A practical guide to creating, protecting, sharing, measuring, and managing short links in clk.ms.
This guide focuses on what users can do in clk.ms: how links behave, which controls are available, and how to choose the right settings for everyday work, marketing campaigns, private sharing, and branded domains.
Start with a simple short link, then add controls step by step. This path shows how to move from a first safe link to a professional workflow with campaigns, QR materials, analytics, automation, team access, and branded links.
Paste a full URL or type a site without a protocol, keep the default permanent link if you do not need limits, create the short link, copy it, and open it once in a private browser window to confirm the visitor sees the right destination.
When a link is temporary, set a start date, expiration date, or click limit. Use these controls for launches, limited offers, one-time materials, event links, or links that should stop working automatically.
Sign in when you need saved links, statistics, QR design, groups, campaigns, branded domains, destination history, access settings, exports, and team collaboration. Anonymous links are useful for quick use, but accounts unlock long-term control.
Use clear custom slugs, groups, notes, and branded domains before the link list becomes large. This keeps campaigns readable and makes it easier to sort by group, creation date, and click count later.
Create a campaign for the overall activity, then use UTM templates for channels such as email, social, partner traffic, QR print, and ads. Review the final URL before sharing so reports stay clean.
For offline traffic, open the QR tab, choose colors, frame, caption, logo text, and layout, then export the right format for print. Because QR points to the short link, you can change the destination later without reprinting.
Use webhooks, conversions, health monitoring, and notifications when links become part of a workflow. Start with first click or click threshold events, then add conversion tracking after the destination page is ready.
Use smart routing for country, language, device, browser, time, and A/B tests. Protect sensitive links with preview, warning, password, OTP, and referrer rules. Share reports, export data, and review health score before major campaigns.
Do not enable every option on the first link. Create a plain link, test it, then add one feature at a time: lifetime, privacy, organization, UTM, QR, routing, analytics, automation, and finally team access. This keeps every change understandable.
Start with a destination URL or a site name without a protocol, then choose whether the link should be permanent, start later, expire on a date, stop after a click limit, use a custom slug, require a password, or allow only approved referrers. A referrer is the site that sent the visitor to your short link, for example a partner page or a campaign landing page. After creation, clk.ms shows the short URL, copy action, sharing buttons, and QR download. Entries that are not real links, are too long, point back to clk.ms, duplicate an existing active destination with the same settings, or match blocked and spam sources are rejected with a clear reason.
Open full guideSigned-in users can connect their own domain or subdomain, confirm ownership, and create branded links such as https://go.example.com/sale. Once a domain is verified and enabled, it appears in the create form and in link settings. This lets teams keep campaigns, QR codes, printed materials, and partner links under a recognizable brand while still using the same expiration, password, targeting, analytics, and QR features as regular clk.ms links.
Open full guideWhen a visitor opens a short link, clk.ms checks the link status in a clear order: whether the owner account is active, whether the link has started, whether it has expired, whether the click limit is still available, and whether password, email code, referrer, preview, or warning controls apply. If smart routing rules exist, the visitor can be sent to a destination selected by country, region, language, device, browser, time, date, random split, or fallback availability. If no rule matches, the default destination is used.
Open full guideA link can change over time without losing its identity. clk.ms keeps the destination history, notes for each change, who changed it, when it changed, and which version was active during a period. Owners can roll back to an earlier destination. When a link is deleted, expires, reaches its click limit, or is removed because it stayed inactive for a long time, visitors receive a clear status message where appropriate. Freed identifiers can be used again for new links, while deleted-link history helps explain what happened.
Open full guideA registered account gives you a private workspace for links created while signed in. The profile area includes username, first and last name, email, password change, account freeze, and account deletion. Freezing an account temporarily pauses all existing links owned by that account while still allowing the user to prepare new links. Account deletion requires confirmation and removes the user-owned links and related product data.
Open full guideGroups help keep large link collections manageable. Users can create, rename, delete, and icon-label groups, then assign one or more groups to a link from the link settings page. The main link list shows group membership and supports sorting by group, creation date, and click count. When deleting a group, the owner can decide whether links that belong only to that group should also be removed.
Open full guideSigned-in users get a QR code for every link automatically. A QR code is a printable visual version of the short link that can be scanned by a phone camera. The editor supports foreground, background, and accent colors, logo text, frames, captions, placement, sizing, direct preview editing, and live preview. QR codes are dynamic: if the destination changes later, the printed QR still points to the same short link. QR scans are counted separately from ordinary clicks, and exports are available for SVG, PNG, PDF, business cards, flyers, menus, packaging, and other print layouts.
Open full guideUTM tags are small tracking parameters added to the destination URL so marketing reports can show where visitors came from. Common fields are utm_source for the traffic source, utm_medium for the channel, utm_campaign for the campaign name, utm_term for keywords, and utm_content for creative variants. Campaigns group many links under one marketing initiative, while UTM templates save reusable values. When a user applies a template, its values are copied into the specific link so later template edits do not unexpectedly change old links. UTM data can also be edited per link. clk.ms checks for missing, duplicated, or broken UTM parameters and shows the final destination URL before the short link is used in a campaign.
