Running a website as an app is a great way to make your life a bit more efficient–this is especially true when you’re on the go. Lugging a laptop from place to place never fails to become an exercise in inefficiency for me, especially when I’m having to work with too many tabs within a browser. Personally, my workflow gets really bogged down when it gets too “tabby.” That’s why I create pseudo web apps for certain sites. 

Let me explain why the “pseudo” is attached. Some sites (such as Twitter) can be installed as Progressive Web Apps, which are web applications built using the likes of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, with the goal of being 100% cross-platform (across operating systems and devices).  Unfortunately, not all sites can be installed as Progressive Web Apps.

However, some browsers, such as Brave, allow you to launch a site without all of the standard browser accoutrement. This makes it easier for you to quickly open a site, do something, and close it without having to deal with tabs. Technically, this isn’t really a web application, but from a desktop standpoint, it behaves as one.

How do you do that with the Brave browser? Let me show you.

SEE: Software as a Service (SaaS): A cheat sheet (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

What you’ll need

In order to make this work, you’ll need a running instance of Brave. It doesn’t matter what operating system you use, but it only works on the desktop version–so do this with the laptop that serves as your primary mobile office.

How to create a “web app” from brave

Let’s use the TechRepublic site as an example. Open Brave and navigate to http://www.techrepublic.com. Once there, click on the Brave menu (three horizontal lines in the upper-right corner) and click More Tools | Create Shortcut (Figure A).

Figure A

A new popup will appear, where you give your app a name (Figure B).

Figure B

Make sure to check the Open As Window Box, otherwise the app will open in a standard Brave web browser window, which defeats the purpose. Click Create and you’re done. The site will automatically open in a new window, without the regular Brave controllers, toolbars, and menus (Figure C).

Figure C

How to launch the “web app”

One of the reasons why I like having the ability to launch sites in such a manner is because I can access them quickly from the desktop menu. Instead of having to first launch the browser, I can hit a quick keyboard key, type the name of the site, and launch it from the menu (Figure D).

Figure D

And that’s all there is to it. This certainly isn’t a deal maker or breaker, but it can help transform your mobile life into one that’s a bit more efficient. The Brave browser is an outstanding choice for anyone looking for an alternative to the standard fair. Although this feature isn’t unique to Brave (as many browsers offer it), it’s just one more reason to give this web browser a go.

Subscribe to TechRepublic’s How To Make Tech Work on YouTube for all the latest tech advice for business pros from Jack Wallen.

5G and Mobile Enterprise Newsletter

5G networks and devices, mobile security, remote support, and the latest about phones, tablets, and apps are some of the topics we’ll cover.
Delivered Tuesdays and Fridays

Sign up today

Also see