Website Shortcut

Personalize your homescreen with (icon) shortcuts for websites (URL/URIs).

Website Shortcut

App stats

Version: 3.4.1 (Last updated: 2022-01-14)
Creation date: 2015-07-08

Other platforms

Website Carbon Stats (v1.1)
3.50 (2) 27
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App summary

Personalize your Android homescreen by creating your own icon shortcuts for websites (URL/URIs). Customize your website shortcuts with your own selected text and image. Furthermore, there are no advertisements and it's free. I made it originally for myself, and decided to share. Giving a fair rating is very well appreciated!

From Android Oreo on (due to an API change, upon which this app is built), the bottom right tiny icon of the app the shortcut belongs to is added automatically by the launcher.

Features:
* Choose your own label and icon for the shortcut and the website URL/URI to open
* Icon selection via local file selection
* Works with most icon packs
* Supports usage of general URIs (e.g., mailto:[email protected] )
* Broad support for image formats: *.png, .jpg, .jpeg, .ico, .gif, .bmp
Automatic https scheme suggestion if it misses from the URL
Make use of "Share via..." in any other application (e.g., a browser) to conveniently fill the website URL/URI field
View the labels and website URL/URIs of currently present shortcuts of the app (navigate to the in-app drawer menu -> "Current shortcuts")
Free
No advertisements

--- Data policy

Creation of a shortcut is done by passing the shortcut design (label/icon) and an Intent with the website (URL/URI) to the system shortcut manager and the launcher. The system shortcut manager and the launcher create and manage the shortcuts, and maintain them with their associated Intents. In some cases (e.g., upon app, launcher or system update, or restore from back-up), the system shortcut manager or launcher might lose icons of existing shortcuts or even entire shortcuts. It is recommended to keep somewhere a list of labels, icons and website URL/URIs so you can recreate easily. In the app drawer menu, you can open the "Current shortcuts" which displays the labels and website URL/URIs of the still present shortcuts retrieved from the system shortcut manager.

In this version (≥ v3.0.0) a large randomly generated identifier is used to uniquely name shortcuts such that the launcher can uniquely identify shortcuts. In prior versions (≤ v2.1), a creation timestamp was used as unique identifier. Shortcuts created by prior versions (≤ v2.1) will still have their creation timestamp stored within their Intent and unique name.

Uninstalling the app (i.e. via Settings -> Apps -> Application List -> Website Shortcut -> Uninstall) will remove the app from the device, including its data. The Android uninstallation procedure will also notify the system shortcut manager and the launcher, which should remove from it all shortcuts associated with the app.

There are no advertisements in this app.

For information on data policy of previous versions: https://deltacdev.com/policies/policy-website-shortcut.txt

--- App permissions

This application does not require any app permissions.

For information on app permissions of previous versions: https://deltacdev.com/policies/policy-website-shortcut.txt

--- License

Copyright 2015-2022 Deltac Development

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at

http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.

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The icons in the options and drawer menu are (based on) Material icons made by Google, which are licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0.
See also: https://fonts.google.com/icons

User reviews

These summaries are automatically generated weekly using AI based on recent user reviews. Google Play Store does not verify user reviews, so some user reviews may be inaccurate, spammy, or outdated.
Pros
  • Simple and easy to use for creating website shortcuts.
  • Allows customization of icons and labels for shortcuts.
  • No ads or excessive permissions required.
  • Works well across different browsers and doesn't tie shortcuts to a specific browser.
  • Helps in creating shortcuts for specific pages that are usually not directly accessible.
Cons
  • Recent updates removed auto-fetching of website icons, reducing usability.
  • Some users report functionality issues after updates, making the app less reliable.
  • Lacks a backup/restore feature for created shortcuts.
  • Certain versions have issues with shortcut installation failures.
Most mentioned
  • Removes complexity of creating shortcuts compared to browser methods.
  • The app performs well for customizing icons for easier recognition.
  • Users express dissatisfaction with updates that removed valuable features.
User reviews
Create Spotify playlist shortcuts! It was so easy, and it worked the first time. I wanted shortcuts on my Android homepage for specific Spotify playlists I listen to all the time. I've been missing them since Spotify got rid of the ability to do this. Using this app was so easy. Just copy the URL, paste it, pick a picture you've downloaded for the button, name it, and drag it to the screen.
by Rick M, 2024-08-12

This app does exactly what it says it does. It is simple and does not require extra permissions. And yes, it does add in the docs, that in case there is a glitch somewhere, you should save the icon image in a text file, along with the link, and the icon label. Nice clean app which fills an important gap left by chages in Android Chrome. I like it.
by Joe _____, 2024-05-24

Allows me to make home screen links to specific pages which would otherwise limit you to a "install app" option. For example, Chrome will not let me make a direct link to a specific Twitter feed, such as the National Weather Service Twitter page, instead forcing me to "install app" which accomplishes nothing. This app solves the issue, while even going beoyond by letting you make custom icon. 5/5
by Brandon, 2024-05-05
View all user reviews

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