Open full guideDynamic rules let one short link lead to different destinations depending on visitor context. A link can route by country or region, browser language, iOS, Android or desktop device, browser family, date, time of day, random A/B distribution, or fallback availability when the main page is unhealthy. Rules can be created, edited, disabled, reordered by priority, and deleted from the link settings area.
Open full guideLinks can be public or protected. You can add a password, require an email one-time code for private access, allow visits only from approved referrers, show a preview page before redirecting, or display a warning page for sensitive destinations. A preview page lets visitors see where they are going before leaving clk.ms; a warning page is useful when the destination may require extra attention. These settings can be changed later without changing the short URL, which is useful for private documents, partner campaigns, temporary promotions, and controlled launches.
Open full guideThe account dashboard shows basic and advanced performance data for owned links: total clicks, unique visitors, QR scans, clicks by day and hour, countries, cities, languages, devices, operating systems, browsers, referrers, top referrers, bots separated from people, conversions, and attribution. Unique visitors estimate how many separate people or devices opened the link, while total clicks count every visit. A conversion is a meaningful action after the visit, such as a signup, purchase, lead, or custom event. Reports can be exported as CSV or JSON. Analytics can also be shared through a public or password-protected statistics page when the owner wants to send results to a client or teammate.
Open full guideWebhooks help react to link events automatically by sending an event notification to another service chosen by the owner. Owners can configure notifications for the first click, every click, an exact click count, every Nth click, important milestones such as 100 clicks, and expiration. Conversion tracking can be recorded by a tracking pixel, which is a tiny page element used to confirm that a visitor reached a target page, or by sending an event through approved integration access. This makes it possible to connect clk.ms links with reporting dashboards, CRM workflows, alerts, or campaign automation.
Open full guideEvery meaningful destination change can include a note. The link history shows the previous destination URLs, the current destination, who made each change, when it happened, and the active period for each version. Rollback restores a selected earlier destination while preserving the history of that rollback. This is useful for campaign launches, seasonal pages, partner URLs, and correcting mistakes without creating a new short link.
Open full guideclk.ms can monitor destination health and warn the owner when a page becomes unavailable or suspicious. Checks cover not found pages, server errors, timeouts, expired SSL, domains that no longer resolve, and redirect loops. A redirect loop means the destination keeps forwarding the visitor in circles and never reaches a final page. The health score is a simple quality rating based on practical signals such as HTTPS availability, suspicious-domain status, redirect chain length, page response speed, and anti-phishing or safe-browsing results when those sources are available.
Open full guideclk.ms rejects links that point back to the service, malformed destinations, excessive-length URLs, and known spam or malicious destinations when detection is available. Public creation can be limited when one IP creates too many links, and abusive IP addresses can be blocked temporarily or permanently. Users may not create links to illegal content, spam, phishing, malware, or other harmful destinations. Confirmed abuse can lead to permanent account and IP blocking.
Open full guideApproved commercial clients can use authorized API access to create and manage links from external systems such as campaign tools, CRM software, partner portals, and internal dashboards. API-created links follow the same destination quality, service-host, safety, length, custom slug, expiration, click limit, password, UTM, domain, and targeting rules that protect browser-created links, while supporting trusted high-volume workflows.
Open full guideAdministrators can manage users, links, global feature availability, user-specific overrides, advertising visibility, abuse limits, login and registration protection, email settings, link health settings, commercial access, and operational defaults. The goal of the admin area is to let the site owner adapt clk.ms to policy, risk, workload, and business needs without changing how ordinary users create and manage their links.
Open full guideclk.ms handles routine link lifecycle tasks automatically. Links stop working when their start date has not arrived, when their expiration date passes, or when their click limit is reached. Old inactive links can be removed, temporary bans can expire automatically, and permanently blocked addresses remain blocked. Short identifiers released by expired or deleted links can become available again, helping the service keep short links compact over time.
Open full guideThe interface selects a supported language from the browser and falls back to English when the language is not available. Users can switch language manually and choose light, dark, or gray themes. The layout is designed for desktop and mobile use, with controls, tables, forms, help content, and long translations arranged to stay readable without unexpected horizontal scrolling.
Open full guideIf a link cannot be created, review the destination format, protocol, length, spam status, service-host restriction, duplicate active link, custom slug, expiration date, start date, and click limit. If a link does not redirect, check whether it has started, expired, reached its limit, requires a password or email code, is restricted to a referrer, shows a preview or warning page, belongs to a frozen account, or has a routing rule that sends the visitor somewhere else.
Open full guideUse these checklists when you want to configure a specific feature from start to finish.
Open the main page, enter the destination URL or a site name, choose the protocol if the address has no prefix, then select permanence, expiration, start time, click limit, custom slug, password, referrer, preview, warning, OTP, domain, and other options you need. Press the scissors button, then copy the short link, download the QR code, or share it through the available buttons.
