How to create Safari web apps on your MacBook

Web apps are the latest addition to macOS. This new feature streamlines the browsing experience for many and allows users to enjoy their favorite websites by separating them from the rest of the browser. It is available only on the latest macOS 14 Sonoma, so users need to upgrade their operating system before they can access it. It is important to note that Sonoma is still in beta and might have minor bugs and glitches.

Web apps are available for any website, and developers can customize how their sites work when added as an app. By default, when a user adds any website to their desktop, they will be greeted with an app-like interface, with settings and login information added to the particular site. This makes it easy to use any website with a single click.

In this article, we will go over how to add a website as an app on macOS. The steps will work across MacBooks, iMacs, Mac Studios, Mac Pros, and any device running the latest Sonoma update.

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How to use web apps on Mac

The process for adding a website as an app and using it directly is pretty straightforward on macOS 14 Sonoma. You can follow these steps:

Step 1: Open Safari. Then navigate to one of your most used websites (like YouTube, Wikipedia, or Facebook)

Step 2: From the status bar on the top of the Mac screen, click on File. A drop-down menu will appear.

The Add to Dock option in macOS Sonoma (Image via Apple)

Step 3: From the menu that appears, click on Add to Dock. The website will now be added to the dock with its icon.

The web app customization page in macOS (Image via Apple)

Step 4: A new window pops up where you can customize the name of the web app, view the exact URL that will be used to load the home page, and modify the image of the icon. You can change the name to something that is easier to identify. Click on Add once you are done.

The Wikipedia page now functions as a web app (Image via Apple)

Step 5: Close Safari and launch the newly added app in the dock. This will open it up in a new window completely different from the browser. Your login information and other data will automatically be carried over since Safari copies all of the website's cookies into the app for faster access.

Adding web apps on MacBooks is pretty simple. This new feature simplifies the process of accessing some of your most-used applications and will help you get more work done without having to worry about the nitty-gritty of using a browser.

The feature will only be available on the latest macOS 14 Sonoma. Although Windows PCs have had a similar feature for a while now, Apple's seamless web app integration is expected to bring in additional features.