Modern mobile browsers offer much more than just browsing web pages. Yandex Browser for the Android platform has become a powerful personalization tool that allows you to display the necessary resources directly on your desktop smartphone. This eliminates the need to open the application every time, look for a tab and enter the address again.
Adding icons to the home screen is not just an aesthetic decision, but also a way to speed up access to frequently visited services, be it mail, social networks or news portals. The process of creating such shortcuts is intuitive, but users sometimes encounter interface nuances that change after updates.
In this article we will analyze in detail all the ways to add visual elements: from standard site shortcuts to functional widgets. You will learn how to manage these elements, change their appearance and solve common problems if the icon does not appear where it should.
Why put site icons on the desktop
The main purpose of creating shortcuts is to save money time. Instead of performing a chain of actions: unlock your phone, find the browser icon, launch it, open the tab menu and select the desired site, you do just one touch. This is especially true for services that you use several times a day.
In addition, the use of external icons helps to structure the smartphone space. You can group shortcuts to important resources into a separate folder on your desktop, creating your own personal dashboard. This frees the tab memory in the browser itself from unnecessary visual noise.
It is worth noting that such icons work as full-fledged applications. When you click on them Yandex Browser it runs in the background or expands a specific page, creating the effect of a native application. This is convenient for web versions of services that do not have separate apps on Google Play.
However, it is important to understand the difference between just a bookmark and a shortcut on the screen. The bookmark is stored inside the browser and is accessible only after it is launched. The shortcut is part of the operating system Android and exists regardless of whether the browser is running or not.
⚠️ Attention: When you delete a shortcut from the desktop, the page itself is not deleted from the history or browser bookmarks. You simply remove quick access to it from the main screen.
Step-by-step guide: creating a site shortcut
The process of adding an icon is maximally simplified by the developers and takes just seconds. First of all, open Yandex Browser on your device and go to the page you want to save. Make sure that the site has fully loaded and is displayed correctly.
Next you need to call the context menu. Depending on the interface version, the menu button may appear as three dots in the lower right corner or three bars at the bottom of the screen. Click on this control to expand the list of available actions.
In the list that opens, find the item Add to home screen. In some older versions it may be called Create a shortcut. After clicking, the system will prompt you to confirm the action or change the name of the future icon.
If you want to give the shortcut a unique name, different from the page title, edit the text field in the dialog box that appears. Then click the button Add. The Android system will automatically place the icon on an empty space on your desktop.
☑️ Check before creating a shortcut
Sometimes after pressing the button nothing happens visually. In this case, minimize your browser and check your desktop. The icon could be added to the adjacent page of the screen if the current one was completely filled.
Working with Yandex Browser widgets
In addition to simple shortcuts, Yandex Browser offers a more advanced tool - widgets. They differ from regular icons in that they can display dynamic information, such as news, weather or a Zen feed, right on the home screen without launching the application.
To install a widget, you need to long press on an empty space on your smartphone's desktop. The customization menu will appear, where you should select the section Widgets. In the list, find Yandex Browser and select the appropriate block size.
There are several widget formats:
- 📰 News feed - shows the headlines of current events.
- 🌤 Weather - displays the current temperature and forecast.
- 🔍 Search bar - allows you to search for information without entering the application.
- 🚀 Tableboard - quick access to frequently visited sites.
Drag the selected widget to a free area of the screen. Some widgets require additional configuration after placement. For example, a weather widget might request geolocation access to display data for your region.
Widgets consume more battery power than static shortcuts because they periodically update information from the Internet. Use them sparingly if saving energy is a priority for you.
The size of the widget can be changed by dragging its edges after a long press. This allows you to fit an interface element into the free space between other application icons.
Customizing and editing added icons
After the icon appears on the screen, you can modify it. Using standard Android tools, you cannot change the image of a website shortcut created by the browser, but you can change its name or move it.
To rename, long press on the icon until the action menu appears. Select Edit (if the launcher supports this function) or delete the old shortcut and create a new one with a different name through the browser menu. This is useful if the standard page title is too long.
