Your store is not just a website, it can also be installed on a phone like an app. This is a built-in feature called a PWA, and the good news is there is nothing for you to set up. This guide explains what it is and why it is worth having, so you understand what your customers are seeing.
What a PWA is
PWA stands for Progressive Web App. In plain terms, it means your store can be "added to the home screen" of a visitor's phone or tablet, where it then behaves much like a normal app. It gets its own icon on their home screen, opens in its own clean full-screen window without the browser address bar, and launches with a tap rather than the customer having to remember your web address and type it in. It is still your website underneath — there is no separate app to build, submit, or maintain, and nothing for the customer to download from an app store.
Why it is good for your store
For an independent store, a place on the customer's home screen is valuable. Most people visit a website once and forget it, but an icon sitting next to their other apps is a constant, gentle reminder that you exist — and getting back to you becomes a single tap instead of a search. That lowers the friction for repeat visits and repeat purchases, which is exactly what you want from people who already liked your store enough to install it. It also makes your store feel more established and trustworthy: looking and opening like a real app signals that you are a serious, permanent business rather than a fleeting webpage.
Visitors who use your store on a phone are quietly invited to add it to their home screen, so this happens naturally without you doing anything or the customer needing technical know-how.
What you need to do
Nothing. The installable-app feature is switched on by default, and the app icons are generated automatically from your logo, so once you have uploaded a logo in your branding settings the icons take care of themselves. There are no steps to follow and no settings to manage — this article exists simply so you understand the feature when you notice your store can be installed, or when a customer mentions they have added you to their phone. It does not change how login, the shop, or checkout work in any way; it just gives your store a friendlier front door on mobile devices.
Tracking Who Uses Your PWA
In the next month or so (around July / August 2026) the ability to see who is using your PWA will also be included.