A WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Webflow or Squarespace site is generated on the platform's servers every time a page is requested. There is no folder of HTML to download, so it cannot be bundled — and it does not need to be. You make it into an app by pointing the app at the site's URL: the app opens your live site full-screen with your own icon, name and colours, and every change you make in the platform's editor is in the app immediately. Build once, then never think about the app when you edit the site.
Before you build: the three checks
- Mobile layout. Open the site in Chrome on a phone. The app shows exactly that. Platform themes are almost all responsive now, but a custom header or a wide table can still break at phone width.
- HTTPS everywhere. All of these platforms serve HTTPS by default; the thing to check is a custom domain that still redirects through
http://, and embedded content (a map, a video, a form) that loads over plain HTTP. Mixed content is blocked inside apps. - Popups and banners. Cookie notices, newsletter popups and chat widgets are the first thing an app user sees. Make sure they can be dismissed with a thumb.
WordPress
Use the site's front-end URL, not /wp-admin. A caching plugin helps the app feel fast, since every page is a fresh request. If the site uses a Sign in with Google plugin, that button will not work inside the app (Google blocks embedded WebViews); the normal WordPress login form is fine. WooCommerce checkouts work as they do on the mobile web. A membership site with a login is a strong candidate for Pro's push notifications — people who paid want to be told when something new is posted.
Shopify
Point the app at your storefront domain. The cart and checkout are handled by Shopify's own pages and work unchanged inside the app, including Shop Pay and third-party payment methods. Two things worth doing: give the app a bottom tab bar (Pro) with Home, Collections, Cart and Account, because a store is exactly the kind of site people navigate by section; and set the theme colour to your header colour so the status bar matches. A storefront app with tabs and push notifications is what Google Play expects from a "real" store app.
Wix, Webflow and Squarespace
All three work by URL with no special handling. Wix sites can be heavy on first load — a splash screen (Pro) hides that. Webflow sites often use custom interactions that assume a mouse; test hover-only menus on a phone. Squarespace's built-in commerce and member areas behave like WooCommerce's: normal logins work, Google-button logins do not.
Making it feel like an app, not a bookmark
With nothing else switched on, a URL app is your site with an icon. That is fine for sharing with customers directly. For Google Play, and for anyone who will use it every day, add the things that make it an app:
| Add | Why |
|---|---|
| Theme colour + page loader (free) | The status bar matches your brand and pages do not flash white while they load |
| Pull to refresh (free) | Feeds, order lists and blogs get the gesture people already use |
| Splash screen (Pro) | Your logo on launch instead of a blank screen while the first page loads |
| Bottom tab bar (Pro) | Native tabs for your site's main sections — the single biggest "this is an app" signal |
| Push notifications (Pro) | New post, order shipped, sale starts — reaching people who are not on the site |
Getting a platform site onto Google Play
Play's minimum functionality policy rejects apps that are "just a website" — a bare WebView with nothing a browser bookmark would not do. The reviewers are checking for native features and value beyond the mobile site. In practice, a splash screen, a tab bar and push notifications clear the bar for a store or a content site; an offline-capable section helps further. Play also requires an App Bundle (AAB) rather than an APK for new apps, which is Pro output, and a developer account. The publishing guide walks through the console.