App Store requirements for wrapped website apps, and what Anticode's checklist covers
Apple accepts apps built with Capacitor, but it's wary of apps that are only a website in a frame. Before submitting the app Anticode packages from your site, you'll need a privacy policy, a way to contact you, finished content, honest privacy answers, a real reason to install, and your own developer account. Anticode's App stores checklist checks what it can read from your site and lists the rest as yours.
The big one: minimum functionality
Apple's App Review Guidelines ask, under 4.2, for features, content and interface that go beyond a repackaged website, and 4.2.2 adds that apps shouldn't mainly be marketing material or a collection of links. It's the guideline wrapped sites usually run into, and no packaging can promise a pass.
Anticode's checklist is blunt about it: the minimum-functionality item never shows as done. It reads your published site and reports how many pages it has, roughly how many words, and which forms. If it's a single page under 400 words with no booking form, the item is marked high risk; otherwise it's a warning that Apple often rejects wrapped websites. It names what the export adds (a native share sheet on every page, and booking reminders when there's a booking form) and what would help more: more pages or a CMS collection, bookings, content that changes often, or extra native features. It also points out that Google Play is usually less strict, which is why many owners start there.
What the checklist reads from your site
| Item | Passes when | Apple's reason |
|---|---|---|
| Privacy policy | A link mentions privacy | Guideline 5.1.1 requires a privacy policy link, in the listing and in the app |
| Contact details | There's an email or phone link, or a contact or booking form | Guideline 1.5 expects a support URL with an easy way to contact you |
| Placeholder content | No filler text, sample names, example.com addresses or 555 numbers | Guideline 2.1 asks for placeholder content to be removed |
| Links that go nowhere | No more than one link to # | Reviewers tap things |
| Store name | The page title fits in 30 characters | Listing limit |
| Description | A meta description of 30 or more characters to start from | Listing copy |
Anticode writes a Privacy Policy page for each published site from what it actually does, which you can use as the privacy policy URL once you've checked it; it's a starting point, not legal advice. Every fix is made in the builder and published, and the checklist reads the live site again.
Privacy answers
App Store Connect's App Privacy section asks for a privacy policy URL and whether you collect data, and if so, which types. Apple's App Privacy help has the details. The checklist fills in your starting point from your forms: if they collect names, email addresses, phone numbers or messages, it suggests declaring them as contact info (and messages as user content), linked to the person and used for app functionality. It also notes that Anticode's visit counts keep nothing about the visitor and that the site sets no cookies. If your forms collect nothing, it says so.
What only you can do
- Join the Apple Developer Program. It has a yearly fee. Enrolling as an organisation needs a D-U-N-S number, which can take a couple of weeks to obtain.
- Create the app in App Store Connect with the same app ID as the project. Choose it carefully: it can never change once the app is in the store.
- Build and sign on a Mac with a recent Xcode (or a cloud Mac); see Xcode.
- Screenshots. Apple's specification requires at least one iPhone screenshot, and iPad screenshots too when the app runs on iPad, which the project does unless you turn iPad off. Take them in the simulator.
- The listing: name, subtitle, description, keywords, category and the age-rating questionnaire. The download includes a 1024×1024 icon to start from.
- Review notes. Tell the reviewer what the app does beyond the website: the share sheet and, with bookings, the reminder offer (say how to trigger it). Provide a demo account if anything needs signing in.
Export compliance is pre-answered: the project declares no non-exempt encryption, because it only uses the HTTPS built into iOS. Change that if you add your own encryption.
Should you submit at all?
Every published Anticode site already installs from Safari with its own icon and an offline screen, no review involved. A store listing makes sense when people expect to find you in the App Store, or when the app does something the site can't, such as reminders. If the honest answer is "it's our website", the installable PWA avoids a likely rejection.
Limits
- No submission by Anticode. It never creates accounts, signs builds or talks to Apple.
- No pass promised. The checklist reduces avoidable rejections; Apple's reviewers decide.
- Fees and timings change. The checklist deliberately doesn't quote them; check Apple's current terms.
The general walk-through is in turning a website into an App Store app; the packaging itself is described on the Capacitor project page.
Questions people ask
Will Apple accept my site as an app?
Possibly. Apple can reject apps that are mainly a website, and Anticode's checklist treats that as a real risk. A booking form, more pages and frequently updated content improve the odds.
Can I use Anticode's generated privacy policy?
It's written from what your site does and is a reasonable starting point. Read it, adjust it for your business and take advice if unsure.
Do I need a company to publish?
No, individuals can enrol. Organisations need a D-U-N-S number to enrol as a company.