Shortcuts to websites: Creating your own ‘apps’ on your phone

If there are web pages that you often need on your phone, then it's worth pinning them to your start screen as pretend apps. — Photo: Franziska Gabbert/dpa

BERLIN: Whatever you want to use the Internet for, be sure that there's always an app for it.

But say you don't want to download another application as your phone's storage is already bursting at the seams, or you don't want to create yet another user account? Then using the website might be your best option, as they usually offer just the same functions.

There's a simple trick that makes websites just as accessible as apps - virtually at your fingertips.

Almost every browser now allows you to pin a bookmark to your phone's home screen, creating a little icon that will open a selected website in the browser when tapping on it - a feature that also comes in handy when you want to save a search query, for example.

On both iPhones and Android phones, you can usually find the option "Add to Home Screen" in the menu. Once you no longer need a particular shortcut, it's easy to remove them again. Just press it until the option to remove appears and tab it. – dpa