Section 5 4 min read

Creating a short link

Click New link on the dashboard or the Links page. Only one field is required.

  • Destination URL (required). Where people go when they follow the short link. It must start with http:// or https://, and it cannot point at a private network address. Anything already on the URL, such as tracking or affiliate parameters, is kept exactly as you typed it.
  • Title (optional). Only for finding the link later; visitors never see it.
  • Custom alias (optional). The part after your short domain, which is shown in front of the field. Leave it blank and Mage URL generates one for you, avoiding characters that are easy to misread such as 0 and O. A custom alias must be 3 to 64 characters using letters, numbers, hyphens and underscores. Aliases are not case-sensitive: Spring-Sale and spring-sale are the same address, so if one is taken the other is too, and a visitor who types the alias in different capitals still reaches your link. The link keeps the capitals you typed.
  • Campaign (optional). Choose a campaign to group the link for reporting. Only Draft and Active campaigns are offered.
  • UTM tags (optional). Choose a saved preset and its utm_ values are added to the destination URL when you save. Any utm_ tags already on the URL are replaced; everything else is left as typed. The preset is not remembered afterwards, so editing the preset later never re-tags this link.

Scheduling, status and redirect type

Click Scheduling, status and redirect type to open the advanced settings.

  • Status. Active by default. See Managing your links for what each status does.
  • Redirect type. 302 Found is the default and the right choice almost always. 307 Temporary Redirect is also available. Choosing 301 Permanent Redirect shows a warning: browsers cache a 301 indefinitely, so you will not reliably be able to change the destination later, and repeat visits stop being counted.
  • Starts and Expires (optional). Outside these dates the link shows a message instead of redirecting, and its click history is kept either way. The expiry must be later than the start. Enter these times in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), whatever your workspace timezone: the form treats what you type as UTC, and the Edit page shows them back in UTC. The link's analytics page and the Links export show the same moments converted to the workspace timezone, so they can look different from what you typed. For example, with a workspace on New York time (UTC-5 in winter), typing 17:00 means noon in New York.
  • Notes (optional). Internal notes about the link.

Click the button at the bottom of the form to create the link.

You return to the Links page with Your short link is ready: the full short URL, a Copy button, Open destination, View analytics, and the link's QR code with PNG and SVG for print downloads.

If the alias is taken or reserved

Short domains are shared, so an alias may already be in use by someone else. You see That alias is already in use, followed by free alternatives as buttons; click one to put it in the field, then save again. Some words are reserved and cannot be used at all, for example admin, login, help, support, privacy, terms, report and report-abuse.

Other messages you may see

  • This workspace is using all of its active links. You have reached your plan's active-link allowance. See Managing your links.
  • Too many links created. Try again in a few seconds. There is a per-minute limit on how fast a workspace can create links.
  • The link service could not be reached, so the link was not created. Nothing was saved. Try again in a moment.
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