How to make sure mobile links of your content open in your app

This guide explains how to make sure that when someone clicks your mobile website link on a mobile device, that piece of content automatically opens inside your app - if it's installed on their device. This works for both iOS and Android.

It's a highly underestimated feature as it makes sure that users instead of ending up in the normal browser, enter your own world, your own eco system where they are more likely to stay around and look for other content. It drives active usage and has many positive effects. So we recommend to use this feature from the start. Especially as the set up is not difficult.

The following instructions are based on a WordPress setup, but the process works on any other hosting environment where you can upload files to your site’s root directory.

What’s this about?

When a user clicks one of your links - from a newsletter, WhatsApp, a social media platform or any third party website - they’re typically taken to your default mobile browser. But with deeplinking, they’ll instead be taken straight into your mobile app, if it’s installed.

This is done by adding two special files to your website. These files tell iOS and Android:

“Hey, this website belongs to this app - if the app is installed, open the link inside it.”

This setup is secure, verified by digital signatures, and powered by:

• Apple Universal Links on iOS

• Android App Links on Android

Setting up proper deeplinks into your apps for your own domain quickly pays off in terms of active user metrics (more active users, better user retention, increases loyalty etc.). This is a quick win to boost app engagement and is highly recommended for any content-driven platform.

App details (to be replace with your actual values)

You’ll need to provide your actual app credentials. Below is a placeholder example:

• Android Package Name: com.example.app

• SHA-256 Certificate Fingerprints:

  • A1:B2:C3:D4:E5:F6:11:22:33:44:55:66:77:88:99:AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF:00:11:22:33:44:55:66:77:88:99:00

  • 11:22:33:44:55:66:77:88:99:AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF:00:11:22:33:44:55:66:77:88:99:AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF:11

• iOS App Bundle ID: com.example.iosapp

• Apple Team ID: ABCDE12345

Of course we will assist and provide you with the right data set.

🛠 Step-by-step instructions

1. Create required files

You’ll need to create two files and upload them to your website:

🔹 apple-app-site-association (No .json extension!)

{
  "applinks": {
    "apps": [],
    "details": [
      {
        "appID": "ABCDE12345.com.example.iosapp",
        "paths": ["*"]
      }
    ]
  }

r

[
  {
    "relation": ["delegate_permission/common.handle_all_urls"],
    "target": {
      "namespace": "android_app",
      "package_name": "com.example.app",
      "sha256_cert_fingerprints": [
        "A1:B2:C3:D4:E5:F6:11:22:33:44:55:66:77:88:99:AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF:00:11:22:33:44:55:66:77:88:99:00",
        "11:22:33:44:55:66:77:88:99:AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF:00:11:22:33:44:55:66:77:88:99:AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF:11"
      ]
    }
  }
]

2. Upload files to your site

If you're using WordPress, follow these steps (similar applies to other hosting systems):

🔧 Use FTP or a file manager:

1. Connect to your server via FTP or use your hosting provider's file manager.

2. Navigate to your site’s root folder (often called /public_html/).

3. Create a folder named .well-known (include the dot).

4. Upload both files into this folder:

   • /public_html/.well-known/apple-app-site-association

   • /public_html/.well-known/assetlinks.json

✅ Make sure both files are uploaded with correct names and without any .txt or .json extensions added accidentally.

3. Check file access

Now, test the files in a browser:

<https://yourdomain.com/.well-known/apple-app-site-association>
<https://yourdomain.com/.well-known/assetlinks.json>

They should open directly in the browser, showing raw JSON data (no 404 errors).

4. Fix access issues (if needed)

Sometimes WordPress or your server may block JSON files. Here’s how to fix that:

🧰 For apache servers (edit .htaccess)

Add this to the end of your .htaccess file:

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
  RewriteEngine On
  RewriteRule ^.well-known/ - [L]
</IfModule>

<FilesMatch "apple-app-site-association">
  ForceType application/json
</FilesMatch>

🧰 For nginx servers

Add this to your server config:

5. Verify everything is working

Run these commands from your terminal (or ask your developer to):

curl -I <https://yourdomain.com/.well-known/apple-app-site-association>
curl -I

You should see a 200 OK response for both files.

🎉 That’s it!

Now, when someone taps your website link on a mobile device, it will open directly in your app (if installed). This creates a smoother experience for your users—no extra redirects, just straight into the app. 🚀

Let us know if you need help updating the credentials or verifying the setup!