Smart App Banner generator
Build the Apple Smart App Banner meta tag for your site in seconds. Paste your App Store ID, add an optional deep link, and copy the apple-itunes-app tag into your page. Free, and everything runs in your browser.
Your app
The number in your App Store link (apps.apple.com/app/id389801252). You can paste the whole URL and we’ll pull the ID out.
For the preview only. On real devices, Safari pulls the name, icon, and price straight from the App Store.
A URL passed to your app when it opens from the banner, so you can deep-link to specific content. Leave blank to just open the app.
Preview
How your banner appears at the top of Safari on iPhone and iPad.
<meta name="apple-itunes-app" content="app-id=YOUR_APP_ID">
Enter your App Store ID to fill in the tag.
What is a Smart App Banner?
A Smart App Banner is a small bar that Safari shows at the very top of a web page when someone visits your site on an iPhone or iPad. It promotes your native iOS app with its real icon, name, star rating, and price, and a button that installs the app from the App Store or opens it if it’s already installed.
Apple introduced it so websites can point mobile visitors to their app without resorting to intrusive pop-ups or custom overlays. Because Safari draws the banner itself, it looks native and trustworthy, and it stays consistent with the rest of iOS. You don’t design it, host any images, or write any JavaScript. You add one line of HTML and Safari does the rest.
How to add a Smart App Banner to your website
Put a single meta tag in the <head> of every page where you want the banner to appear:
<head> <meta name="apple-itunes-app" content="app-id=389801252"> </head>
Replace the number with your own App Store app ID. To deep-link the visitor into a specific screen when the app opens, add an app-argument:
<meta name="apple-itunes-app" content="app-id=389801252, app-argument=https://yourapp.com/product/123">
That’s the whole setup. The generator above assembles this tag for you, including the optional parameters, so you can copy it straight into your template.
How the Smart App Banner works
When Safari on iOS loads a page with the apple-itunes-app tag, it looks up the app ID on the App Store and fills the banner with that app’s current icon, name, rating, and price. You never set those values yourself, so the banner always matches your live listing.
The button adapts to the visitor. If they don’t have the app, it reads “View” and sends them to the App Store to install it. If the app is already on their device, it reads “Open” and launches the app, passing along your app-argument so you can take them straight to the right content. The banner sits above your page content and can be dismissed with the close button; once dismissed, Safari remembers not to show it again for that site for a while.
How to find your App Store app ID
Your app ID is the number in your App Store URL. Open your app’s page and look at the address:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/instagram/id389801252
^^^^^^^^^ your app IDHere the ID is 389801252. You’ll also find it in App Store Connect under App Information, listed as the Apple ID. The generator accepts either the full URL or just the number.
Deep linking with app-argument
The app-argument is an optional URL that Safari hands to your app when it opens from the banner. Your app reads it and navigates the user to the matching content, so a shopper who tapped a product page on the web lands on that same product inside the app instead of a generic home screen. That continuity is what makes the banner worth wiring up carefully.
For it to work, the URL has to be one your app already understands, through Universal Links or a custom URL scheme. A good pattern is to pass the canonical URL of the current page and let your app’s existing link handling do the routing. If your app can’t parse the argument, it simply opens normally, so it’s safe to include.
Why is my Smart App Banner not showing?
Smart App Banners are easy to add but quietly conditional. If yours isn’t appearing, work through these:
- You’re not in Safari on iOS or iPadOS. The banner never shows in Chrome, Firefox, in-app webviews (like the Instagram or X browser), or on any desktop browser, including Safari on Mac.
- The tag isn’t in the <head> of the page you loaded. It must be present in that specific page’s server-rendered HTML. If it’s injected only after JavaScript runs, Safari may miss it.
- You already dismissed it. Safari hides the banner for a site once it’s closed. Test in a fresh private browsing tab to see it again.
- The app ID is wrong or the app isn’t public. Double-check the number and confirm the app is live on the App Store in that region.
- The app-argument is malformed. If you include it, it must be a valid URL. A broken value can suppress the banner.
