Webview / PWA apps

In Cadrant you build these apps in the Mobile application tab, option « Webview / PWA ». It is a single mobile-first web app, distributed in two ways — as a PWA, on the stores, or both:

1. PWA — you publish a URL, and your users install the app from their browser, no store involved.
2. WebView — the same app, wrapped in a native shell and submitted to the App Store and Google Play.

What you get

• Mobile-first UI generated for touch screens and phone layouts.
• Phone-frame preview inside Cadrant (same tabs as a web app: preview, editor, code, data).
• A free Cadrant URL, or your own custom domain, with HTTPS included.
• Supabase backend: auth, database, storage and Edge Functions.
• GitHub sync and version history.

1. PWA: install from the browser

A PWA (Progressive Web App) is a web app your users install on their phone straight from the browser. It is the simplest way to put a mobile product in people's hands: you publish a URL, and that URL is the app.

How a PWA reaches your users

1. They open your URL on their phone, in any browser.
2. They tap « Add to home screen » in the browser menu.
3. The app gets its own icon and opens full screen, without browser chrome.
4. Every time you publish, everyone gets the new version immediately — nothing to download, nothing to approve.

Publish

From the project header, open Publish and pick a slug or connect a custom domain. Share the link and you are live. Details on slug and custom domains: Publish your project.

What a PWA cannot do

• Device APIs are limited compared to a native app — camera and push notifications in particular are restricted, and iOS restricts them further than Android.
• It is not in the App Store: nobody will find it by searching the store. For that, move on to part 2.

2. WebView: publish on the stores

A WebView app is your published web app wrapped in a native shell and submitted to the App Store and Google Play. It is the same project as your PWA — the difference is that this one gets a store listing. Pick this route when people need to find and install your app from the store rather than from a link.

Prerequisites to publish: a Starter plan, an Expo account (free), an Apple Developer account ($99/year) for the App Store and a Google Play developer account ($25 one-off) for Google Play.

How it works

1. Cadrant generates a minimal Expo shell whose only screen is a native WebView pointing at your published URL.
2. The iOS and Android builds run on your Expo account, and Expo submits them to your App Store Connect account and your Google Play Console.
3. Users install it from the store like any other app.

What changes compared to the PWA

• Discoverable: your app has a store listing, an icon and a name people can search for.
• Reviewed: Apple reviews the binary before it goes live and for each new build; Google reviews production releases on Play.
• Content still updates instantly: the shell loads your live URL, so publishing your app updates what users see without submitting a new build.

Publish

Both flows are identical to a native app's — the builds run on your Expo account, then Expo submits the iOS binary to your App Store Connect account and the Android app bundle to your Play Console. Step by step, per platform — iOS: Publish to App Store Connect. Android: Publish to Google Play.

Related

• Native mobile apps — full native APIs, when the browser is not enough.
• Publish your project — slug and custom domains.
• Publish to App Store Connect — Apple Developer flow, build and upload.
• Publish to Google Play — Play Console setup, upload key and Internal testing rollout.