessed by their employees/students/members easily.
4. On-par capability with Native Apps
Thanks to the recent introduction of web push notifications in iOS 16.4, add-to-homescreen web apps now have all the core features of native apps. Mobile web apps are now speedy and responsive compared to their counterparts years ago, as a modern iPhone 14 browser is 2–3 times faster than Safari on a 2015 MacBook Pro.
5. Developer Speed \ Multiple Platforms — The old argument that writing once in HTML is faster for development and iteration for all phones is still valid. It also allows you to release to a broader audience, as some startups choose to initially only release an iOS app, even though Android is used by 40% of US mobile users.
Examples of Add-to-Homescreen Websites
The following are some examples of how companies have utilized add-to-homescreen websites.
1. Nvdia GeForce Now Gaming app
Like the Xbox Cloud Gaming app, Nvidia’s GeForce Now app is another example of an alternative gaming platform that has elected to release only as an add-to-homescreen web app instead of to the Apple App Store, presumably to get around Apple restrictions. The app lets you play full PC games streamed to your mobile browser.
2. Voyager App
The Voyager app for the fediverse and Lemmy is one of my favorite apps, and is an excellent example of a modern add-to-homescreen website with the full functionality and polish of a native App Store app.
3. Samsung “Try Galaxy” app
The Try Galaxy app by Samsung transforms your iPhone into a Samsung Galaxy by simply adding the website to your homescreen. The website simulates a Galaxy home screen, where you can “try” Galaxy/Android, complete with sound effects.
4. Walmart, Costco, Target, and Amazon apps
Many large e-commerce companies fully utilize mobile websites. Though these mobile websites do not specifically call out the add-to-homescreen feature, these companies’ IOS and Android apps are essentially web view wrappers around their web app, so adding their website to the homescreen is equivalent to using their native app.
Introducing a New Github Library: ADD-TO- HOMESCREEN
The add-to-homescreen process can be cumbersome to explain to users. It can be a challenging project to implement without months of dedicated user research and testing to get the flow right.
To make add-to-homescreen implementation easier for other developers, I’ve open-sourced a new web library to Github, “add-to-homescreen,” that effectively guides users through the installation process. It has a well-tested flow and, in past implementations, has yielded an 85% install rate to homescreen across all phones and user types.
Please check the library out and star/contribute if you find it useful!
