How to Turn a Website Into an App (and Get It Approved by Apple)
The free home-screen method, the store app, and a full rebuild, compared on cost, time and what it takes to pass App Store review.
There are three ways to turn a website into an app. The free one takes a minute: open the site in Safari or Chrome and add it to your home screen as a web app. To be in the App Store and Google Play, you need a store app that wraps your site in a native shell and adds what a website cannot, such as push notifications and a native menu; a no-code converter like Appy Pie AI website to app converter builds one in minutes. The third route is rebuilding the app natively, which agencies quote in months. The catch is Apple: its review guidelines turn away apps that are no more than a repackaged website, so a store app has to do more than show your pages. This guide covers all three routes, what each costs, and how to get a website app approved.
What This Guide Delivers
- The 3 ways to turn a website into an app, side by side
- The free home-screen method on iPhone, Android and Mac
- The 5-step store app flow, with screenshots
- What Apple’s Guideline 4.2 and Google Play’s policy actually say
- What each route costs in year one
- 12 FAQs, including whether Apple will reject your app
Sources: Apple’s App Review Guidelines (last updated June 8, 2026) and App Review page, Google Play’s spam policy, Apple Support, WebKit, Clutch’s pricing data and our own pricing page, all read on 8 October 2026. Rated 4.7/5 on G2 from 1,388 reviews.
Convert Your Website to an App
Paste your URL to build an Android and iOS app around your site, no code.
TL;DR Quick Summary
To turn a website into an app for free, add it to your home screen as a web app: in Safari tap Share, then Add to Home Screen; in Chrome tap the menu, then Add to Home screen or Install app. To get into the App Store and Google Play, use a converter that wraps your site in a native app and adds push notifications and native screens. With Appy Pie AI that takes minutes, then $16 a month per app for Google Play or $60 for iOS and Android, plus store fees. Give the app something your website does not have, or Apple can reject it under Guideline 4.2.
Table of Contents
Jump to any section. This guide compares the three ways to turn a website into an app, shows the free home-screen method and the store app flow, explains what Apple and Google Play accept, what each route costs and whether you need an app at all, then answers 12 common questions.
- 3 Ways to Turn a Website Into an App
- How to Make a Website an App on Your Phone (Free)
- How to Turn a Website Into a Store App in 5 Steps
- Will Apple Accept a Website App?
- How Much Does It Cost to Turn a Website Into an App?
- Should You Turn Your Website Into an App?
- Android vs iOS: Which Should You Publish To?
- Converting a WordPress or Shopify Website
- What a Store App Adds on Top of Your Site
- Frequently Asked Questions
3 Ways to Turn a Website Into an App
Which route you need depends on one question: do you need to be in the app stores? If not, the free method below is enough. If you do, the store app is the fast route and a native rebuild is the expensive one.
| Home-screen web app | Store app around your site | Native rebuild | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | Your site, opened from a home-screen icon in its own window | Your site in a native app shell, plus native features | A separate app built in Swift, Kotlin or a framework such as Flutter |
| App Store and Google Play | No | Yes | Yes |
| Push notifications | On Android, and on iPhone from iOS 16.4 if your site supports web push | Yes, built in | Yes |
| Works offline | Only if your site has a service worker | Cached content | Yes |
| Time to launch | A minute | Minutes to build, then store review | Months (Clutch average: about 11) |
| Cost | Free | From $16 a month per app, plus store fees | Most projects $10,000 to $49,999 (Clutch) |
| Apple review risk | None: there is no review | Real: the app must pass Guideline 4.2 | Low, if the app is useful |
| Best for | Regular visitors who want quick access | Businesses that want store presence and push | Products where the app is the business |
How to Make a Website an App on Your Phone (Free)
This is the free way to turn a website into an app on your own phone, and you can tell your visitors to do the same. It takes a minute and needs no account.
On iPhone (Safari)
Open the site, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen. Leave Open as Web App on, which Apple says lets you use the website as if it were an app, then tap Add.
On Android (Chrome)
Open the site, tap the three-dot menu, then Add to Home screen or Install app. Sites set up as progressive web apps open in their own window, without the browser bar.
On a Mac (Safari)
Open the site, then choose File, then Add to Dock. The site opens in its own window from the Dock, like any other app.
A home-screen web app can do more than it used to. Web push for home-screen web apps arrived with iOS and iPadOS 16.4 (WebKit), and a site with a service worker can work offline. What it cannot do is appear in the App Store or Google Play, where new users search for apps. If an installable web app is all you need, our website to PWA converter explains both routes.
How to Turn a Website Into a Store App in 5 Steps
If you want your website in the App Store and Google Play, a converter does the build. Here is the flow with Appy Pie AI website to app converter, from your URL to a published app.
STEP 01
Enter your website URL
Open Appy Pie AI website to app converter (or use the box above), type your website address and click Convert. The converter loads your live site inside a mobile app shell in seconds, with no code and no setup.
