With this brief guide we are going to see how to add website directly to your Mac Dock, we are going to use Facebook as an example, but you can apply the same steps to every website on the internet.
The dock is a very useful place where you can put almost everything, to quickly recall when you need it. Today we are going to discover an application that will allow us to create webapp so we can put our favorite website directly on the dock. The application is called Fluid and here is how we can use it.
Where to Find Fluid
This beautiful application is not available on the Mac AppStore, so you will have to head to the developer website to download Fluid. On https://fluidapp.com/ you will get the full application for free. In addition, by purchasing a $4.99 you will add some other functionalities to the program such as:
- the possibility to have separate cookies storage,
- you can pin Fluid app to the status bar,
- you can use Userscripts or Userstyles.
After testing the app I can say that you could live safely with the free version.
How to Create Fluid Apps
Once downloaded you are ready to create your webapps. Simply launch Fluid and follow the onscreen instructions to easily setup the application.
Insert the complete URL of the website, chose a name for it and add an icon. By default you can use the favicon of the website, but of course you are free to customize it using the image you want.
If you are looking for great images you could try to go to the official Flickr page of Fluid where there are hundreds of pictures that will look great on your dock. You can find the page at the following address: https://www.flickr.com/groups/fluid _icons/
Finally, hit the Create button and Fluid will setup your webapp. In a few seconds you will be asked if you want to open the new app, or if you want to see it in the Finder. Either way you are now ready to enjoy your webapp on your dock.
The website you’ve chosen will be put inside a framework based on Safari, without the address bar and all the other items that normally occupy the top of the screen. In this way the navigation will be easier, faster and cleaner.
There are also others advantages to using Fluid. Some webapps created in this way, support notification badges. For example, if you create a Facebook webapp, you are immediately notified when someone sends you a message or tags you in a photo.
Fluid is a great program and it will give you more freedom to use your favorite website as if they were native Mac applications. I’ve already used it to create a great number of webapps, so in this way I can keep my workflow much more organized, without having a single browser with lots of tabs that sometimes could be confusing.
I highly recommend you to try it, and as usual, if you need assistance please leave a comment below.
References
- All screenshots taken by the author
- Fluid - https://fluidapp.com/
