> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.theharvest.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Installing the app

> Harvest installs to a phone's home screen without an app store.

Harvest is a web app that installs. Your congregation gets an icon on their home screen, full screen, no browser bar — without waiting for an app store review or asking anyone to find you in a search.

<Note>
  Available on **every plan**, including Free.
</Note>

## How a member installs it

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open your church address">
    `yourchurch.theharvest.app` in their phone's browser.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add to home screen">
    On iPhone, the Share button then **Add to Home Screen**. On Android, the browser menu then **Install** or **Add to Home screen**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Done">
    It opens like any other app.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Harvest shows members these instructions in the app, so you do not have to explain it person by person.

## Why this rather than an app store

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="What you gain" icon="check">
    No review delays, no store listings to maintain, and updates reach everyone the moment they ship. Your church's app is your address — nothing to find or download.
  </Card>

  <Card title="What you give up" icon="circle-exclamation">
    You are not in the App Store or Play Store, so nobody discovers you by searching there. For a church, people arrive through your people, not through a store search.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Telling your congregation

<Tip>
  "Open this link and add it to your home screen" works far better from the front on a Sunday than in a written notice. Two minutes with the screen up, and most of the room does it at once.
</Tip>

## It still works in a browser

Installing is optional. Anyone who does not want another icon can use the same address in their browser and lose nothing.


## Related topics

- [The member app](/member-app/overview.md)
- [Livestream and sermon notes](/ministry/livestream.md)
- [Payment links](/giving/payment-links.md)
- [Branding](/your-church/branding.md)