Smart App Banners on Android and Chrome
There is no exact Android equivalent. The Smart App Banner is an Apple, Safari-only feature, and Chrome long ago removed its own native-app banner meta tag. That said, you have two real options to promote a native Android app from the web.
The official one is the Web App Manifest. If your site links a manifest.json and you add related_applications with prefer_related_applications: true, Chrome on Android can offer your native Play Store app instead of a web install:
{
"prefer_related_applications": true,
"related_applications": [
{
"platform": "play",
"id": "com.your.app",
"url": "https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.your.app"
}
]
}Enter your Play package in the generator’s advanced options to produce this snippet. The second option is a small JavaScript library (the classic one is smartbanner.js) that renders a custom banner styled like Apple’s across both platforms. It gives you full control and cross-platform reach, at the cost of adding script to your site and maintaining the look yourself.
Best practices
- Deep-link with app-argument. Sending people to the exact content they were viewing converts far better than dropping them on a home screen.
- Don’t make the banner your only path to the app. Pair it with visible store badges so every visitor, on any device, can install.
- Test on a real iPhone in Safari, in a private tab, since simulators and dismissed states hide it.
- Keep the app ID current if you ever migrate or re-list the app, so the banner never points at a dead listing.
Keep going
Add visible store buttons too: App Store badge, Google Play badge, or make an App Store QR code. Browse all free tools.
Smart App Banner FAQ
What is a Smart App Banner?+
A Smart App Banner is a standard banner that Safari shows at the top of a web page on iPhone and iPad, promoting your native iOS app. You turn it on by adding a single meta tag to your page's head. Safari then displays your app's icon, name, rating, and price, pulled automatically from the App Store, with a button to install or open the app. There's nothing to design or host.
How do I add a Smart App Banner to my website?+
Add one meta tag to the <head> of every page where you want the banner: <meta name="apple-itunes-app" content="app-id=YOUR_APP_ID">. Replace YOUR_APP_ID with the numeric ID from your App Store link. Optionally add an app-argument to deep-link into your app. Use the generator above to build the exact tag, then paste it into your site template.
Why is my Smart App Banner not showing?+
The most common reasons: you're not viewing the page in Safari on iOS or iPadOS (it never shows in Chrome, in-app webviews, or on desktop); the meta tag isn't in the <head> of the exact page you loaded; you already dismissed it, since Safari remembers that per site (test in a fresh private tab); the app-id is wrong or the app isn't live on the App Store; or the app-argument isn't a valid URL. Also make sure the tag renders in the server HTML, not just after JavaScript runs.
What is the app-argument in a Smart App Banner?+
app-argument is an optional URL that Safari passes to your app when someone opens it from the banner. Your app reads it to deep-link the user to specific content, for example the exact product or article they were viewing on the web. It must be a URL your app is set up to handle through Universal Links or a custom URL scheme. Leave it out and the banner simply opens the app.
Do Smart App Banners work on Android or Chrome?+
No. The Smart App Banner is an Apple feature that only works in Safari on iOS and iPadOS. Android and Chrome have no identical native banner. The closest official option is a Web App Manifest with related_applications and prefer_related_applications, which lets Chrome offer your native app; the generator can produce that snippet too. For a fully custom banner on both platforms, developers use a small JavaScript library instead.
How do I find my App Store app ID?+
Open your app's App Store page and look at the URL: the number after 'id' is your app ID, for example apps.apple.com/app/id389801252 means the ID is 389801252. You can also find it in App Store Connect under App Information. Paste either the full URL or just the number into the generator and it extracts the ID.
Is the Smart App Banner free, and can I style it?+
It's completely free; it's a built-in Safari feature with no cost and no library to include. You cannot style it, though. Apple controls its appearance entirely, so you can't change its colors, copy, or button. That's the tradeoff: it looks native and trustworthy, but it's fixed. If you need a custom look or cross-platform reach, use a JavaScript banner instead.
Does the Smart App Banner hurt SEO or page speed?+
No. It's a single meta tag with no scripts, images, or network requests of its own, so it has no measurable effect on load time or Core Web Vitals, and it doesn't change what search engines index. It only renders for real visitors in Safari on iOS.