The Best Frameworks to Turn a Website into a Mobile App

You’ve already done the hard part: you’ve built a mobile-optimized website that works. It brings in revenue, your customers know their way around it, and your team can update it in their sleep.

So the question isn’t “how do we fix the site?” anymore. It’s “what’s next?”

If you want to unlock the next level of growth with higher retention, more repeat purchases, and customers who actually come back on their own, you need a mobile app.

You need your brand living on the home screen, and you need push notifications that don’t get buried in an inbox.

Mobile commerce is already massive as recent market research projects global m-commerce will grow from around $678 billion in 2024 to $2.4 trillion by 2030. This means even small improvements in retention and repeat orders can translate into very large revenue gains.

So, you start searching. You type "best framework for converting website to app" into Google, and you’re bombarded with options: React Native, Flutter, Capacitor, Ionic.

They all sound impressive. They all promise "native performance."

But here is the problem: most of these frameworks are designed for building apps from scratch, not converting existing assets.

If you choose the wrong path, you could end up spending six months and tens of thousands of dollars rebuilding functionality you already have.

You don’t need to rebuild your website; you need to extend it.

In this guide, we’re going to look at the best frameworks for converting a website into a mobile app in 2025.

We’ll compare the heavyweights like React Native and Flutter against a fully managed service like MobiLoud to help you decide which path is right for your business.

The Difference Between "Building" and "Converting"

Before we dive into the frameworks, it is critical to understand the distinction between building and converting. This single misunderstanding is responsible for more wasted budget than any other factor in mobile app development.

Building means starting from zero. You have an idea, but no code.

You need to design the UI, write the logic, build the backend connections, and create the user flows from scratch.

In this scenario, frameworks like React Native and Flutter are excellent choices because they give you a blank canvas to create whatever you want.

Converting is different.

You already have the logic. Your checkout works. Your product catalog is organized. Your search function is optimized.

You don't need to create these things; you need to port them to a mobile app environment.

If you use a "building" tool for a "converting" job, you are essentially paying to rebuild your house just to add a new front door.

It’s inefficient, expensive, and unnecessary. The goal of conversion is to leverage your existing web investment, not discard it.

Already have a high-performing site? Skip the rebuild and follow this step-by-step guide to convert your website into a mobile app in ~30 days.

Let’s look at the top contenders, ranked not just by popularity, but by how well they solve the specific problem of turning an existing website into a high-quality mobile app.

1. MobiLoud

MobiLoud is a fully managed service built on a platform purpose-built to turn existing websites into full-featured mobile apps. If you want to understand the underlying approach in more detail, you can read more about how our apps work under the hood.

It represents a "Third Way" between expensive custom development and restrictive DIY builders.

MobiLoud uses a native app framework that integrates seamlessly with your existing tech stack. It goes beyond simply loading your site inside a webview; it creates a native app experience that communicates directly with your website.

This means your existing plugins, payment gateways, and third-party tools work out of the box.

Best For:

Mid-market to Enterprise brands, eCommerce stores (Shopify, WooCommerce, Adobe Commerce, Salesforce), and high-traffic digital publishers. It is the ideal solution for businesses that want a premium app without becoming an app development company.

Pros:

• Speed to Market: You can typically launch a fully functional, approved app in around 4 weeks.
• Zero Developer Effort: This is a "Done-For-You" service. You don't need to hire mobile developers or learn new languages. The MobiLoud team handles the build, the testing, and the submission.
• Real-Time Sync: Because the app is an extension of your website, any update you make to your site like changing a banner, adding a product, fixing a typo updates instantly in the app. There is no "version 2.0" to push to the App Store for content changes.
• Retention Focused: The platform is built to drive LTV. It comes with unlimited push notifications (integrating with tools like Klaviyo and OneSignal) and a native tab bar for easy navigation. That matters because independent analyses show that well-timed, relevant push notifications can increase app engagement by up to ~88%, boost conversion rates, and meaningfully improve retention.

Cons:

• Less Freedom for Radical Customization: MobiLoud turns your existing site into an app, it is not meant to create something completely different. If you want an app that looks and behaves nothing like your website, a fully custom build gives you more flexibility.
• Slight Performance Gap vs Custom Build: A fully native app can be a bit faster or smoother in some edge cases. For most ecommerce apps the difference is barely noticeable and rarely worth an extra $50K+.

Turn your existing site into a real native app without rebuilding a single flow. Convert your website into a mobile app with MobiLoud.

2. React Native

React Native is a framework developed by Meta (Facebook) that allows you to build mobile apps using JavaScript and React.

It allows developers to write code in JavaScript that renders as native UI components on both iOS and Android. It’s a powerful tool that bridges the gap between web and native development.

Best For:

Tech-forward companies with an existing team of React developers who want to build specific, highly custom user flows that are fundamentally different from their mobile website.

Pros:

• "Native" Feel: React Native apps feel very close to native apps because they use actual native components.
• Huge Ecosystem: There is a library or package for almost anything you want to do (often using tools like Expo).
• Cross-Platform: You can write one codebase that works on both iOS and Android (mostly).

Cons:

• It’s a Rebuild: You cannot simply "import" your website into React Native. You have to re-code your frontend. Your checkout flow? Re-code it. Your product page? Re-code it.
• Maintenance Burden: You are now maintaining two separate frontends: your website and your app. If you change a feature on your site, you have to manually update the app code to match.
• Specialized Skills Required: React Native is not “just React on mobile.” A React web developer can usually learn it, but it comes with a learning curve, platform-specific quirks, and growing pains before they’re productive. You can’t assume any React dev can instantly ship a high-quality React Native app.
• High Cost: React Native developers are expensive. A typical build can easily run into the tens of thousands of dollars and take several months.

