Boost User Engagement with Deep Links in Your Flutter App (Firebase-Free) – InheritX Solutions

Deep links are a powerful tool that enhances user experience by enabling users to navigate directly to specific content within your Flutter app, bypassing the need for manual navigation through multiple screens. While Firebase offers a convenient solution, this guide explores the app_link package as a robust alternative for implementing deep links in your Flutter project.

Understanding Deep Links

Imagine a user clicks a link in an email promoting a specific product within your app (like the image below). A deep link ensures that clicking this link opens the app and takes the user directly to the product page for that item, rather than just launching the app’s homepage. This streamlines the user journey and improves engagement.

Opens in a new windowdocumentation.onesignal.com

Deep Linking with app_link

The app_link package provides a platform-agnostic approach for handling deep links in your Flutter app. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to use it effectively:

Installation:
- Add the app_link package to your Flutter project’s pubspec.yaml file:
- Run flutter pub get to install the package.
Deep Link Structure Definition:
- Determine the format of your deep links. It can be something like yourapp://product/123 (where “yourapp” is your app ID and “123” is a product ID). You can define multiple patterns for different types of deep links.
Handling Deep Links on Launch:
- In your main.dart file, use WidgetsFlutterBinding.ensureInitialized() to ensure platform-specific setup is complete before calling runApp.
- Inside this method, initialize the AppLink object:
- Create a function _handleDeepLink to parse and navigate based on the deep link:
Handling Future Deep Links (Optional):

To handle deep links that users click while the app is already running, use the AppLinkStream class:

Platform-Specific Settings

While the app_link package simplifies platform-specific setup, here’s a breakdown of additional configurations you might need:

While the app_link package offers platform-agnostic deep link handling for Flutter, there might be some minor adjustments needed for Android to ensure smooth functionality. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

Android:

AndroidManifest.xml Configuration (Optional):In most cases, the app_link package should automatically handle the necessary configurations in your AndroidManifest.xml file. However, for more granular control or troubleshooting, you might want to explicitly define the following:

Intent Filters:
- Add intent filters for your deep link URIs within the <activity> tag for your main activity (usually MainActivity).Define the scheme (e.g., yourapp), host (optional), and path patterns (e.g., /product/:id) for your deep links.

Data Type (Optional):
- If you want to associate your app with a specific MIME type for deep links (e.g., text/x-yourapp), add a <data> element with the desired type:

Activity Declaration (Optional):

If the app_link package doesn’t automatically handle the following lines within your <activity> tag, ensure they’re present:

android:launchMode="singleTop" ensures that only a single instance of your main activity is launched for deep links.

android:exported="true" allows external applications to launch your app using deep links.

Testing on Android Device/Emulator

Thoroughly test your deep link functionality on a physical Android device or emulator. Simulate deep links by creating links with your app’s scheme and path patterns (e.g., yourapp://product/123).

Additional Considerations:

AndroidX Migration: If your project uses AndroidX, ensure you’re using the androidx.navigation:navigation-dynamic-features package for deep links with dynamic feature modules.
Custom Tabs (Optional): For a more seamless deep link experience, consider using Android’s Custom Tabs to open deep links within a browser-like experience themed with your app’s branding (refer to Android documentation for details).

These Android-specific configurations might not always be necessary, as the app_link package often handles them automatically. However, this guide provides a reference for potential adjustments you might need.
Always test your deep links thoroughly on a variety of Android devices or emulators to ensure they work as expected.

iOS:

Ensure you have Associated Domains configured in your App ID settings on Apple Developer Portal (https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode/supporting-associated-domains).
If applicable, create a well-structured app_links.json file at the root of your Flutter project. This file helps define the relationship between your deep links and your app. Refer to Apple’s documentation for detailed guidance (https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode/supporting-associated-domains).

Benefits of Deep Links with app_link: