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Getting It Installed

Nothing installs the web app for a user. They choose to add it, and most will not without being told.

Where to find it

Architect Panel → Configuration:

  • Site Settings — the Progressive Web App and Service Workers option groups

How it is added

  • iPhone and iPad — the share button, then Add to Home Screen. It must be Safari; other browsers on iOS cannot do it.
  • Android — the browser menu, then Install or Add to Home Screen, and Chrome often prompts on its own.
  • Desktop — an install icon in the address bar in Chrome and Edge.

The iOS restriction matters

A user who has set another browser as their default has to open the site in Safari specifically. That single point defeats more installations than anything else, and your instructions should say it explicitly.

Write instructions with screenshots

Three short pages, one per platform, with the actual buttons circled. This is the highest-return effort in the whole exercise — configuration is quick and adoption is the hard part.

Ask at the right moment

Somebody who has just used the site successfully is receptive; somebody signing in for the first time is not. If you prompt, prompt after a few visits rather than immediately.

What changes once installed

  • There is no address bar, so users cannot see or edit the URL.
  • Navigation depends entirely on what your interface provides — an app with no visible way back traps people.
  • It launches at the configured home page.
  • The service worker, if enabled, is active.

Provide navigation, because the browser will not

The most common complaint about an installed web app is being stuck on a page. Make sure every page has a visible route back.

Updates are automatic, mostly

The app loads your site, so changes appear without anybody reinstalling. Cached files are the exception — if the service worker is caching, a user can be running old assets until the cache updates.

Uninstalling is just removing the icon

Which is worth knowing when supporting somebody with a stubborn problem: remove it, reinstall it, and most caching oddities disappear.

Worked example

An organisation published three short instruction pages with screenshots, sent them once, and repeated the message after a fortnight. The iOS page led with "you must open this in Safari", which had been the single largest source of failed attempts.

Recommendations

  • Say "use Safari" prominently for iOS.
  • Screenshots per platform, one page each.
  • Give every page a visible way back.
  • Remove and reinstall as the first support step.