If you frequently visit a website or a blog on your Chrome browser, then it’s a good idea to make a shortcut link of the same on the home screen. This will eliminate a few steps and also make life easier.
These shortcuts will be visible on the Android phone’s home screen.
A few shortcuts are added to the phone app drawer as a native lightweight app. It works as a standalone app with Chrome in the backend. This technology is called Progressive Web App (PWA).
I sometimes use the PWA app for Twitter and Instagram. I do not like heavy mobile apps that eat up my storage space and consume processing memory.
The PWA apps are the best way to keep the phone efficient and eliminate background data usage. Hence, it stops your phone from lagging at any cost.
Add to Home Screen
The shortcut links can be added to the home screen using a Chrome browser from an Android. These shortcuts help relaunch a website or a PWA app on the browser. Here are the steps to do so:
- Launch the Chrome app for Android.
- Open the Website that you need to create the shortcut link.
- Tap on the More
menu options. - Select the Add to Home Screen option from the list.
- Tap on the Add command.
- Here you can touch and hold to place manually OR
- Select Add Automatically command.
- The Shortcut link will be created on the Home screen of your Android phone.
If you completely exit or close the Chrome browser and then tap on the shortcut link, it will automatically launch the website on your browser.
Video Demo
Video demo of how to create and add a home page shortcut to Google Chrome for Android.
Bottom Line
If a particular website offers PWA for mobile, then a native lightweight app is installed. Else, a shortcut link will be created automatically or manually on the selected location on the Android phone home screen.
After knowing how to add shortcuts on the home screen, I could quickly delete most apps that took much of my storage space and create a shortcut for them instead.
Similarly, you can also create a desktop shortcut link on the Chrome computer. The PWA apps on the desktop are installed as Chrome web apps.
Do you feel this feature to add the site shortcut is useful? What is one of the most used shortcut links on your Android home screen?
Lastly, if you've any thoughts or feedback on How to Add to Home Screen Shortcut with Chrome Android, then feel free to drop in below comment box. You can also report the outdated information.
You do know that this option of adding to homescreen is no longer available, no?
Hello Alex, I can see the option is available. You need to first open any webpage or site that you need to add to Home Screen. The option will be hidden when you try to access on Chrome browser’s Start Page or New Tab page.
I don’t get it. Instructions in article; “Launch Chrome…3 dots… click add to…”
Then ” The action will…hidden…from Chrone’s browzer’s….”
I used this function often, then it disappeared. I’ve since had MANY phones and looked high and low on each one for the option- zero luck. I’ve also tried any settings solutions that seemed feasible, to no avail. If I read “Restart your phone” or clear your cache one more time for a fix I think my head’ll explode. At least no one has recommended removing your battery for 15 minutes…. SSHEEESH!
At this point, I’d be content just to know why Chrome or Google, or whomever (God?!?) removed my beloved “Add to homepage” option.
Rant over.
Hi Judy, I can see the option to “Add to Home screen” on my Chrome browser on Android phone. If your browser is outdated, you can check for new Chrome updates to download and install.