How to set up rerouting for URL schema links?

Question

We're on both web and iPhone. We want to send emails to customers (transactional, like "your order has shipped") and let them click through for more info, either on the app or the website.

• If the customer has the app installed and is on their iPhone we want to send them to the app.
• Otherwise we want to route them to the URL of the web app.

At a high level or product level, is the following how it works? I'm trying to understand whether this is doable, or what the correct flow is.

Email link is something like

<a href="http://oursite.com/routing-logic?path/to/destination">link</a>

routing-logic does something like

if ourschema:// can open, then open the app (they have the app & are on the device)

else, go to https://oursite.com/path/to/destination

Is this basically how URL schema routing works? I've heard conflicting information about whether a webpage can test whether a given URL schema is supported on a device.

Answer 1

I think it's your case

Add in mail link to simple page, that check user agent and has script:

<script language="javascript">
var timeout;
function open_webapp() {
    window.location='https://oursite.com/path/to/destination';
}

function try_to_open_app() {
    timeout = setTimeout('open_webapp()', 300);
}
</script>
<a onClick="javascript:try_to_open_app();" href="yourappurl:">App    name</a>

Where is simple url-scheme tutorial.