To convert a website to an APK: open the builder, paste your site's address, set the app name, icon and theme colour, choose the loader, splash, tabs and push notifications, then build — the APK is ready to download in a few minutes. The app loads your live website, so anything you change on the site appears in the app straight away, with no app update.
Before you start
- Your site must use HTTPS and work well on a phone screen. If it is hard to use in a mobile browser, it will be hard to use as an app.
- Pick the start page. Usually the home page, but a shop might start on its catalogue and a web app on its dashboard.
- Have a square logo ready, at least 512 × 512 pixels, for the app icon.
Step 1 — Paste the address
In the builder, paste the full URL, for example https://yourshop.com. The builder checks the site loads and shows it in the phone preview. Some kinds of sites (gambling, adult content) are refused, because Google Play would refuse them too.
Step 2 — Name, icon and colour
The name appears under the icon on the phone, so keep it short — around 12 characters before it gets cut off. Upload your logo as the icon and choose a theme colour; it tints the status bar and the loader. Icon, splash and colours has the details.
Step 3 — Splash and intro screens
A splash screen shows your logo for a moment while the site starts loading; intro screens explain the app on first launch. Both are optional and part of Builder Pro.
Step 4 — Pull-to-refresh and page loader
Turn on pull-to-refresh so users can reload a page with a swipe, and pick a page loader — a spinner, a progress bar or a branded loader with your icon. Without a loader, slow pages look frozen. See offline screen and page loader.
Step 5 — Bottom tabs
Up to five tabs along the bottom, each opening a page of your site: Home, Shop, Cart, Account. Tabs are what make a website feel like an app instead of a browser.
Step 6 — Package name and version
The package name is your app's permanent ID on Google Play, like com.yourshop.app. Choose it carefully: it cannot change once the app is published. Start the version at 1.0.
Step 7 — Permissions and push
Turn on only what your site uses: camera for uploads, location for "near me", microphone for calls. Add a OneSignal app ID to send push notifications — see push notifications for a website app.
Step 8 — Build
Open the Build center and build the APK. It is built and signed in the cloud and ready in a few minutes; download it on your phone to install it. Without Pro you get a demo APK that runs once so you can try it; Builder Pro builds the full app and the AAB for Google Play.
Common problems
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Google sign-in on the site does not work in the app | Google blocks its sign-in inside embedded web views. Offer email sign-in on your site, or sign-in with a provider that allows it. |
| Pages look like a desktop site | Your site needs a mobile layout (a viewport meta tag and responsive CSS). The app shows exactly what a phone browser shows. |
| Links open inside the app when they should not | External links (other domains) open in the phone's browser; links within your domain stay in the app. |
| Uploads need the camera | Turn on the camera permission. |