Guides
Long-form guides from the blog and the reference handbook, grouped by what you are trying to do. Each topic opens with the article to read first.
Domains
Connecting a domain, DNS, SSL and moving a domain between providers.
Start here · 2 min read
How to set up a custom short domain, step by step
DNS records, SSL, apex vs subdomain, and the mistakes that cause a domain to sit in "not configured" for hours.
More guides
- Free domain SSL, direct imports and clearer integration controls 2 min
- Changing a short domain with a recovery plan 3 min
- DNS and TTL planning when you move a short domain 4 min
- HTTPS for short domains: certificates, renewal and the failure modes 2 min
- Where redirect latency actually comes from 2 min
- Custom 404s and main-page redirects on a short domain 2 min
- The best URL shorteners with custom domain support 2 min
In the handbook
- Adding a custom domain
- Connecting a domain you already own
- Letting ShortFreeURL write your DNS records
- Redirect settings for a domain
- Slug rules, reserved slugs and duplicates
- Robots policy and what search engines see
- Cleaning up, transferring and deleting a domain
- Connect your domain with free automatic SSL
- Connect a Namecheap domain and subdomain
- Buy a domain — registrar setup, payment and verification
Links
Slugs, redirects, expiry, passwords, cloaking and keeping a link library tidy.
Start here · 2 min read
What is a URL shortener and how does it actually work?
A short link is a 301/302 redirect with a database behind it. Here is the full request path, from DNS to destination, and what changes when the link is branded.
More guides
- A QR print verification workflow from proof to production 3 min
- Changing a short domain with a recovery plan 3 min
- A practical monthly review of team link permissions 3 min
- Planning link expiry without abandoning late visitors 4 min
- Archiving and deleting old links without breaking the past 4 min
- Planning the slug namespace on a short domain 4 min
- What to do when a link goes viral 4 min
- Fighting link rot in documentation 4 min
- How WhatsApp and Telegram build link previews 4 min
- DNS and TTL planning when you move a short domain 4 min
- When to choose 301 and when 308 is the right answer 4 min
- Redirect chains: what they cost and how to flatten them 5 min
- Signed short links: when a URL needs to prove it was issued by you 2 min
- Observability for a redirect path 2 min
- What a redirect service looks like if you build it yourself 2 min
- Managing affiliate links without losing attribution 2 min
- Roles and permissions for a link workspace 2 min
- What to do when a published link is wrong 2 min
- Query parameters, fragments and what survives a redirect 2 min
- Running a link hygiene audit 2 min
- Where redirect latency actually comes from 2 min
- How to choose short link slugs that survive contact with humans 2 min
- A security checklist for running short links 3 min
- Custom 404s and main-page redirects on a short domain 2 min
- Why your link preview is wrong on WhatsApp and Facebook — and how to fix it 2 min
- Open Graph tags: making links look right everywhere they are shared 2 min
- Link expiration for flash sales, betas and time-boxed offers 2 min
- Password-protected short links: when they earn their keep 2 min
- Link cloaking explained — and when not to use it 2 min
- 301 vs 302 vs 307 vs 308: choosing a redirect status code 2 min
- Dynamic vs static QR codes: which to use and when 2 min
In the handbook
- Getting started with ShortFreeURL
- The link editor, tab by tab
- Create your first short link
- Choosing between a free subdomain, your own domain and buying one
- A tour of the dashboard
- Inviting teammates and choosing roles
- Migrating from another shortener
- What happens when someone clicks a short link
- The link editor and its tabs
- Folders, tags and folder defaults
- Finding links and changing many at once
- Sending visitors to different destinations by location
- A/B testing and link rotation
- Expiring links, click limits and TTL
- Two-factor authentication, passkeys and sessions
- SAML single sign-on for a team
- Roles, teams and per-link permissions
- Password-protected and encrypted links
- Signed redirects: proving traffic came from your links
- Privacy, visitor data and retention
- Control forwarded URL parameters and anchors
- Write and publish Posts in Markdown
Analytics
Clicks, visits, bots, attribution, conversions and privacy.
Start here · 2 min read
Why your click count never matches your analytics sessions
The gap between clicks on a short link and sessions in your analytics is normal, explainable and worth quantifying once.
