Plash is a free macOS app that allows you to take any web page and use it as your wallpaper, effectively pinning it behind all other open windows and applications. Let’s explore how to use it and why it’s a worthy addition to your app arsenal.

Getting Started With Plash

Once you have installed Plash via the App Store, open the application. Once it is running, you will notice a new addition to your menu bar in the form of an icon resembling a water droplet. Plash is controlled entirely from the drop-down menu that appears when clicking the Plash menu bar icon.

Once you’ve enabled Plash by clicking the top-most menu item, you can get started using it by adding the first website you want to use as your wallpaper.

Click the Plash menu bar item and select “Add Website” from the drop-down menu.

In the “URL” field, enter any website of your choosing. Make sure you input the entire web address, taking note to include the “https://” portion.

Once you’ve entered the URL, the “Title” field directly underneath might autopopulate with info it reads from your chosen website, but you can change that to any title of your choosing by editing the text in the field. When you’re satisfied with your title, click “Add” and your desktop wallpaper will immediately show your chosen website.

Interacting With Plash

Plash’s core purpose is to “pin” a website to your wallpaper, making it always visible but locking its current state from interaction.

However, if you do require interacting with your background web page, you can do so by enabling Browser Mode, which can be toggled on/off from the Plash menu bar drop-down or by way of a hotkey, which, among other customized hotkeys, can be configured in the “Shortcuts” tab within Plash’s main Settings window.

Adjusting Plash’s appearance

Once you’ve confirmed Plash is working at a base level, and have pinned it to the background by disabling Browsing Mode, it’s time to move on to some additional settings that will fine-tune the app’s appearance to best fit you and your use-case.

Under the “General” tab in Plash’s settings, use the Opacity slider to adjust the degree to which your original wallpaper image can be seen. Slide it all the way to the right if you want only your pinned website to be visible. Inversely, slide it all the way left if you want the site to act as a very light overlay. Adjust this slider to a place that looks best to you.

If you are using more than one monitor, the General settings tab is also where you will find an option to specify which display Plash should display on. Toggle the “Show on all spaces” option on if you want Plash to show on all of your chosen display’s virtual desktops.

If you only want it shown on one, exit Plash’s settings, navigate to the desktop you want Plash’s visibility limited to, reopen the settings and then toggle “Show on all Spaces” off. Plash should now only be visible on that desktop space.

Lastly, this section of Plash’s settings is where you can set an interval at which the app will refresh the page automatically. This is useful when static pages are being used or other situations where a page may stop fetching data automatically as expected.

Muting Plash

There’s one more important setting that is somewhat hidden compared to the others: audio control. Plash’s ability to output audio at large can be toggled under the “Advanced” settings tab. This is the only way in which the “Mute audio” setting can be adjusted.

Take note of the additional settings to be found in this section and determine if any of them need to be changed to fit your use-case.

Use Cases for Plash

At a glance, Plash and its abilities may seem very specific or tailored toward very advanced users. I think the opposite is true. I find it hard to imagine a single user whose setup couldn’t be improved at a very practical level by Plash. Here’s a few to consider.

Highly Visible Clock or Calendar

I don’t know about you, but the ubiquity of internet-capable devices has rendered my interior decor completely absent of wall clocks. As a result, I’ve found myself slightly annoyed at having to take my phone from my pocket, or strain my eyes to see the time displayed in the macOS menu bar.

Plash is great for presenting a highly visible clock that can easily be seen from across the room at all times. In fact, this was the very reason I initially added Plash to my everyday Mac setup. Similarly, Plash is also great for displaying a large, always visible personal calendar.

Avoid Closing Sites When Screen Capturing

Whether you’re capturing your screen for the purpose of live-streaming, or for screen sharing in a remote meeting/presentation, Plash can be used to great effect, ensuring your don’t accidentally disrupt your browser window capture by accidentally closing it, clicking something you didn’t mean to, or freezing the capture by navigating to another virtual desktop.

If you are someone who streams or screen shares with any frequency, you absolutely stand to benefit from Plash.

Keeping Tabs on a Website That Needs to be Refreshed Often

If you feel the need to keep refreshing a web page (perhaps you’re waiting for an item to go on sale, or for some information to become available) it can be tedious to switch to a browser, then to a tab, and then to manually refresh it all the time.

By adding the website to your wallpaper and setting the refresh interval to something sensible, you can simply reveal the desktop to get an update. This is great if you’re awaiting a delivery and want to keep the tracking status close to hand.

Plash is an app that is simple to use and represents an almost endless list of feasible use cases. With those qualifications, it’s a great app to go and grab even if you don’t have a specific use for it right this minute. Keep it in your back pocket, and it is guaranteed to show its usefulness in no time.