VKT Toolkit · October 8, 2026 · 6 min read

How to Add a Website to Your Home Screen (iPhone, Android and Desktop)

Some websites deserve to be one tap away — a counter you use every shift, a screen test, a fidget toy you open for two minutes. The browser can do that, and it takes about twenty seconds: you add the site to your home screen and it becomes an icon that opens fullscreen, like an app.

This guide covers the exact steps for iPhone and iPad, Android, and desktop Chrome or Edge, plus what to check when the option seems to be missing. We use VKT PWA as the example, because it is a set of nine installable web apps — but the same steps work for any site built as a PWA.

What adding to the home screen actually does

It is worth knowing what you are getting, because it is not the same as a bookmark:

• An icon on the home screen, with the site's own name and logo, that you launch like any app;
• Fullscreen — no address bar, no tabs, just the app;
• Offline access — a service worker caches the app on the device, so it opens without a connection;
• No store, no download, no permissions wall — nothing is installed in the system sense, and no account is created;
• Silent updates — there is no version to maintain; when the site changes, the next launch is the new one.

What it is not: it is not a native app, it cannot access things outside the browser's reach, and it will not appear in any app store. For a small tool, that trade is usually exactly right.

iPhone and iPad (Safari)

1. Open the site in Safari. On iOS, this must be Safari — Chrome and Firefox on iPhone will not offer the option;
2. Tap the Share button at the bottom of the screen (the square with an arrow pointing up);
3. Scroll down the share sheet and choose Add to Home Screen;
4. Confirm or edit the name that will appear under the icon, then tap Add;
5. Close Safari and look at your home screen. The icon is there, and it opens fullscreen with no browser interface.

Two details worth knowing: if you cannot see Add to Home Screen in the list, tap Edit Actions at the bottom of the share sheet, or simply scroll further — on newer iOS versions it sits below the app row. And if you already added the site once, the option may be replaced by Open in app, because the icon already exists.

Android (Chrome and others)

1. Open the site in Chrome;
2. Look at the right end of the address bar. If the site is installable, an install icon (a small screen with a downward arrow, or a plus) appears there — tap it;
3. If there is no icon, open the three-dot menu and choose Add to Home screen or Install app;
4. Confirm the name and tap Add or Install;
5. The icon lands in your app drawer and on the home screen, depending on your launcher.

In Samsung Internet the same option lives under the menu as Add page to then Home screen. In Firefox for Android, the menu entry is Install. The result is the same icon; only the menu wording changes.

Desktop Chrome and Edge

1. Open the site in Chrome or Edge;
2. Look in the address bar for the install icon on the right — a small monitor with a downward arrow;
3. Click it and confirm Install. In Edge the entry is under the menu as Apps, then Install this site as an app;
4. The app opens in its own window with no tab strip, and appears in your applications list, launcher or dock.

On desktop, some Linux distributions and some enterprise setups block installation by policy — in that case the option may be greyed out or missing entirely. A private or incognito window also disables installation, so try a normal window if the icon does not show up.

If you cannot find the option

Almost every case comes down to one of these:

• You are not in the right browser. On iOS, only Safari can add to the home screen. This is the single most common cause;
• The site is not installable. A PWA needs a manifest and a service worker. A plain website can still be saved as a bookmark or a shortcut, but it will not open fullscreen offline;
• You are in a private window. Installation is disabled in incognito and private browsing;
• It is already installed. The share sheet then offers "Open in app" instead, and on Android the icon is already in the launcher;
• A policy is blocking it. On managed work devices and some desktop installs, the option can be disabled centrally.

To remove an icon later: long-press it on a phone and choose Remove from Home Screen or Uninstall; on desktop, right-click the app window and choose Uninstall, or remove it from the browser's apps page. Nothing else is affected — no data outside that app's own local storage.

FAQ

More guides in the VKT blog.