Your browser can already turn some websites into apps. In Chrome and Edge, you can install a site as an app; in Safari on a Mac, you can add a site to the Dock. These browser-installed apps, often called Progressive Web Apps or PWAs, open in their own window with their own icon.
So why install WebCatalog Desktop? Because a window is only the start. The bigger differences are what the app shares with your browser, how many accounts it can hold, and whether it tells you when something is waiting.
At a glance
| WebCatalog Desktop | Browser-installed apps (PWAs) | |
|---|---|---|
| Which sites | Any website, plus a catalog of 65,000+ apps | Sites that offer an install option, or any site in some browsers |
| Sessions | Each app and account has its own cookies and logins | Chrome and Edge apps share your browser profile's cookies |
| Multiple accounts | Every account side by side in one app | One account per app, tied to your browser profile |
| Unread badges | For apps that show unread counts, such as Gmail and Slack | Only for sites that support badging |
| Organizing apps | Spaces that group apps and accounts in one window, with folders | Separate app icons, managed in each browser |
| Privacy | Ad and tracker blocker, app lock, per-app proxies | Your browser's settings and extensions |
| Works the same on | macOS, Windows, Linux | Varies by browser and operating system |
What is WebCatalog Desktop?
Think of WebCatalog Desktop as the install button without the ties to your browser. Every app it creates gets its own window and Dock or taskbar icon, and keeps its own cookies and data, separate from your browser and from each other. It works with any website, and runs the same way on every computer.
What are browser-installed apps?
Progressive Web Apps are websites that can be installed like apps. Chrome and Edge show an install button for sites that support it, and can also open other sites in their own window. On a Mac running macOS Sonoma or later, Safari can add any site to the Dock. The resulting app opens in a window without the browser's toolbar, and comes from the browser you installed it with.
1. Your work apps, kept out of your browsing
An app installed from Chrome or Edge shares cookies and data with the browser profile it came from. Your project tracker, your evening shopping, and every site you skim all draw from the same pool.
Each WebCatalog Desktop app keeps its own. Signing out of a site in your browser doesn't sign you out of the app, and the app stays focused: links to other sites open in your default browser unless you add a rule to send them to a specific app. A built-in ad and tracker blocker runs in every app, without installing anything in your browser.
2. Two Google Drives, one app
Browser-installed apps follow your browser profile. To keep a work and a personal Google Drive apart, you install the app twice from two Chrome profiles, then keep track of which icon is which.
In WebCatalog Desktop, one Drive app holds both accounts, each in its own isolated session, both signed in. They sit in the app's sidebar, and Cmd or Ctrl plus a number switches between them.
3. Badges for the apps that matter
Browser-installed apps only show an unread count on their icon if the site supports badging. Many don't.
WebCatalog Desktop reads the count from the page title, so apps that show unread counts, such as Gmail and Slack, get a badge on the Dock or taskbar whether or not the site supports badging. Each account has its own, and you can mute notifications, sounds, or the badge for any of them.
4. One library instead of scattered icons
Not every site offers an install option, and PWAs are managed separately in each browser that installed them. WebCatalog Desktop keeps every app in one library, starting from a catalog of more than 65,000 apps with the right names and icons. When work spans several apps, spaces gather a project's apps and accounts in one window, with its own icon and keyboard shortcut.
5. The same setup on every computer
A PWA works differently depending on the browser and operating system. WebCatalog Desktop behaves the same on macOS, Windows, and Linux, and syncs your accounts list, folders, bookmarks, and settings between them. Set up a new laptop by signing in, not by reinstalling apps one browser at a time.
Which one should you choose?
Browser-installed apps make sense if you only want one or two sites in their own windows, each with a single account, and don't mind them sharing your browser's data.
Choose WebCatalog Desktop if you want:
- Work apps with logins and data kept apart from your browsing
- Several accounts for the same service in one app
- Unread badges for Gmail, Slack, and the other apps you rely on
- One library of apps, organized into spaces
- The same setup on every computer you use
Installing a site from your browser is a good first step. When you want your apps to stand on their own, try WebCatalog Desktop.