More guides
- UTM hygiene before launch and after the first clicks 3 min
- Reading human and automated traffic without false certainty 3 min
- Consent and click analytics: what a redirect may record 4 min
- Referrer policy: what your links tell the destination 4 min
- Tracking app installs from a short link 4 min
- Reading QR analytics: scans, sessions and what happens next 2 min
- Measuring offline campaigns with links and codes 2 min
- Tracking influencer and partner campaigns fairly 2 min
- Managing affiliate links without losing attribution 2 min
- Link strategy for newsletters that you can actually measure 2 min
- Links for podcasts and audio: designing for the ear 2 min
- Making a UTM convention that a whole team will follow 2 min
- End-to-end encrypted short links: how they work 2 min
- GDPR and link analytics: what you can collect and how 2 min
- Referrer hiding: what it does and when it is appropriate 2 min
- Conversion tracking with short links, end to end 2 min
- Bot traffic in link analytics: how to filter it and why it matters 2 min
- UTM parameters: the complete practical guide 2 min
In the handbook
QR codes
Design, error correction, printing and measuring scans.
Start here · 2 min read
Dynamic vs static QR codes: which to use and when
The difference is not visual quality — it is whether the destination lives inside the code or behind it.
More guides
- A QR print verification workflow from proof to production 3 min
- Migrating a QR campaign that is already in print 4 min
- QR codes on slides, screens and video 2 min
- Reading QR analytics: scans, sessions and what happens next 2 min
- QR codes in restaurants, done properly 2 min
- A pre-print testing checklist for QR codes 2 min
- Designing a branded QR code that still scans 2 min
- QR codes on vehicles, windows and large signage 2 min
- QR error correction levels, and why the default is usually right 2 min
- Measuring offline campaigns with links and codes 2 min
- Links and codes for events, before during and after 2 min
- Short links in print: what changes when there is no click 2 min
- Case study: turning packaging into a reorder channel 2 min
- QR codes on packaging and print: a production checklist 2 min
- Choosing a QR code generator: what actually matters 2 min
- 25 QR code ideas that people actually scan 2 min
In the handbook
Campaigns
UTM conventions, geo targeting, A/B tests, SMS, WhatsApp and social bios.
Start here · 2 min read
UTM parameters: the complete practical guide
What each of the five parameters means, a naming convention that survives contact with a real team, and the mistakes that split your reports.
More guides
- Ads, email campaigns and current AI help in one workspace 2 min
- Turn a branded short link into a newsletter draft 2 min
- Choose between login, an API key and a workflow connection 2 min
- Read integration delivery results before retrying 2 min
- Publish short links from WordPress and Shopify 2 min
- Review a campaign page on desktop and Android before sharing 2 min
- UTM hygiene before launch and after the first clicks 3 min
- Planning link expiry without abandoning late visitors 4 min
- Structuring links for a multi-region campaign 4 min
- How WhatsApp and Telegram build link previews 4 min
- Short links in SMS and RCS: the constraints that matter 4 min
- QR codes on slides, screens and video 2 min
- Measuring offline campaigns with links and codes 2 min
- Getting more out of the single link in your bio 2 min
- Templating seasonal campaigns so you stop rebuilding them 2 min
- The link plan for a product launch 2 min
- Links and codes for events, before during and after 2 min
- Tracking influencer and partner campaigns fairly 2 min
- Managing affiliate links without losing attribution 2 min
- Link strategy for newsletters that you can actually measure 2 min
- Query parameters, fragments and what survives a redirect 2 min
- Making a UTM convention that a whole team will follow 2 min
- Short links in print: what changes when there is no click 2 min
- Link retargeting: building audiences from clicks on other people's content 2 min
- Link-in-bio tools compared: dedicated apps vs your own domain 2 min
- Open Graph tags: making links look right everywhere they are shared 2 min
- Short links in SMS marketing (with notes for India) 2 min
- WhatsApp click-to-chat links: the practical guide 2 min
- How to track clicks from an Instagram bio properly 2 min
- Link expiration for flash sales, betas and time-boxed offers 2 min
- A/B testing landing pages with a single short link 2 min
- Geo-targeting one link for a global campaign 2 min
- Link cloaking explained — and when not to use it 2 min
- 25 QR code ideas that people actually scan 2 min
Developers
The API, webhooks, redirect semantics, deep links and automation.
Start here · 2 min read
API tutorial: creating short links from Node, Python and PHP
Authentication, the create call, bulk creation, error handling and rate limits — with runnable snippets.
