How does a web app differ from a web page?

How to create a web app from a web page

How to change web app settings

How to use notifications with a web app

How to delete a web app

How does a web app differ from a web page?

When you use a web page as a web app, it will look and behave just like it does in Safari. Yet the experience of using a web app differs in several ways.

• A web app functions independently of Safari. It shares no browsing history, cookies, website data or settings In this way, it keeps your browsing separate, similar to using a Safari profile. What you do in a web app stays in the web app.

• A web app has a streamlined toolbar, with a back button, forward button, Share button and buttons related to any Safari extensions you’ve installed. If you need Safari features such as bookmarks or tabs, you can easily switch to Safari: Click the Share button, then choose Open in Safari.

• A web app can have any name or icon you want.

• For websites that send notifications, the web app’s icon in the Dock can show the number of unread notifications.

In many other ways, a web app works like any other app. You can even add it as a login item so that it opens automatically when you log in.

How to create a web app from a web page

1. In Safari, open the web page you want to use as a web app.

2. From the menu bar, choose File > Add to Dock. Or click the Share button in the Safari toolbar, then choose Add to Dock.

3. Type the name you want to use for the web app, then click Add. The web app will be saved to the Applications folder of your home folder, and you can open it from the Dock, Launchpad or Spotlight.

How to change web app settings

Open the web app, click the app’s name in the menu bar, then choose Settings from the menu.

• Application Name: type a new name for the app.

• Application URL: Type a new URL for the app, or click Set to Current Page.

• Icon: click the icon shown, then choose a new image from the file dialogue that opens. That image will become the new icon for your web app.

• Show navigation controls: choose whether the toolbar shows the back button, forward button, app name, Share button and any buttons related to your installed Safari extensions.

• Show colour in title bar: choose whether to allow the colour of the title bar to adapt to the colour of the website.

From the Privacy tab, you can open Privacy & Security settings or clear the website’s data, including cookies and caches.

From the Extensions tab, you can enable or disable Safari extensions for your web app.

How to use notifications with a web app

If a website is designed to send you notifications about new or updated site content, it will ask for your permission to do so. If you click Allow when prompted, those notifications appear on the lock screen and in Notification Centre. Web apps support an additional notifications feature: the number of unread notifications will appear as a red badge on the app’s icon in the Dock.

To use this feature, respond to the website’s notifications request in the web app, not in Safari. The web app then appears in Notifications settings: choose Apple menu  > System Settings, click Notifications in the sidebar, then select the web app from the list of applications on the right. Web apps are listed as the name of the web app, not the URL of the website.

How to delete a web app

Web apps are saved to the Applications folder of your home folder. To delete a web app, open your home folder, such as by choosing Go > Home from the menu bar in the Finder. Then open the Applications folder and drag the web app to the Bin.