When You Should Add a manifest.webmanifest
A manifest.webmanifest is most useful when your site behaves like an app people come back to frequently. It is not required for every website.
Add a manifest when
Section titled “Add a manifest when”- The site is app-like and task-oriented.
- People use it daily or weekly.
- You want installability behavior (home screen/app launcher presence) to be meaningful.
- You maintain icon, name, and start URL metadata intentionally.
Examples:
- Dashboards, client portals, admin tools, and internal systems.
- Productive tools (project planners, note systems, calculators people reuse often).
- Consumer web apps with repeat usage.
Skip a manifest when
Section titled “Skip a manifest when”- The site is mostly informational and rarely revisited.
- There is no app-like workflow to resume.
- Installability would not improve the user experience.
- Install prompts would be noise for users rather than a useful action.
When a site is not truly app-like, install UI can become friction: users are asked to install something they are unlikely to use regularly, which adds one more prompt they need to dismiss.
Examples:
- Simple brochure websites.
- Landing pages and one-off campaign pages.
- A typical restaurant site where users check menu/location occasionally, not as a frequent app workflow.
Practical rule
Section titled “Practical rule”If most users would not reasonably pin your site and use it regularly (weekly or daily), skip the manifest for now. Add it once your product actually has repeat, app-style usage.
In short: do not ask users to make an install decision when there is no clear ongoing value, because that extra “No” moment makes the experience feel pushy instead of helpful.