So, do you know what a URL scheme is? You would have seen the ‘http://…’ or ‘ftpt://…’ that precedes your website or app’s link. Have you ever given it any significance? Not many people do, because it comes across as a low-level concept. Moreover, many people think that they have no control on that. That is the reason why it goes unnoticed. It might come as a pleasant surprise that you can actually control your URL scheme, and that can reap you some great benefits. You can ask your front end website developer to tell you more about the virtues of custom URL scheme.
So, let us take an example. You receive a link to an iOS app. What happens when you click on that link? It launches the app in the app market. In other words, the app doesn’t open up directly. Similarly, you might receive a link to your favorite playlist. When you open it, it opens up in a Spotify app. All of this is being caused by the way in which the URL scheme is planned.
More about Custom URL Scheme on iOS and Mac OS
User interface developers have long tried to control URL scheme and derive the desired benefits in the process. It is interesting to note that an iOS application or Mac OS application can be registered as a handler of any form of URL scheme. This includes the typical ones like HTTP or HTTPs. It also includes the frequently used document types like Txt file. However, you don’t need to be confined to these classics. Expert front end developers can help you register your own custom URL scheme or even document format.
How do Front End Web Developers Register Custom URL Scheme?
So, there might generally be a toss between whether you perform the registering of a custom URL scheme yourself or you let expert user interface developers do the job. Given the complexity of the job, the latter might work better for you. Here are some of the common steps that are involved in the process. The first step in the process is to configure the ‘Info.plist’ file. That can be a complex process, and you need to make sure it is performed appropriately. Next, you need to look for SO: CFBundleDocumentTypes. This lists the document types that are supported by your app. Once that has been determined, you can use CFBundleURLTypes to support your URL Scheme. It is not hard to configure this in one’s own applications. XCode’s project settings can be used for the same. The ‘Info’ tab section will provide you with information about the doc types as well as URL types. However, once you get the information; you can create any string for URL scheme. All that you need to make sure is that it is a valid URL format. This will let the app work with configured URL and document types. It will use cases for custom URL schemes.
This will create the basis for the job, but there are other tasks that need to be performed like registering your custom URL scheme, handling events from your URL scheme, and registering your app as the default handling.
Why Use Custom URL Schemes?
So, we have talked about the ways in which you can register a custom URL scheme. However, why would you take the pain of doing that? Why will you hire an expert front end website developer to get this done for you? That is because a custom URL scheme allows you to route events directly to your app. That makes it convenient for the users to click on the link that takes them straight to the app instead of the app store. This is also the perfect way to create deep-links into your application.
Contact a front end developer designer today to ask about custom URL schemes.
