Can you deep link to an app from a Squarespace hosted website? - ios

Question

I want to implement deep linking in my app. I've read that to implement deep linking you need to put a json file in the root of your website which will then redirect users to the app if they are on a mobile device and the app is installed. I have a Squarespace site, but placing the json file in the root folder of the squarespace files doesn't seem to work. I assume this is because I would need access to squarespaces' own root.
So my question is, can I implement deep linking with a Squarespace site? If so, what have I done wrong? If not, is there an alternative solution, or should I create a new website that I have full access to?

Answer 1

I checked with Squarespace support... first rep was decent, but didn't have the depth, so he sent it up the chain.
Eventual response: Nope, even in their "developer mode" you cannot get the file in the right place with the right MIME type.
Time to look for a different hosting service, or consider Alex Bauer's comment.
A couple notes:
The file must be on https:// - plain old http:// won't work.
The file cannot have an extension - so no .json on the end.
The file' MIME-type must be set to application/json. This can be a hassle, as standard web service sets MIME-type by extension.
Otherwise - it's fairly straight-forward :)

Answer 2

The requirements around hosting the apple-app-site-association file needed by Universal Links are quite strict. I doubt it is possible to satisfy them with the standard Squarespace system, though it might be possible via Developer Mode.
As a workaround, you could add something like the Branch.io Smart Banner (full disclosure: I'm on the Branch team). This won't make your site URLs active for Universal Links, but it will make it easier for users to transition between your site and the app.

Answer 3

I found a soloution.
You can enable a URL Mapping to point on appname://location/xy
This is not a soloution for universal links but you can handle deeplinks in that way.
Hope this helps.

Answer 4

I don't think this is a Squarespace issue as much as a maybe a design issue. If you register the appropriate intents you can make a 1 page to 1 view association in your app. The example below is Android but you can do similar on iOS
Case:
Web Address: www.abc123.com/news
App Page: News
Example Intent (Android)
<activity
android:name="com.abc123.android.NewsActivity"
android:label="#string/title_news" >
<intent-filter android:label="#string/filter_title_viewnews">
<action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE" />
<data android:scheme="http"
android:host="www.abc123.com"
android:pathPrefix="/news" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>