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Installable PWA shell
The shell makes an installable web app feel like an app: an icon on the home screen, no browser bar, and a launch to the last screen. A member opens your club app from the same spot as their banking app.
Apps
Progressive Web App Development
Installable web apps that work on desktop and mobile, no app store, instant updates and offline support when you need it.
Update any timeJust now
Superstack offers progressive web app development NZ businesses use to get an app without the app store. A PWA is a web app that works like an app: it installs from a link, works offline and runs on every device from one build. Customers who never download apps still get yours.
The problem
the store is in the way
- Every typo fix waits on store review, and we pay a fee to list our own app.
- Half the team is on iPhone, half on Android, the office on desktops. One tool must work everywhere.
- Our customers will not download another app. A link is all they will tap.
- A price change must be live for everyone that minute, not after the next update.
- We priced an iPhone app and an Android app. The budget covers one, and we need both.
What Superstack builds
progressive web app development without the store
PWA development starts with a web app and adds the layer that makes a browser treat it like an app: install prompt, home screen icon, offline and push. We say plainly what iPhones will not do.
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Offline caching and background sync
A service worker keeps the screens on the device, so the offline web app opens with no signal. Offline work queues and sends itself when the connection returns. A field worker fills in a form underground and it reaches the office later.
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Web push notifications
The app sends push notifications from your domain: a booking reminder, a roster change, an order ready. On Android and desktop they work once allowed. On iPhone they need the app on the home screen first, so we prompt for that.
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Responsive UI for desktop and mobile
One interface that rearranges itself for a phone, a tablet on the counter and a monitor in the office. A receptionist works the booking grid on a wide screen while a customer books on a phone. We design the phone version first.
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Device features (camera, geolocation, file upload)
A PWA uses the camera, reads the phone's location and takes file uploads through the browser. A property inspector photographs a room straight into the report, the app stamps where it was taken, and the tenancy agreement uploads from the same screen.
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Authentication and roles
Login works the way people expect: email link, Google or Microsoft sign-in, or a PIN on a shared tablet. Roles decide what each person sees: a member their bookings, a coach their classes, the manager everything. An installed app stays signed in.
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Instant updates on your domain
The app lives at your own address, so a change goes live when we publish it. No review queue, no waiting for people to update. A cafe changes its menu mid-morning, and every phone shows the new one on the next tap.
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Optional store wrapper later
If you later want a listing in the App Store or Google Play, we wrap the same PWA in a thin native shell. The web version keeps running, and the listing costs no second build. Many never need it. Some want the badge.
Example workflow
A PWA launch has no store step, so the chain is the build itself. We scope who uses the app, build the web app, then add the install, offline and push layer. Before launch we install it on real iPhones, Androids and desktops and fix what differs. Launch is a link. Updates go live at the next tap.
- 1Scope
- 2Web app build
- 3PWA layer added
- 4Install test on iOS, Android and desktop
- 5Launch on your own domain
- 6Update any time
Integrations
Your accounting software receives invoices and returns payment status. Stripe takes payments, Apple Pay and Google Pay included. Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 handles sign-in. Twilio sends SMS where push is not enough, and your CRM and booking systems connect through their APIs.
Any system with an API connects. Click a logo to visit them.
Xero
MYOB
Stripe- GoCardless
Google Workspace
Microsoft 365
Twilio
Shopify
HubSpot- Anything with an API
Add AI when it actually makes sense
AI is optional, and a PWA changes nothing about that. The same AI features as a native app run through the browser, because the model sits on the server, not the phone. Read how we use AI and where it fits into business process automation.
Search, drafting and document capture through the browser
A member searches club documents in plain words, a manager drafts a notice, a field worker captures a form with the camera.
Web app, mobile app and customer portal
Web app
On a desktop the PWA is a normal web app in a browser tab, or installed as its own window. The office runs bookings, rosters and reports here.
Mobile app
On a phone the same PWA installs to the home screen and behaves like a mobile app: full screen, offline, push. Staff on mixed phones get one app.
Customer portal
A customer portal is the PWA we build most: customers open it from an invoice email, then it lives on their phone. All three share one database, so a desktop booking shows on the phone at once.
Who it’s for
Customer portals for any service business
Invoices, bookings and documents from a link, nothing to download.
Staff tools for mixed-device teamsOne roster or checklist app on whatever phone each person owns.
Member organisationsA club app added from the newsletter: events, renewals, push reminders.
EventsSchedule, map and live updates for one weekend, no store listing to maintain.
Build options
Quickest start
Superstack Start
We add the PWA layer to an existing Superstack module, such as a customer portal, so it installs anywhere.
Most common
Superstack Custom
We combine modules into one platform delivered as a PWA for customers and staff, and a web app for the office.
Fully bespoke
Superstack Build
A fully bespoke PWA for something new: an events app, a member platform, a tool that must run everywhere.
FAQ
By who uses it and what it needs. A PWA wins when users will not download an app, the team is on mixed devices, or updates must be instant. A native app wins for Bluetooth, background location or a store presence. We build both. The PWA vs native app call is about fit.
A few things. Push notifications only work once the app is on the home screen, and iPhones show no install prompt, so we guide people through 'add to home screen'. Safari has no background sync, so offline work uploads when the app next opens. Bluetooth and NFC are out of reach.
Yes. We wrap the same PWA in a thin native shell and submit it. Google Play accepts wrapped PWAs readily. Apple expects an app to do more than the website, so we add native touches to pass review. The web version keeps running, and there is still one codebase to maintain.
As much as you decide. The app opens and shows the last data it loaded, so a staff member sees today's roster in a lift. Beyond that, forms fill in and queue, photos wait on the phone and documents stay readable. Anything needing a live answer waits for a connection.
No harm, usually a help. A PWA is still a website on your domain, so Google indexes every public page, and the speed work that makes a PWA feel instant is what Google rewards. Pages behind a login are not indexed, but they never were, and a native app is invisible to search.
Enough to matter. Native means two codebases, one per platform, or one cross-platform codebase plus two store processes. A PWA is one codebase that runs on both and on the desktop, with no store fees, no review cycles and one set of updates. We price both so you see the gap.
Talk to Superstack
Built around the way you work.
Your business shouldn't have to fit someone else's software. Tell us how your business works. We'll show you what Superstack can build around it.
Send us your app idea and who will use it. We'll tell you if a PWA gets you there for less.
