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Question: Someone told me that you can turn an ordinary website into a Windows program. In other words, it should behave like an application and you should be able to create a shortcut on the taskbar. The browser menus should disappear and you should only see the site itself. Is it true? Can I do that? If so, how do I do it?
Answer: Yes, that’s correct—at least for some sites. This is called a progressive web app (PWA), and just as you describe, the site will behave like a program on your computer.
For example, say you want to turn Google Maps into a web app. In this case, you would do this.
Martin Appel
- Open your browser, such as Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge. Navigate to maps.google.com like you usually would and click on the three dots in the top-right corner.
- In Chrome, select Install Google Maps and in Edge, click on Apps > Install Google Maps. You can also use the install shortcut that appears on the right side of your browser’s address window.
- Tap on Install in the window that appears. If you’re using Chrome, the site will now open in a new, minimized window. In Edge, you will first see a settings menu where you can choose whether to pin the app to the Taskbar or Start menu, and whether you want to create a desktop shortcut. You can also choose whether it should start automatically. Make your choices and select Allow and the window will open.
- Now you can right-click the icon at the bottom of Task Manager and choose to pin it (if you didn’t do so in the previous step).
- From now on, Google Maps will open as a web app and if you want to access its settings, just tap the icon in the top-right corner.
This article was translated from Swedish to English, and originally appeared on pcforalla.se.