Workflow

Custom URL Magic: 5 ways to use "Add by URL"

Discover 5 powerful ways to use weballoon’s "Add by URL" feature to turn internal portals, legacy tools, and private dashboards into dedicated desktop apps.

Written by Ballonie•May 7, 2026•4 min read

customizationinternal toolsSaaSworkflow

Beyond the Catalog

While the weballoon App Catalog covers the "big" tools like Slack or Notion, the real power of the web lies in the specific, niche, and often private tools we use to get work done. Whether it’s a self-hosted project board, an old internal HR portal, or a specialized data dashboard, these sites often get lost in a sea of generic browser tabs. The "Add by URL" feature allows you to take any web address and give it the full weballoon treatment: a dedicated icon, an isolated session, and a permanent home in your workspace.

5 Ways to Use Custom URLs

Here is how our power users are utilizing custom URLs to bridge the gap between "website" and "desktop app":

Internal Company Portals: Turn your company’s "Intranet" or wiki into a dedicated app. Instead of searching through bookmarks, it’s always one click away in your "Company" workspace.
Legacy Admin Tools: Many businesses rely on older software that only runs in a browser. By adding these via URL, you can wrap them in a modern shell with PIN protection for extra security.
Specific Project Dashboards: Don't just add "Trello"—add the specific URL of the board you are working on this month. It eliminates the navigation steps and drops you right into the work.
Local Dev Servers: For developers, adding localhost:3000 as a dedicated app in a "Dev" workspace keeps your preview window separate from your documentation and research tabs.
Private Analytics Views: If you spend your day checking specific metrics, turn that filtered analytics view into a standalone app. Use Floatie to keep the most important chart visible while you work elsewhere.

The Benefit of "The Wrapper"

When you add a site by URL, it isn't just a bookmark. It gains all the architectural benefits of weballoon:

Isolation: Its cookies and cache stay separate from your other apps.
Resource Monitoring: See exactly how much RAM that old legacy tool is consuming in the Task Manager.
Control: Enable the Adblocker or set a specific Proxy just for that internal portal.

Making it Yours

Custom URLs are the "missing link" for a truly personalized desktop. They allow you to build a workspace that reflects your specific job, your specific company, and your specific habits. It turns the entire web into your personal app library.

Key takeaways

Add Any Site: If it has a URL, it can become a dedicated app in your weballoon workspace.
Professional Boundaries: Keep internal tools and private company portals away from your general browsing history.
Specific Navigation: Add deep links to specific boards or dashboards to skip the login/landing pages.
Unified Controls: Apply weballoon’s security features (PIN, Proxy, Adblocker) to even the oldest legacy tools.

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