Creating a Link for your App
First and foremost, here is how you can create a Link in your Subsplash Dashboard and add it to your app through the app builder.
On the menu to the left side of the Dashboard, click on "Library", then "Links". Here you will find a list of all the links you have made in the past as well as a few pre-made links that you can test out!
Click on "Create Link" in the top right corner.
Now you can create a new link! Add in important info like the title, subtitle, and artwork (choose wisely, these will be visible in the app). Most importantly, you will choose what type of link it will be and enter the necessary info so the link knows where to take you. This will look a bit different for each type of link, so we will cover this in a moment. When you are done, make sure to click "Save" at the top right!
Once you have created your link, click the back arrow at the top left of the dashboard to get back to the main menu. From there, click "Apps", then "Mobile App" to get to the app builder.
From here, click on the app tab that you would like to add the link to, then click "Add Item". From the category list at the top of the pop-up, choose the "Link" option. You should then see the new link you made listed at the top, go ahead and select it, then click "Add 1 Item" at the top of the pop-up (or however many items you selected, you can do more than one at once!).Now you will see the link listed with the other items on your tab! You can click on the lines to the left of each item and drag them up or down to change the order of the items as needed.
Once everything is set, make sure to hit "Save" in the top right corner to save your changes and see them reflected in your app! You will need to refresh or restart your app on your mobile device to see the new content and changes.Now that we know how to add a link to your app, let's talk about the different options for bringing Snappage's website content into your app!
Link Types
The "Website" Link Type
This is is the most basic type of link that can bring a user to your website. When a user clicks on a link of this type, it will pull them out of the app and open up the page through their device's default web browser. It will all look and act exactly the same as any other time that they pull up that page on your website if they had started on your site in the first place.
This link type is great if you simply want to direct traffic to your website and are not trying to accomplish anything in particular. For example, when you first launch the app, you can use this link to direct people to and show off your new website as well!
The "Page" Link Type
The page link is specially designed for pulling SnapPages content into the app without any break or transition. The link does not put you out of the app but instead opens the attached page as though it were normal app content. It will feel smooth and seamless!
Some small edits will even be made to the page to help it match the theme settings and feel of your app, such as rounding out button blocks and changing the font and colors of some text
Any links on the website page for Subsplash media or events will bring the user to the in-app version of that content, where the interface and content itself have been optimized for viewing on a mobile device. This will look the same as if they had navigated to the content through an in-app events calendar or media series and helps everything feel like a seamless transition. This gives them easy access to any links or documents that you attached to those media items and events!
The header and footer of the webpage will automatically be removed so that users will stay focused on the content you intended to lead them to, and access other pages only if you chose to have a link to that content built onto the page. This keeps users from straying to pages on your website that you did not intend for them to access through the app.
There will be a back button at the top left of the screen that will easily let them back up to the last webpage they were on, and eventually back to the original app tab if they keep clicking it.
Once you choose a page, save the link, and refresh your browser, you will also see the "Edit Page" option to make changes to that page from here!
You can build a page in Snappages with the sole intent of using it as app content, building it with that in mind all along. Perhaps a custom media page, photo gallery, or "Meet the Leadership" page to spruce up one of your tabs? The options and use cases are endless!
The "App Link" Link Type
This link type is mainly used to bring in simple content, like a form for your users to fill out, but it can be used to for any SnapPages page. There are a few things to keep in mind for this option though:
This link type stays within the app, it will not pull the user out to a web browser
This page will not have any theme changes; all fonts, colors, etc. will stay the way they are designed on the original web page
The header and footer will be removed to keep the page simple, but it will only affect the original page you link. If the user follows a link on the page to another page on your site, it will start behaving exactly like the normal web page, header, footer, and all. (Avoid using any links on the page that lead to other pages on the site. If a user can reach a page that includes the header, and all the navigation links, this can sometimes be flagged by the app store and cause your app to be pulled down!)
There will be a back button, but if they have moved through several pages on your website, clicking it will always bring them back to the app tab they started at.
Any media or events that they open will act like the normal Snappages web page For example, if the user taps on a video, it will start playing right there on that screen rather than opening up the in-app version.
While this link type offers a less seamless experience if you are bringing in more complex content, it is perfect if you are bringing in something simple or if you particularly don't want any fonts or other theme settings to be altered to match the rest of your app.