Link Shortening

Transform long, unwieldy URLs into clean, memorable short links that are easy to share and track.

Creating a short link with ShrinkLink takes just seconds. Whether you're sharing on social media, sending emails, or embedding in documents, short links make your content more accessible and professional.

Quick Shorten

The fastest way to create a link is using the Quick Shorten form on the homepage or dashboard:

  1. Paste your destination URL into the input field
  2. Click Shorten URL
  3. Copy your new short link and share it anywhere
Tip: Quick shortened links use auto-generated codes. For memorable, branded links, use custom slugs.

Custom Slugs

Custom slugs let you create meaningful, branded short links that your audience will remember. Instead of random characters, use words that describe your content.

Auto-generated https://sl.cloudcopy.me/x7kP2m
Custom slug https://sl.cloudcopy.me/summer-sale

Custom slugs can contain:

  • Letters (a-z, A-Z)
  • Numbers (0-9)
  • Hyphens (-) and underscores (_)

Give your links descriptive titles to easily identify them later. Titles appear in your dashboard and analytics, making it simple to manage hundreds of links.

Advanced Link Creation

The full link creation form gives you access to all of ShrinkLink's features. Access it from your dashboard by clicking Create New Link.

Basic Settings

Field Description Required
Destination URL The full URL where visitors will be redirected Yes
Custom Slug Your preferred short code (auto-generated if empty) No
Title A descriptive name for your reference No
Domain Which domain to use for the short link No
Team Assign the link to a team for collaboration No
Tags Categorize your links for easy filtering No

UTM Parameter Builder

Track the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns by adding UTM parameters to your destination URLs. The built-in UTM builder makes this easy:

  1. Click Add UTM next to the destination URL field
  2. Fill in your campaign parameters (source, medium, campaign, etc.)
  3. Preview the complete URL with parameters
  4. Click Apply to URL
UTM Parameters Explained
utm_source
Where the traffic comes from (e.g., google, newsletter, twitter)
utm_medium
Marketing medium (e.g., cpc, email, social)
utm_campaign
Campaign name (e.g., spring_sale, product_launch)
utm_term
Paid search keywords (optional)
utm_content
Differentiate similar content (optional)

Tags

Tags help you categorize and filter links. Create tags for campaigns, clients, content types, or any other classification system that works for your workflow.

  • Apply multiple tags to a single link
  • Filter your dashboard by tag
  • Color-code tags for visual organization
  • Create new tags directly when creating links

Folders

Group related links into folders for project-based organization. Folders support:

  • Nested folder structures
  • Folder-level analytics (see combined stats for all links in a folder)
  • Bulk operations on folder contents
  • Team-based folder permissions

Link Templates

Save time when creating similar links by using templates. A template stores your preferred settings so you can apply them with one click:

  • Default domain selection
  • Pre-configured tags
  • Pixel assignments
  • Protection settings
  • Routing rules

Unlike many link shorteners, ShrinkLink allows you to edit your links after creation. Change the destination URL, update settings, or add new features at any time.

Note: The short code (slug) cannot be changed after creation. If you need a different slug, create a new link and optionally delete the old one.

Links can have the following statuses:

Active Link is working and redirecting visitors
Inactive Link is paused and shows a disabled message
Expired Link has passed its expiration date or click limit

Toggle a link's active status from the edit page to temporarily disable it without deleting.

Best Practices

Use Descriptive Slugs

Make your links meaningful. /spring-sale-2024 is better than /s24.

Add Titles to Everything

Future you will thank present you when searching through hundreds of links.

Use Tags Consistently

Establish a tagging system early and stick to it for easy organization.

Test Before Sharing

Always click your link to verify it redirects correctly before distributing.

Ready to explore more?

Now that you know the basics, learn how to track performance with detailed analytics.

Analytics