How to turn any website into an app on your Mac with Unite

Unite for macOS is an incredibly powerful tool my team and I at BZG created that allows you to turn any website into a fully functional, completely native macOS application. It is, in my biased opinion, one of the best Mac apps and will change the way you use your machine.

These apps are not simply windowed web browsers — they include a number of customization options that allow you to bridge the gap between the modern web and your macOS experience.

Here’s how it works:

You can create a Unite app in under 15 seconds:

1. Open Unite
2. Enter any name for your app
3. Pick and enter any URL
4. Grab an icon from your Mac, or have Unite grab one for you from the web
5. Push create app

Unite will instantaneously create a lightweight app (usually around 14mb) and place it in your Applications folder.

This is just the beginning: once you’ve created an app, the backend Unite browser is stuffed full of functions to allow you to customize your app. Here are some of our favorites:

Change the look and feel of your Unite apps

By visiting preferences within your created app (your app name in the menu bar -> preferences or ⌘,) and visiting the Appearance tab, you can dramatically change the look and feel of your Unite apps.

By using the Window Color tool, you can change the overall look and feel of your app by selecting a color for your window bar. By default, Unite will match it with the primary color of your website so it blends (in this example, it is white by default for Twitter)

Unite also allows you to hide or show the window title, icon, or even titlebar as a whole to create a more seamless experience.

Create a statusbar app

Every Unite app can switch between a status bar app — which can be easily accessed from your status bar — or a regular macOS app instantly by going to your app name -> Show as Status item.

You can easily switch back by right clicking on the icon in the status bar.

Whitelist URLs

To make your app even more native-like, you can use the Intelligent Whitelisting feature to create rules for which links should work in your app, and which should be bumped to your default browser.

Using this feature you could, for example, create a Gmail app that has all links open in your default browser — whether that be Safari, Chrome, or even another Unite app.

Create a floating window

Unite apps can turn into floating windows that don’t move from the front even when they aren’t what you’re working in. Thus, you could create a YouTube app that always plays above your work!

To enable this, go to Preferences within your created app (⌘,) and Appearance -> Window Level -> Floating. Do the same thing and select Normal too switch back.

How to try Unite

These are just a few of the hundreds of great features in Unite 3. We’ve linked a video at the end of the article that showcases some more, but the best way to learn is to try it yourself. Visit Unite’s official website for a free trial, or purchase it starting at just $14.99.

Just as a thanks for reading this article, use code ‘MacInsight’ at checkout to get $3 off!

Additionally, you can get Unite alongside hundreds of other great Mac apps on Setapp for just $9.99 a month.