3. Flutter

Flutter is Google’s UI toolkit for building natively compiled applications from a single codebase.

Unlike React Native, which uses native components, Flutter draws its own UI using a proprietary rendering engine. It uses the Dart programming language.

Best For:

Startups building a brand new product from scratch, particularly those that need complex, high-performance graphics or a very specific, non-standard UI design.

Pros:

• Beautiful UI: Flutter gives you pixel-perfect control over every pixel on the screen.
• Performance: It is incredibly fast, often outperforming other cross-platform frameworks.
• Single Codebase: In theory, you can run Flutter on mobile and web.

Cons:

• The Dart Barrier: Your web team likely knows JavaScript, PHP, or Python. They probably don't know Dart. This means hiring new specialists.
• Overkill for Conversion: Recreating a perfectly functional Shopify or WooCommerce checkout in Flutter is a massive waste of resources. You are solving a problem you have already solved.
• SEO Limitations: While Flutter works on the web, it is not SEO-friendly. You cannot replace your main ecommerce site with a Flutter app if you care about organic search traffic.

4. Capacitor / Ionic

Capacitor (often used with Ionic) is a cross-platform native runtime that makes it easy to build web-native apps.

It allows you to take your modern web app (built in React, Angular, Vue, etc.) and wrap it in a native container that has access to native APIs like the camera, geolocation, and push notifications.

Best For:

DIY developers and technical founders who have strong web skills and want to build the app themselves without learning Swift or Kotlin.

Pros:

• True "Conversion": Unlike React Native, you can actually wrap your existing web code.
• Access to Native APIs: It provides a bridge to native features, allowing your web code to interact with the device.
• Web Skills Apply: You can use standard web technologies.

Cons:

• The "DIY" Trap: You are responsible for everything. You build it, you debug it, you update it. When Apple rejects an app because of a guideline violation, you have to figure out how to fix it.
• Plugin Management: Managing the native plugins can get messy and cause conflicts as operating systems update.
• Performance: Without careful optimization, Capacitor apps can feel "janky" compared to a well-tuned native or MobiLoud app.

5. DIY No-Code Builders (instant site-to-app tools)

These are SaaS platforms that promise to turn your website into an app instantly, often for a very low monthly fee.

You paste your website URL into a dashboard, configure a few colors, and the tool generates an APK (Android) and IPA (iOS) file for you to upload.

Best For:

Small blogs, hobbyists, and low-budget projects where brand perception isn't critical.

Pros:

• Cheap: Prices often start very low.
• Fast: You can generate the app files in minutes.

Cons:

• Browser-Like Feel: These apps often feel like a basic web browser without the address bar. They lack the polish and native navigation that users expect.
• Rejection Risk: Apple is notorious for rejecting apps that provide "limited utility" or look too much like a website. These kinds of apps can increase the risk of running into those rejections.
• Zero Support: If you get rejected, you are usually on your own. There is no team of experts to advocate for you or fix the compliance issues.‍
• Brand Risk: For a serious business, a clunky, low-quality app can actually damage your brand reputation.

When you look at the numbers, Mobiloud becomes compelling. Why spend six figures and most of a year rebuilding a checkout flow that already works perfectly on your mobile site?

Why MobiLoud is the Best Option for Existing Websites

MobiLoud works with everything. Whether you are on Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Salesforce, or a completely custom stack, MobiLoud integrates with it.

You don't need to migrate platforms or change your backend to get an app.

Retention First

We understand that the goal of an app isn't just to "have an app." The goal is to increase Customer Lifetime Value (LTV).

As we share in our ecommerce mobile app statistics and benchmark data, branded mobile apps routinely outperform mobile websites and even desktop sites on engagement and revenue.

That’s why our platform is built around retention. We provide unlimited push notifications that you can segment and target, just like your email list. We give you a native tab bar that keeps users in your ecosystem and coming back.

The "Service" is the Framework

This is the most overlooked advantage.

When you choose React Native, you get code. When you choose MobiLoud, you get a partner.

We handle the submission process. We deal with Apple and Google. If a new iOS version breaks something, we fix it.

You get to focus on running your business, not managing a software development project.

Real-World Success

Take an international fashion brand like Jack & Jones. They operate hundreds of stores across Europe and Canada and manage a large, fast-moving catalog.

Rebuilding their entire experience in React Native or Flutter would have meant maintaining separate frontends for iOS, Android, and web. Every change on the site would need to be rebuilt for the apps.

Instead, they used MobiLoud to turn their existing website into high-end shopping apps that customers already understand.

Their team keeps managing one main experience on the web, while the apps stay in sync. This simplifies their workflow and cuts both the time and cost of keeping everything up to date.

Want data to back your framework decision? Download the 2025 Ecommerce Mobile App Benchmark Report and see how apps actually perform on revenue, conversion, and LTV.

Final Thoughts

The "best" framework isn't the one with the most GitHub stars or the one Google is currently hyping.

The best framework is the one that solves your business problem most efficiently.

If you are an established business with a working website, your problem is not "how do I build an app?" Your problem is "how do I translate my web success to mobile?"

Don't fall into the trap of rebuilding what you already have. Leverage your existing investment.

Use the framework that gets you to market fast, keeps your maintenance low, and drives the metrics that actually matter: retention, repeat orders, revenue per user, and overall LTV.

For most brands, that answer is MobiLoud.

Ready to see how your site would look as a high-performance mobile app? Book a consultation with our team today.