Smart links and web-to-app
What is a smart link?
Short answer
A smart link is one link, often with a matching QR code, that checks the device tapping it and sends each person to the right place: iPhones to the App Store, Android phones to Google Play or another store, desktops to your website, and straight into the app when it’s already installed.
Other names for it
One link, app download link, universal app link. OneLink is AppsFlyer’s product name, not a generic term. They all describe the same idea: you print or share one address, and the link works out the destination at the moment of the tap.
How the routing works
The link service reads the device and operating system from the request and redirects accordingly. A good smart link also covers phones outside the Google Play world, such as Huawei devices with AppGallery, and countries with their own stores. When the app is installed, it opens the app through a deep link instead of the store page.
What to test
Every path, before anything is printed: an iPhone, an Android phone, a desktop browser and a link opened inside Instagram or TikTok. Appy’s free plan includes smart links and QR codes that route to the App Store, Google Play, AppGallery, Galaxy Store and GetApps.
Related terms
- Deep link
A deep link is a link that opens a specific screen inside a mobile app, such as a product page, an article or a saved cart, instead of a web page or the app’s home screen. It can be a custom URI scheme, an iOS Universal Link, an Android App Link or a deferred deep link.
- App store link
An app store link is the address of an app’s page in a store. On the App Store it looks like apps.apple.com/<country>/app/<name>/id<number>; on Google Play, play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=<package>. The scheme versions, itms-apps:// and market://, open the store app itself instead of a web page.
- Dynamic QR code
A dynamic QR code holds a short link instead of the final destination. Scanning it goes through a redirect, so you can change where it points after printing and count every scan. A static QR code holds the content itself: it never expires, but it can’t be edited or tracked.
- Alternative app stores
Alternative app stores are Android app stores other than Google Play, such as Huawei AppGallery, Samsung Galaxy Store, Xiaomi GetApps and RuStore in Russia. Some phones, like Huawei devices without Google services, can’t use Google Play at all, so a Play Store link leaves their owners with nowhere to install from.
One link for every phone
Create a free smart link and QR code that sends iPhones to the App Store, Android phones to Google Play and desktops to your website.