Photo: GaudiLab (Shutterstock)
Everyone knows how to add app shortcuts to your smartphone’s home screen, but did you know you can also save web pages as shortcuts, too? This simple method makes it easy to open your most-visited pages without fiddling with your web browser app’s bookmarks or searching for the website through the Google app, saving you precious seconds.
Saving a web page as a home screen icon is similar to how certain websites can be “installed” as Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) on desktop through Chrome or Edge, but mobile users can do it for any and all websites using most any browser app.
We’ve already covered how to do this on iOS, but let’s quickly look at how to add a website shortcut to your Android device’s home screen, too. We’ll go over how this works in Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Brave, but the option should be available in just about every Android web browser’s options menus. Just note that whatever browser you save the shortcut with is the one in which the page will open when you select it from the home screen. If you change browsers in the future, you’ll need to re-save your shortcuts.
Chrome
Open a webpage in Chrome.Tap the three-dot icon in the upper-right. Find and select “Add to Home screen” from the menu. You can change the shortcut’s name in the pop-up that appears, then tap “Add.” Select “Add to home screen” to add the icon to the next open spot, or tap and hold the icon then drag it to your desired location on the home screen.In some cases, a website may be available as a standalone app, in which case the option will say “Install app” instead. Tapping it will take you to the app’s Play Store page.
Firefox
Open the website you want to make a shortcut for.Tap the three dot icon in the lower right.Scroll down and tap “Add to Home screen.”Tap “Add” then either hold and drag the icon to your home screen, or select “add to home screen” to place it automatically.Edge
Open Edge then go to a website Tap the “...” icon in the center of the navigation bar.Scroll down and tap “Add to Phone.”Tap “Add” then select “Add to home screen” to add the icon, or hold and drag to place it manually.Brave
Open a website in Brave.Tap the three dot icon in the lower right.Scroll down and tap “Add to Home screen.”Name the shortcut then tap “Add.” Select “Add to home screen” or tap and hold the shortcut to place on the home screen.[Android Authority]
