Route Customers Back to the App through Your Social Accounts
In this lesson:
We will walk through what native deep linking is and how your customers interact with the feature.
What is Deep Linking?
Deep linking is the ability for hyperlinks to direct users to specific locations within a mobile application, rather than just launching the app. In the context of mobile apps, deep linking provides a more seamless and direct navigation experience for the user.
Deep linking enhances user experience by simplifying navigation, improving the effectiveness of marketing campaigns (by directing users to specific products, offers, or content), and increasing user engagement. It's a powerful tool for marketers to create a more integrated and seamless user journey between the web and mobile applications.
How it Works
When you choose to install deep linking within your Tapcart app, it creates a file on your website that is linked to an Apple App Association file related to your App ID. This creates a connection between the app association file and the user's app on their device once configuration is completed.
To configure this feature, simply message us through LiveChat on your dashboard or email us at [email protected] — no development is needed on your side. Please note, it takes about 24–48 hours for this feature to go live as it requires a new build to be submitted to the Apple App and Google Play Stores.
It's also essential to ensure that the app is updated to the latest version, as outdated versions may lack the necessary settings for Universal Links (iOS) or App Links (Android).
Important: All deep links use your store's own website URL as the base.
This is the same domain your customers use to visit your Shopify store (e.g., yourstore.com). Every example below uses yourstore.com as a placeholder that will need to be replaced with your actual website. Not sure what your URL is? Open the homepage of your website and grab that URL.
Examples of what each URL will link to once enabled:
yourstore.com→ Opens the app and goes to the homepageyourstore.com/products/red-blouse→ Opens the app and goes to the red blouse productyourstore.com/collections/new-arrivals→ Opens the app and goes to the new arrivals collectionyourstore.com/pages/shopping-blog-post→ Opens the app and loads the blog post as a web view
Other Native App Pages (TCR Query Parameter)
Some merchants want to send users directly to specific app pages like the account page, cart, a multi-tab on the homepage, or a custom screen. To do this, Tapcart uses a special query parameter called Tapcart Route (TCR). You append it to the end of your store URL in your push/email/SMS campaign.
The format is always: https://yourstore.com/?tcr=route/[page]
TCR routes and full example URLs:
Multi-tab on Home screen:
https://yourstore.com/?tcr=route/home&tabIndex=1
Tabs are numbered starting at 0 (first tab = 0, second = 1, third = 2). Replace the number with the tab you want.
URL-encoded format:https://yourstore.com/?tcr=route%2Fhome%26tabIndex%3D1Custom Screens:
https://yourstore.com/?tcr=screen/<route_id>
Find the route ID in your Tapcart dashboard under Custom Screens when editing the page.
Page Name | TCR Route | Example (replace yourstore.com with your domain) |
Home | route/home | |
Home multi-tab | tcr=route/home&tabIndex= | |
Collection page | (use the collection URL path) | |
Product detail page | (use the product URL path) | |
Account | route/account | |
Cart | route/cart | |
Collections list | route/collections | |
Loyalty | route/loyalty | |
Notifications | route/notifications | |
Orders | route/orders | |
Search | route/search | |
Wishlist | route/wishlist-page | |
Custom screens | screen/<screen id> |
|
Discount URLs
Shopify lets you add discount codes to a URL so that when a user taps the link, they're deep linked into the app with a discount code already pending. The code is applied once they add an eligible item to their cart.
Replace yourstore.com with your domain and SHOPNOW with your discount code:
Homepage + discount:
https://yourstore.com/discount/SHOPNOWProduct page + discount:
https://yourstore.com/discount/SHOPNOW?redirect=/products/the-maala-longsleeveCollection page + discount:
https://yourstore.com/discount/SHOPNOW?redirect=/collections/the-winter-edition
How do Customers Interact with Deep Linking?
Once native deep linking is set up, you can link your URL to a paid ad or a story within your social media accounts. Using the 'Swipe Up' option, once the end-user swipes up they will be redirected to the app if they have it installed. If they don't have the app, they'll be taken to the website — where you can have marketing added to the website or the mobile download banner enabled to direct them to download the app.
Considerations
Native deep linking is available to all Tapcart merchants.
Native deep linking applies to every page on your website. If you link to a page not listed above, it will load as a web view inside the app.
Important Notes:
If you are using the 'Swipe Up' option via Instagram stories, it will route the URL back to your mobile website whether the user has the app or not. Within your mobile website, you can have the mobile download banner enabled to navigate customers to download the app or open it if they already have it!
To enable deep linking from feeds or stories within Facebook, you will need to verify your deep link for aggregated event measurement. For the steps on how to complete this, check out this link here!
Use Safari on iOS for more reliable deep link testing as it closely simulates real user behaviors.
Mimic typical user environments during testing, accounting for factors like browser settings or VPN configurations, to ensure reliability across conditions.
More Questions
Have additional questions? We're happy to help! Reach out through LiveChat in your Tapcart Dashboard or email us at [email protected].