User involvement and acceptance are essential components of success in the dynamic world of mobile app development. Deep linking and referral systems play a significant role in enhancing these aspects of your application. Branch I/O is a powerful tool that helps developers achieve this by simplifying deep linking and providing analytics and engagement tools. In this blog post, we’ll explore how to integrate flutter deep linking by Branch I/O to leverage its capabilities to the fullest.

Let’s start the journey of seamless navigation.

Concept of Flutter Deep Linking

Flutter Deep Linking is a method that allows your Flutter app to respond to specific website URLs or links. It allows users to jump directly to a particular part of the app from an external source, like a website, social media post, or another app. This can enhance user experience and make it more convenient for users to access the content or features they’re interested in.

For example, if you have a news app and a user clicks on a news article link from a web search, deep linking can take them directly to that specific article within your app, rather than making them navigate through the app to find it.

In essence, Flutter Deep Linking ensures that your app can directly and intelligently respond to external links, making it easier for users to interact with your app and find the content they’re looking for.

Also Read: How To Add Navigator Observer To Your Flutter App

Branch I/O: The Deep Linking Solution

Branch I/O is a widely used deep linking platform that offers a seamless way to implement deep linking in your Flutter app. It is easy to integrate and offers extensive customization options. Additionally, it provides analytics, conversion tracking, and user insights, making it an invaluable tool for app developers.

Before embarking on the journey of implementing Flutter deep linking using Branch I/O, it’s crucial to ensure you have the necessary prerequisites in place. These prerequisites serve as the foundation for a smooth and successful integration process.

Prerequisites

Make sure you have the following prerequisites in place before you start integrating Branch.io into your Flutter application:

• Flutter and Dart Installation

  Verify that Flutter and Dart are installed on your development machine. These tools are essential for building and running Flutter applications.

• Branch.io Account Creation

  If you haven’t already, create a Branch.io account. This account will provide you with access to the Branch dashboard and the necessary tools for managing deep links and analytics.

• Flutter Project Setup

  Ensure that your Flutter project is set up and ready for development. This includes the project structure, dependencies, and initial code in place.

Integration Steps of Flutter Deep Linking by Branch I/O

Integrating Branch deep linking into your Flutter app involves a few steps, including setting up the Branch SDK, configuring your Branch dashboard, and implementing deep link handling in your app. Let’s take a step-by-step look at the integration process.

1. Develop a flutter app to incorporate Branch IO into your project.

2. Create an account on the branch.io dashboard.

3. Add the configurations on your branch io dashboard for iOS and Android.

4. Add the flutter package flutter_branch_sdk to your application.

5. Integrate branch io with platform-specific code.

6. Generate deep links or quick links.

Let’s delve deeper into the process of incorporating Branch.io into a Flutter app.

• In your Flutter project, open the ‘pubspec.yaml’ file and add the Branch.io dependency by specifying ‘^latest_version’ under the ‘dependencies’ section.
• In your Branch.io dashboard, enable Test Mode and navigate to the Configuration tab.
• Under the Configuration tab, you can access the General settings.

Note: In the ‘Default URL’ field, enter the URL that you want to use as the default redirection for Android and iOS if no other specific redirections are defined.

For Android Redirections

• Include your app’s name followed by “://” (e.g., “myapp://”) in the Android URI Scheme field.

• Activate the “I have an Android App” option.

• Choose “Google Play Search” and input the Google Play Store link. This link will redirect users to the Google Play Store if they don’t have any relevant apps installed.

• Generate an SHA256 certificate and insert it in the SHA256 Certificate Fingerprints field.

For iOS Redirections

• Enter your app’s name followed by “://” (e.g., “myapp://”) in the iOS URI Scheme field.

• Activate the “I have an iOS app” option.

• Choose “Apple Store Search” and insert the App Store app’s URL.

• Activate Universal Links and provide the bundle identifiers along with the Apple App prefix (obtain this from your Apple Developer account on the App IDs page).

Next, access your account settings to retrieve the Branch Key, Branch Secret Key, App Name, and App ID.

Integration of Branch.io

To integrate Branch.io into platform-specific code, proceed with the following steps.

For Android

• Retrieve the necessary keys from the Branch.io Dashboard for configuration
• Include these configurations within your Android ‘Manifest file’, specifically inside the tag.

Next, insert the following configuration within the tag.

Note: When transitioning to the live environment, remember to set the Test Mode value to “false”.

For iOS

• Open your Flutter project in Xcode and verify bundle identifier matches the one specified in the Branch.io dashboard (both bundle identifiers should be identical).

• Include link domains and alternate link domains within the Capabilities section in Xcode.

This file will be configured automatically after you’ve completed all the necessary steps in the Capabilities tab of Xcode.

com.apple.developer.associated-domainsYour Domain LinkYour Alternate Domain Link

Configure your Info.plist file

• Add branch_universal_link_domains with your link domain
• Add branch_key with your current branch key.
• Add URL Scheme as URL Types -> Item 0 -> URL Schemes.

CFBundleTypeRoleEditorCFBundleURLNameYour Bundle IdCFBundleURLSchemesYour URL Schemebranch_keyYour branch IO test key or live keybranch_universal_link_domainsYour domain linkYour alternate domain link

Ensure that you’re main.dart file imports the branch_io package right away.

Build Flutter Application

Insert the following code into your ‘main.dart’ file for the purpose of verifying the configuration. Add the below code inside your MainApp.

@override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();
    FlutterBranchSdk.validateSDKIntegration();
  }

After execution of the above code you will see these logs will show up in your terminal.

Add the following code to your Flutter application.

// Create BranchUniversalObject inside your MyApp class.
BranchUniversalObject? buo;
@override
void initState() {
  // FlutterBranchSdk.validateSDKIntegration();
  buo = BranchUniversalObject(canonicalIdentifier: AppConstants.branchIoCanonicalIdentifier);
  FlutterBranchSdk.registerView(buo: buo!);
  super.initState();
  }

//// Listen for Dynamic link data 
void listenDeepLinkData(BuildContext context) async {
  streamSubscriptionDeepLink =
      FlutterBranchSdk.initSession().listen((data) async {

//// Write code that you want to perform on deep linking listening 
if (data[AppConstants.clickedBranchLink] == true) {
        Navigator.push(
            context,
            MaterialPageRoute(
                builder: (context) => NextScreen(
                      branchData: data[AppConstants.deepLinkTitle],
                    )));
      }
  }, onError: (error) {
    PlatformException platformException = error as PlatformException;
    debugPrint('${platformException.code} - ${platformException.message}');
  });
}

At this point, your deep linking is ready for testing.

From the Branch.io dashboard, you can create quick links and test them by clicking on these links. If the user has the app already installed, they will be directed to the app. If not, they will be directed to either the Google Play Store or the App Store for installation.

Wrapping Up

By implementing Flutter deep linking through Branch.io, you can enhance the user experience in your app. Deep linking enables seamless navigation to specific content and actions, whether the user is entering from a website or another source.

With the right configurations and testing, you can ensure that users are directed to the most relevant parts of your app and maximize engagement and conversions. Branch.io simplifies the process that allows you to create and test deep links, and it seamlessly handles app redirection based on user installations. This integration empowers your app with robust functionality to enhance user engagement and drive growth.

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