Android App Links connect an ordinary website address with corresponding content in an Android app through a verified association. For a business that operates both a website and an app, the planning task is to decide where each link should take a person and what should happen when their circumstances differ.
Discuss link journeys with your Android app development team before distributing links through customer messages, printed QR codes or campaigns. A link that opens the app is not automatically useful if it sends every visitor to the home screen instead of the item they were trying to view.
This guide is a business requirements worksheet for the website-to-app journey. It does not replace implementation testing, establish account permissions or promise that installing an app will preserve every previous browsing action.
Understand the distinction before choosing a link
Android's official deep-link guidance describes deep links as a way to bring people into app content from links they tap. It distinguishes general deep links from Android App Links, which establish a verified association between an app and its website. Ask the developer which approach is proposed and why it fits your supported devices and distribution plan.
Keep the public address and its intended destination together in the brief. An illustrative product address could represent a specific catalogue item. The corresponding app destination should describe that same item, rather than a general shopping screen with no explanation of what happened.
Do not choose a link format solely because it opens successfully on one developer's phone. The business needs a usable journey for people with different installation, sign-in and content-access states. Record those states before approving links for public distribution.
Map the customer journey from the source
List where links will be used. A customer may tap one in an email, scan a printed QR code or follow it from a website page. The source matters because it shapes what the person expects to see and how they can return if the destination is unsuitable.
For each source, identify the intended audience, linked content and next useful action. An illustrative service link might explain a booking option; an order link might refer to information available only to its owner. Treat these as different journeys with different access requirements.
Write the expectation as a short sentence. For example: “The recipient opens the relevant product and can inspect its approved options.” This is more useful than “add deep linking” because a reviewer can compare the result with the promised destination.
Name the owner of each link type. Marketing may distribute public product links, while operations may manage private service records. A shared register helps prevent a campaign editor from guessing an address intended for an authenticated workflow.
Define the web experience when the app is absent
Decide what a visitor should see if the app is not installed or the link opens in the browser. A useful public web page may be enough for browsing. Another journey may explain the app's purpose and offer an appropriate installation route.
Avoid forcing an installation merely to display basic public information without considering the task. Ask what the business gains and what extra work the visitor must do. The decision should follow the service and audience rather than a general desire to increase download counts.
If installation is part of the journey, ask what happens afterwards. Do not assume that a newly installed app automatically knows which item the visitor originally opened. Have the developer explain the implemented behaviour and any limitation before the business prints or sends instructions that promise a seamless continuation.
Keep a clear route to relevant website information. A customer who cannot or does not want to use the app should understand the available alternative. Work with the website development team so the web destination and app destination describe the same current offer.
Plan sign-in without granting unintended access
Separate reaching a screen from permission to view its information. A link can identify the requested destination, but the system must still decide whether the current account is allowed to use it. Ask the developer to explain the server-side ownership checks for private records.
Describe the signed-out journey. Should the person sign in and then continue to the intended screen, or should the app show a public explanation first? Record what happens if they cancel sign-in or choose an account that does not own the requested record.
Use fictional account examples in the brief. An illustrative acceptance case can involve account A opening a link to account B's private request. The expected outcome should prevent disclosure and explain an appropriate next step without revealing unnecessary information about the other account.
Keep credentials and sensitive customer details out of public addresses and campaign files. Ask the implementation team to review any special access-link design separately. A business navigation brief should not become an informal specification for bypassing authentication.
Handle changed, missing and unavailable destinations
Content changes after links are shared. A product can be withdrawn, a public article can move and a service request can become unavailable to a particular account. Agree an explanation and recovery route for each meaningful case rather than sending everyone to an unexplained error.
For public products, a related category or clearly labelled alternative may help. For private information, the recovery route may be support or the user's own record list. Do not expose private record details just to make an error message feel more informative.
Assign responsibility for changing website addresses. If an existing public link appears in printed material, changing the page needs a deliberate review of both the website and app journey. Keep historical link references in the register so an editor can identify what is already in circulation.
Include interrupted loading as another state. A temporary network problem should not be presented as proof that the requested content was deleted. The team should explain how the app distinguishes an unavailable response from a confirmed missing destination in its implemented workflow.
Write a small journey matrix for acceptance
Create a worksheet with source, address, device condition, installation state, account state and expected destination. Add the observed result and build reference. This makes the requirement understandable to a business reviewer while leaving technical implementation choices with the developer.
Include at least the cases relevant to your release: app installed, app absent, signed in, signed out, wrong account and unavailable content. Ask the developer which supported Android versions and device conditions need additional coverage for the chosen implementation.
Check navigation after arrival. Can the person move back or continue naturally? Does opening a second link show the second intended item, or leave them on the first? Review the behaviour when the app is already open as well as when it starts from a closed state.
Use controlled test links and fictional records. Avoid sending real customer notifications or generating live sales activity for a demonstration. Keep the results with the release evidence, including any behaviour that was excluded or could not be verified.
Coordinate links with app releases and website changes
Ask what happens when an older installed app receives a newly distributed link. A new screen may exist only in the latest build. The business needs an agreed explanation or alternative rather than assuming all users update together.
Include link acceptance in the Android app update plan. A release that changes routing, sign-in or content identifiers should be reviewed against the existing link register, even if the main visual design is unchanged.
Coordinate domain ownership and website configuration through authorised administrators. Ask the developer to document the required association and its maintenance responsibility without placing passwords or deployment secrets in the handover document. A polished app screen does not prove that the production website association has been configured correctly.
Review public material before distribution. Confirm the exact address in a QR code or message, the wording that explains it and the expected fallback. A typo printed on hundreds of items is harder to correct than an unfinished link in a controlled preview.
Measure the journey without confusing outputs and results
Decide which useful outcomes the business needs to understand. Opening a link, reaching a destination, installing the app and completing a qualified enquiry are separate events. Reporting them under one success label hides where the journey may be failing.
Agree reporting access and privacy controls with the team implementing analytics. Use aggregate evidence where possible and avoid collecting unnecessary customer content. An unavailable measurement should be reported as unavailable rather than converted into a zero or an assumed successful visit.
Use Mocky's app portfolio when discussing the kind of app experience you want. Verify the requirements for your own project separately. An existing portfolio listing does not establish that every proposed link, fallback or private-account journey is already supported.
Frequently asked questions
Will a website link always open the app?
Do not promise that for every device and state. Agree the supported behaviour with the developer and test both app and browser paths. The public instructions should reflect the verified implementation and its limitations.
Does a link to a private record replace sign-in?
No. Reaching a destination and being authorised to view its contents are separate decisions. Ask for ownership checks and safe wrong-account behaviour as part of the requirement.
Can printed QR codes use the same addresses?
They can encode a chosen address, but approve the resulting journey before printing. Check the decoded destination and both app and browser outcomes using the actual production configuration or an agreed equivalent test setup.
What should we send for an app proposal?
Share the intended link sources, destination types, website domain, account rules and essential fallback cases. Get a free quote and ask for website association, routing, acceptance evidence and ongoing ownership to be included in the scope.