STEP 02
Sign up or log in
Create an Appy Pie AI account, or sign in with Google or Apple. This saves the project so you can customize, preview and publish it when you are ready.
STEP 03
Customize your app in the editor
In the drag-and-drop editor, set your colors, logo, menu and home screen, then add the native features covered below, such as push notifications and offline access. These are also what help the app clear Apple’s review.
STEP 04
Choose your plan
On our pricing page, Basic is $16 per app a month and publishes to Google Play; iOS needs Platinum at $60 a month. The stores charge separately: $25 once for a Google Play developer account and $99 a year for Apple’s Developer Program.
STEP 05
Publish to the App Store and Google Play
Generate your Android and iOS builds from the same project, then submit them under your own developer accounts. Apple requires apps made with app-generation services to be submitted by the owner of the content (Guideline 4.2.6), so the iOS app goes out under your Apple Developer account, and Appy Pie AI guides you through it. Only need the iPhone app? The website to IPA converter covers the iOS build on its own.
Will Apple Accept a Website App? What Guideline 4.2 Says
This is the step most guides skip. Apple’s App Review Guidelines say three things that matter for a website app:
4.2
Minimum functionality
An app needs features, content and UI that take it beyond a repackaged website. If it is not useful, unique or app-like, Apple can turn it down.
4.2.2
Not just web clippings
Apart from catalogs, an app should not mainly be marketing, web clippings, a content aggregator or a collection of links.
4.2.6
Submitted by the content owner
Apps made with a template or an app-generation service are rejected unless the owner of the app’s content submits them. In practice: your app, your Apple Developer account.
What helps a website app pass
- A native menu or tab bar, not just your site’s hamburger menu
- Push notifications people actually opt into
- Content cached for offline use
- Account features: login, saved items, order history
- Device features your site cannot use, such as the camera, location or sharing
- Working links, a support link and a privacy policy
What gets website apps rejected
- An app that only loads your mobile site, page for page
- Broken links, placeholder text or an unfinished screen
- An app that is mostly marketing or a list of links
- Submitting under someone else’s developer account
Most rejections are not about websites at all. Apple’s App Review page says more than 40% of unresolved issues fall under guideline 2.1, app completeness: crashes, placeholder content and missing information. It also says review typically handles at least 50% of submissions in under 24 hours and 90% in under 48. Google Play has a different rule: its spam policy bans apps that are a webview of a website without the site owner’s permission, so only convert a site you own or are allowed to publish.
How Much Does It Cost to Turn a Website Into an App?
Year-one costs at the monthly prices shown on our pricing page and the stores’ own fee pages, read on 8 October 2026.
| Route | Up front | Year one |
|---|---|---|
| Home-screen web app | $0 | $0 |
| Store app with Appy Pie AI, Google Play only (Basic) | $25 Google Play fee | $217 ($16 × 12 + $25) |
| Store app with Appy Pie AI, iOS and Android (Platinum) | $25 + $99 store fees | $844 ($60 × 12 + $25 + $99) |
| Native rebuild by an agency | Most projects $10,000 to $49,999 | About $90,780 on average, plus upkeep (Clutch) |
Agency figures are from Clutch’s pricing data. For a fuller breakdown, see how much it costs to build an app.
Should You Turn Your Website Into an App?
Not every website needs a store app. A quick way to decide:
A store app makes sense if
- People come back to your site every week or every day
- You have something to say in a push notification: orders, bookings, new posts
- Visitors log in, save things or buy from you
- Being found in the App Store or Google Play matters to your business
A home-screen web app is enough if
- Most visitors come once, from search
- Your content changes rarely
- Your site already works well on phones and loads fast
- You have no budget for store fees or a plan yet
If the second list describes you, start with the free home-screen method or a progressive web app, and come back to a store app when your returning visitors grow.
Android vs iOS: Which Should You Publish To?
With Appy Pie AI you can publish to both stores from one project, but it still helps to understand the trade-offs when you convert your website to an app. If you only want an Android install file first, the website to APK converter builds a signed APK from the same URL.
| Factor | Android | iOS |
|---|---|---|
| Target audience | Larger global market share, strong in fast-growing markets | Concentrated in higher-income users who spend more in-app |
| Cost and time | Wider device range can mean more testing | More standardized devices, often quicker to build for |
| Revenue model | Great for reach and ad-supported models | Higher average in-app purchase and subscription spend |
| Store approval | Google Play review; no webview of sites you do not own | Apple: at least 50% reviewed within 24 hours and 90% within 48; stricter guidelines |
| Maintenance | More device/OS variations to support | Fewer device variations to maintain |
With Appy Pie AI you can publish to both stores from one project. Last verified: October 2026.
Converting a WordPress or Shopify Website to an App
A website-to-app converter is platform-agnostic, it works from your live URL, so the site builder you used does not matter.
