Fastest way to port a Web App to Mobile App - html

Question

Is there any way to port a complete Web App (which is already responsive and fully compatible with small screens, already has touch UI controls, etc.) to Android/iOS?
My Web App is barebone HTML/JS/CSS, so is super vanilla (I don't even use jQuery).
I thought I could just smash my web app into an empty Ionic-Cordova project and be good with it, but I was wondering is there is a faster/better way to do this?
Maybe a tool or service i don't know about that takes as input a folder and pops out an android/IOS executable?

Answer 1

You can make a PWA (Progressive Web App).
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are modern, high quality applications built using web technology. PWAs offer similar capabilities to iOS/Android/desktop apps, they are reliable even in unstable network conditions, and are installable making it easier for users to find and use them.
Basically you have to add a manifest file in .json to your project root where you'll inform many things about your App like icon, name, main color, display mode (choose standalone if you want it to be like an real app) and etc...
(see it here: https://web.dev/add-manifest/) and link to your project pages:
<link rel="manifest" href="/manifest.json">
After that you have to make it installable (https://web.dev/codelab-make-installable/), to do that you will need a service-worker script in your project, you can get one here (https://glitch.com/edit/#!/make-it-installable?path=service-worker.js%3A1%3A0)
const CACHE_NAME = 'offline';
const OFFLINE_URL = 'offline.html';
self.addEventListener('install', function(event) {
console.log('[ServiceWorker] Install');
event.waitUntil((async () => {
const cache = await caches.open(CACHE_NAME);
// Setting {cache: 'reload'} in the new request will ensure that the response
// isn't fulfilled from the HTTP cache; i.e., it will be from the network.
await cache.add(new Request(OFFLINE_URL, {cache: 'reload'}));
})());
self.skipWaiting();
});
self.addEventListener('activate', (event) => {
console.log('[ServiceWorker] Activate');
event.waitUntil((async () => {
// Enable navigation preload if it's supported.
// See https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2017/02/navigation-preload
if ('navigationPreload' in self.registration) {
await self.registration.navigationPreload.enable();
}
})());
// Tell the active service worker to take control of the page immediately.
self.clients.claim();
});
self.addEventListener('fetch', function(event) {
// console.log('[Service Worker] Fetch', event.request.url);
if (event.request.mode === 'navigate') {
event.respondWith((async () => {
try {
const preloadResponse = await event.preloadResponse;
if (preloadResponse) {
return preloadResponse;
}
const networkResponse = await fetch(event.request);
return networkResponse;
} catch (error) {
console.log('[Service Worker] Fetch failed; returning offline page instead.', error);
const cache = await caches.open(CACHE_NAME);
const cachedResponse = await cache.match(OFFLINE_URL);
return cachedResponse;
}
})());
}
});
Just add and save it in .js file in your project.
After that make sure you register the service worker using that code in your project:
/* Only register a service worker if it's supported */
// Service Worker
window.addEventListener('load', () => {
if ('serviceWorker' in navigator) {
navigator.serviceWorker.register('/service-worker.js');
}
});
Now you can make your site installable via some <button> element for example:
window.addEventListener('beforeinstallprompt', (event) => {
// Get the event first
window.deferredPrompt = event;
});
document.querySelector('#buttonInstall').addEventListener('click', () => {
const promptEvent = window.deferredPrompt;
if (! promptEvent) {
return;
}
promptEvent.prompt();
promptEvent.userChoice.then((result) => {
window.deferredPrompt = null;
});
}
});
You can hide the install button when people are in your PWA this way:
if (! window.matchMedia('(display-mode: standalone)').matches) {
// hide your install button
}
Here is some important things:
Your app have to meets certain criteria to be installable, you can
see it here: https://web.dev/install-criteria/
If the install pop-up doesn't appear, it means you made something
wrong, or your manifest is broken or your script.
You can see if your manifest.json is ok in browser developer tools open it (F12), go to Application tab and go to Manifest, this will show all your manifest parameters and it will show if something is wrong too.
I recommend you to read all the links above, there is a lot more
details an explanation about PWAs

Answer 2

simple way to port web app to mobile app is to make a WebView app in android. then give it your web app link address