More guides
- Ads, email campaigns and current AI help in one workspace 2 min
- Free domain SSL, direct imports and clearer integration controls 2 min
- Turn a branded short link into a newsletter draft 2 min
- Choose between login, an API key and a workflow connection 2 min
- Read integration delivery results before retrying 2 min
- Publish short links from WordPress and Shopify 2 min
- Review a campaign page on desktop and Android before sharing 2 min
- Using MCP for link work with clear, reviewable actions 3 min
- A mobile deep-link test plan that includes the fallback 3 min
- Uptime and incident response for a redirect service 4 min
- Versioning links in CI so releases do not break them 4 min
- When to choose 301 and when 308 is the right answer 4 min
- Managing links from Notion or Airtable 2 min
- Signed short links: when a URL needs to prove it was issued by you 2 min
- Importing thousands of links without breaking anything 2 min
- Observability for a redirect path 2 min
- Caching redirects at the edge without losing your analytics 2 min
- What a redirect service looks like if you build it yourself 2 min
- Creating links idempotently in automated systems 2 min
- Working with a link API: pagination, rate limits and retries 2 min
- Five Zapier automations worth building around short links 2 min
- Links as code: managing short links from a Git repository 2 min
- End-to-end encrypted short links: how they work 2 min
- Click webhooks: streaming link events into your own systems 2 min
- Mobile deep links: opening the app instead of the browser 2 min
- 301 vs 302 vs 307 vs 308: choosing a redirect status code 2 min
In the handbook
- API keys and rate limits
- API keys, scopes and where to use each kind
- Receiving clicks as webhooks
- Forwarding clicks to ad platforms server-side
- Slack, Zapier and Make
- Using ShortFreeURL from an AI assistant over MCP
- The WordPress plugin, browser extension and links as code
- Authentication, rate limits and conventions
- Working with links over the API
- Reading statistics over the API
- Bulk import, the sheet and exports over the API
- Errors, status codes and how to handle them
- The OpenAPI document, SDKs and client generation
- Advertising, email drafts and no-code connections
- Set up Amazon AWS email, DNS and short-link hosting
- Connect TikTok Ads
- Manage integrations and help customers from admin
- Connect Snapchat Ads
- Connect X / Twitter Ads
- Connect LinkedIn Ads
- Connect Pinterest Ads
- Connect Reddit Ads
- Connect Google Ads
- Connect Mailchimp
- Connect Brevo
- Connect MailerLite
- Connect SendGrid Marketing
- Connect Pipedream
- Connect Activepieces
- Connect Zoho Flow
- Connect Albato
- Connect Tray.io
- Connect Latenode
- Connect Microsoft Power Automate
- Connect Trello
- Connect ClickUp
- Connect monday.com
- Connect Todoist
- Connect Basecamp
- Connect Wrike
- Connect Smartsheet
- Connect Coda
- Connect Google Drive
- Connect Google Calendar
- Connect Gmail
- Connect Microsoft Outlook
- Connect Microsoft OneDrive
- Connect Microsoft Excel
- Connect Salesforce
- Connect Zoho CRM
- Connect Pipedrive
- Connect Freshdesk
- Connect Zendesk
- Connect Intercom
- Connect Help Scout
- Connect Crisp
- Connect Klaviyo
- Connect ActiveCampaign
- Connect Kit
- Connect Constant Contact
- Connect Campaign Monitor
- Connect GetResponse
- Connect AWeber
- Connect Omnisend
- Connect Drip
- Connect SendPulse
- Connect Mailjet
- Connect Mailgun
- Connect Webflow
- Connect Wix
- Connect Squarespace
- Connect WooCommerce
- Connect BigCommerce
- Connect Ecwid
- Connect PrestaShop
- Connect Adobe Commerce
- Connect Gumroad
- Connect Eventbrite
- Connect Calendly
- Connect Typeform
- Connect Jotform
- Connect Google Chat
- Connect Mattermost
- Ads tracking, email marketing and AI help — choose and verify your plan
- Connect Rocket.Chat
- Connect Google Tag Manager
- Connect Flock
- Create links from GitLab CI
- Connect Lark
- Connect Zulip
- Connect Gotify
- Connect ntfy
- Connect multiple accounts to the same provider
- Trello Direct Import — step-by-step setup
- ClickUp Direct Import — step-by-step setup
- Todoist Direct Import — step-by-step setup
- Typeform Direct Import — step-by-step setup
- Coda Direct Import — step-by-step setup
- Smartsheet Direct Import — step-by-step setup
- Wrike Direct Import — step-by-step setup
- Jotform Direct Import — step-by-step setup
- Calendly Direct Import — step-by-step setup
Start Free — no credit card
The free plan includes 1,000 links, 6 custom domains and 50,000 tracked clicks a month, free forever. Choose a free subdomain from six shared domains. Paid plans start at $4 a month when you outgrow it, and you keep everything you have built.
Frequently asked questions
What do these guides cover?
Setting up a branded domain, building QR codes people actually scan, tracking campaigns with UTM parameters, reading click analytics, and moving from another platform.
Is there a free plan?
Yes. ShortFreeURL has a free plan with no card required, and every paid plan has a 7-day free trial.