Moving icons is done simply by drag-and-drop. You can create a folder by dragging one icon onto another. This is a great way to group shortcuts by topic, such as "Work", "Entertainment" or "Shopping".
If you want to remove the icon, simply drag it to the top of the screen, where a zone Delete or the trash icon will appear. Confirm the action, and the shortcut will disappear from the desktop, but will remain in the browser history.
| Element type | Functional | Data update | Impact on battery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site shortcut | Quick page launch | No (static) | Minimal |
| Weather widget | Temperature display | Automatic | Average |
| News widget | Zen feed/News | Automatic | High |
| Search widget | Entering a query | No | Minimum |
Troubleshooting: if the icon is not added
Sometimes users are faced with a situation where the add button is active, but the icon does not appear. Most often the problem lies in the operating system permissions. Modern versions of Android require explicit confirmation of the right to create shortcuts.
Go to Settings your smartphone, then to the Applicationssection. Find it in the list Yandex Browser and open its parameters. You need the item Permissions or Additional permissions.
Find the option Creating shortcuts (or Adding shortcuts to the home screen) and make sure the switch is set to Allow. Without this right, the browser technically cannot interact with the launcher.
⚠️ Attention: On some shells (for example, MIUI or EMUI), permission settings may be hidden deeper. If you do not find the item right away, use the search in your phone settings.
Another reason may be a crowded desktop. If all widgets and icons occupy all the available space, the system will not be able to accommodate a new element. Free up space by deleting unused applications or moving them to the application menu.
Also check if you have a third-party launcher installed that is blocking changes to the desktop. In rare cases, clearing the browser cache through the settings menu of the application itself helps.
What to do if all shortcuts are gone after updating Android?
Sometimes, during a major update of the operating system, application rights are reset. Go to the permission settings for Yandex Browser and re-grant the right to create shortcuts. After this, the shortcuts may need to be added manually again.
Features of working on different versions of Android
The interface and logic of the shortcuts may differ slightly depending on the version of the operating system. On older versions (Android 8-9), the process was completely automatic and did not require confirmation.
Starting from Android 10 and above, Google has tightened its security policy. Now, the first time you try to add an icon, the system may show a pop-up window with the question: “Allow Yandex to add a shortcut?” You must click Allow, otherwise the action will be canceled.
Devices with custom skins, such as One UI from Samsung or ColorOS from Oppo, may have their own characteristics. For example, shortcuts can be added not to the main screen, but to a special “Shortcuts” menu, which must be activated with a swipe gesture.
Owners of smartphones with a small screen should take into account that widgets can overlap important information on the desktop. In such cases, it is better to limit yourself to compact site shortcuts.
The main difference between new versions of Android is the need to manually confirm the right to create shortcuts when using this function for the first time.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Is it possible to change the site icon to your own image?
You cannot change the graphic image of a shortcut using standard Yandex Browser tools. It automatically pulls up the site's favicon. To change the picture, you will need third-party launcher applications or apps for creating shortcuts, such as "Shortcut Maker".
Why did the shortcut disappear by itself?
This can happen if you cleared the browser data, deleted the application itself, or if the smartphone launcher was reset to factory settings. Also, shortcuts may disappear when installing system updates if backup copies of screen settings have not been saved.
Do shortcuts take up space in the phone's memory?
The shortcuts themselves take up negligible space (several kilobytes), since they are just links. However, if you add a news feed widget, it will cache images and text, which can eventually take up several megabytes in the system cache.
How can I add an icon if the Menu button is not on the screen?
In some viewing modes (for example, full-screen video or reading mode), the control panel is hidden. Swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen or tap the center of the screen to bring up a menu with an add button.
Can I add a folder with shortcuts right away?
No, the browser does not create folders automatically. First, add several shortcuts individually, and then on the desktop, drag one shortcut on top of another. The Android system will offer to create a new folder where it will place both elements.