Universal Editor URL limitation (?)

I am working with developers to implement UE in our AEM cloud instance, without EDS and not using a headless architecture. 

They have told me that to work with UE we will need to direct users to a specific URL, and NOT use the convenient UE entry point that Adobe provides on the landing page (the one where you just input the site URL).

So far, efforts to get components working smoothly have only succeeded if we use the other URL format. 

Has anyone else encountered this limitation? 

If business users have to enter a particular URL formula for getting to UE with the page they want, it’s going to be messy. The AEM input field for easily entering UE and navigating within it would be perfect, but if our devs are correct, doing it this way means glitches and limitations.

Thanks for any advices.