WordPress website to app
Paste your WordPress site URL into the converter to turn your blog, business site or membership site into an Android and iOS app, no plugins or code required. Our WordPress to app guide covers the details.
Shopify store to app
Convert your Shopify storefront into a mobile shopping app so customers can browse and buy from your branded app, with push notifications to bring them back. See our Shopify to app guide.
What a Store App Adds on Top of Your Site
These are the features that make a store app worth installing, and the ones that help it pass Apple review. Here is what you can add with Appy Pie AI.
Push notifications
Send targeted, timely messages to win back users and drive repeat visits.
Offline access
Let users keep browsing key content even without a connection.
Live sync
Updates to your website flow through to your app automatically.
User analytics
See how people use your app with built-in live analytics.
Native device features
Use the camera, microphone and location from inside the app, with the user’s permission.
Monetization
Add in-app purchases, subscriptions or ads to earn from your app.
Ready to Build Your Website Into an App?
Paste your website URL into Appy Pie AI converter, add the native features that make it worth installing, and publish to Google Play and the App Store under your own accounts.
Turn My Website Into an App Compare Website to App Converters
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I turn a website into an app?
Either add it to your home screen as a web app, which is free and takes a minute, or build a store app with a converter such as Appy Pie AI website to app converter: paste your URL, customize the app, choose a plan and publish to Google Play and the App Store.
Can I turn a website into an app for free?
Yes, as a home-screen web app: in Safari tap Share, then Add to Home Screen; in Chrome use Add to Home screen or Install app. Publishing a store app costs money: with Appy Pie AI, $16 a month per app for Google Play or $60 for iOS and Android, plus $25 once for Google Play and $99 a year for Apple.
How do you turn a website into an app on iPhone?
Open the site in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen, keep Open as Web App on and tap Add. The site then opens from its own icon like an app. To publish an iPhone app in the App Store instead, you need a store app built with a converter or a developer.
How do I put a website as an app on Android?
Open the site in Chrome, tap the three-dot menu, then Add to Home screen or Install app. Sites built as progressive web apps open in their own window. For a Google Play listing, build a store app instead.
Will Apple reject an app that is just my website?
It can. Apple’s Guideline 4.2 asks for features, content and UI beyond a repackaged website, and 4.2.2 rules out apps that are mainly web clippings or links. Adding a native menu, push notifications, offline content and account features gives the app reasons to exist on its own.
Can Appy Pie AI publish my app under its own Apple account?
No. Apple’s Guideline 4.2.6 says apps made with app-generation services must be submitted by the owner of the content, so the app goes out under your own Apple Developer account ($99 a year). Appy Pie AI guides you through the submission.
Is a converted website app a native app?
It is a native app shell that shows your site in a WebView and adds native features such as push notifications, offline caching and a native menu. It installs and updates like any app, but heavy animations and complex web apps still behave like your mobile site. A fully native rebuild is a separate, much larger project.
Can a website app send push notifications?
Yes. A store app built with a converter has push notifications built in. A home-screen web app can also receive web push on Android, and on iPhone from iOS and iPadOS 16.4, if the website supports it.
How much does it cost to turn a website into an app?
Nothing for a home-screen web app. With Appy Pie AI, year one is about $217 for Google Play only or $844 for iOS and Android, including store fees. An agency rebuild usually costs $10,000 to $49,999, with an average of about $90,780 according to Clutch.
How long does it take to turn a website into an app?
A home-screen web app takes a minute. A converted store app takes minutes to build, then store review: Apple says it reviews at least 50% of submissions within 24 hours and 90% within 48. An agency rebuild averages about 11 months, according to Clutch.
How difficult is it to convert a website to an app?
Not difficult if your site already works well on phones: a converter does the build, and the real work is adding features that make the app worth installing and getting through review. It is harder if your site depends on complex web code that behaves poorly in an app.
Can I convert a WordPress or Shopify website to an app?
Yes. A converter works from your live URL, so WordPress, Shopify and sites on other platforms convert the same way. See our guides to WordPress to app and Shopify to app for the specifics.
Pick the Route That Matches Your Visitors
If people visit once, a home-screen web app is enough. If they come back, buy or log in, a store app gives you push notifications and a place in the app stores, as long as it does more than mirror your site. When you are ready, start with Appy Pie AI website to app converter and publish under your own developer accounts.
4.7/5 on G2 with 1,388 reviews | 10M+ apps and sites built since 2016
Aasif Khan
Head of SEO and Growth Marketing Lead at Appy Pie AI with 17+ years in digital marketing, AI-powered optimization, and scalable growth strategies.
Abhinav Girdhar
Founder and CEO of Appy Pie AI. Builder of one of the world’s largest no-code and AI app platforms, with 10M+ apps and websites created.
Related reading: Best Website-to-App Converters · How to Convert an Android App to iOS