iPhone 101: Adding favorite website icons to your iPhone's home screen is a basic feature that's often overlooked because it's hiding in plain sight. Most of us open the Safari app simply out of habit, but there's an easier way to gain instant access to your favorite web destinations.
First, launch the Safari app. Select your favorite website, let it load and then tap the plus (+) button.
Select the "Add To Home Screen" tab. You'll see another selection screen appear. This screen allows you to either custom name your new home screen icon or confirm the existing name.
Now tap the "Add" button on the top right and you'll see the web icon added to your home screen. It's that easy. To delete it, just hold the icon for a few seconds until it starts wiggling, then click the circled (x) on the top left of the icon.
Create as many web icons as you choose, but know you'll be limited to 11 pages of visible apps on your iPhone. If you've already filled up 11 pages (176 apps) on your home screen, the "Add To Home Screen" option will not appear when you tap the plus (+) button from a Safari web page.
As the cooks at a Chinese food buffet like to say... Enjoy!
Thanks for making this! Kinda felt like an idiot that I didn't just intuitively know what "Add to home screen" did.
Posted by: Ralph | November 04, 2010 at 07:11 AM
If you have all of your visible screens filled with apps or bookmarks, this option won't show up at all. You have to have a visible spot for the new icon to go.
Posted by: Jared | July 03, 2010 at 06:33 PM
Hi thanks, but what if I am NOT getting the option of 'Add to Home Screen'?
When I hit the + sign, I am only getting these three options:
Add Bookmark
Mail Link to this page
Cancel
'The Add to Home Screen' is just not there.
Do I need to change some settings to get that option?
Mine is iphone 3GS version 3.1.2
PlEASE HELP as I just can't do without the gmail icon!
Prakash
Posted by: Prakash Gosavi | June 01, 2010 at 08:42 PM
was just going to ask about the icon thing too but someone beat me to it...another thing you can do is zoom into a picture or something you like on the page and it'll do the icon of that, but on the flipside every time you pull the page up itll come up just like that
Posted by: Ian Lovecraft | March 29, 2010 at 01:26 PM
I created the icon and coded it into my blog. If websites chose to do so the icons can be branded. Thanks for noticing.
Posted by: iPhone Savior | March 29, 2010 at 10:09 AM
Nice, but how did you manage to get such a nice icon instead of a miniature view of the page?
Posted by: J Olsson | March 29, 2010 at 05:06 AM
Great! I need this to tweak some of my iphone features! Informative post! :) Thanks for this one.
Posted by: renaissance costumer | March 28, 2010 at 09:43 PM