Register, confirm the email address when required, sign in, and open Profile. In Account settings you can update personal details, change the password, temporarily freeze existing links, request account deletion, and manage the profile data used by owned links and reports.
Open My links, go to Domains, add the host name, follow the verification instructions, refresh the status, and enable the domain after it is verified. The domain can then be selected while creating a link or edited later in link settings.
Open Groups, create a group with a name and icon, then open a link and use the Groups tab to assign or remove group membership. The main link table shows the group column and can be sorted by group, creation date, or click count.
Open a link while signed in and choose the QR tab. Set colors, frame, caption, logo text, canvas size, and object placement from the form or by dragging and resizing objects directly in the preview. Save the design, then export SVG, PNG, PDF, or open a print layout for cards, flyers, menus, and labels.
Create campaigns and reusable UTM templates in UTM tools. When creating or editing a link, choose the campaign and template, adjust utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_term, and utm_content if needed, review the final URL, then save. Clearing UTM returns the link to the original destination without tracking tags.
Open the link settings and use targeting or routing rules. Add a destination, choose conditions such as country, region, language, device, browser, date, time, random split, or fallback behavior, set the priority, and save. Existing rules can be edited, disabled, reordered, or deleted.
Open the link settings and configure the access controls you need: password, allowed referrers, preview page, warning page, email one-time code, start date, expiration date, or click limit. Save changes and test the short link in a private browser session before sharing it.
Open a link from My links and review overview, statistics, QR scans, countries, cities, languages, devices, browsers, referrers, bots, conversions, and attribution. Use CSV or JSON export when you need offline analysis, client reports, or campaign archives.
Open the integrations area for a link, create a webhook, choose when it should fire, enter the destination endpoint, and save. For conversions, place the tracking pixel or send an approved event after the visitor completes the target action, then review conversion data in analytics.
Open the destination or history area of a link, enter the new destination URL, add a note explaining the change, and save. The history shows who changed the URL, when it changed, and which version was active during each period. Use rollback if an earlier destination should become active again.
Open the health area for a link and review the latest status, score, response speed, redirect chain, SSL status, and availability signals. If the destination is unhealthy or suspicious, update the URL, fix the target page, or pause sharing until the warning is resolved.
Before printing, open the QR tab, switch to preview mode, export SVG or PDF, and test the code from a real phone. Check contrast, quiet space around the code, caption readability, destination rules, password or warning settings, and whether the link should expire after the campaign.
Create two or more destination rules with random distribution weights, give each rule a clear name, and keep a fallback destination. Watch clicks, conversions, countries, devices, and referrers separately before choosing the winning destination.
Open Profile, go to Access, enter the user name, and grant only the permissions needed for the task. Use view-only rights for reporting, edit rights for operators, UTM rights for marketers, and full access only for trusted collaborators.
Use a password for simple private sharing, email OTP for named recipients, allowed referrers for partner pages, preview pages for transparency, warning pages for sensitive destinations, start dates for scheduled launches, and click limits for scarce access.
Short answers to common product questions. Open any question to read the answer and close it again when you are done.
Most creation errors are caused by an invalid destination, unsupported protocol, URL longer than the allowed limit, a link that points back to clk.ms, a duplicate active destination with the same settings, a taken custom slug, an invalid date or click limit, a blocked referrer rule, or a spam and safety match. The form and API return a user-facing reason for these cases.
Yes. When a link expires, is deleted, reaches its click limit, or is removed after long inactivity, its identifier can become available again for another destination. If a visitor opens an identifier that only exists in history, clk.ms shows a clear deleted-link message where appropriate.
No. QR codes point to the short link, not directly to the final page. If the owner changes the destination, the same printed QR code continues to work and sends visitors to the current destination selected by the link settings.
UTM tags are tracking parameters added to a destination URL so analytics tools can identify the campaign, source, medium, keyword, and content variant that produced a visit. Use them for ads, newsletters, social posts, partner links, QR campaigns, and any situation where traffic attribution matters.
Rules are evaluated by priority. The first matching enabled rule selects the destination. If no rule matches, clk.ms uses the default destination. Fallback behavior can be configured for cases where the primary target is unavailable.
Use a password, email one-time code, allowed referrers, preview page, warning page, start date, expiration date, and click limit depending on the level of control you need. These settings can be changed later without changing the short URL.
Clicks count every visit. Unique visitors estimate separate people or devices, so repeated visits by the same visitor usually count as many clicks but fewer unique visitors. Bots are tracked separately where they can be detected.
The health score summarizes practical destination quality signals such as HTTPS availability, response speed, redirect chain length, SSL validity, domain resolution, and suspicious or anti-phishing results when those sources are available.
No. A verified custom domain changes the visible branded short URL, while the same expiration, access controls, smart routing, QR design, scans, clicks, and analytics features continue to apply.
Use commercial API access when an approved external system needs to create or manage links automatically, such as a campaign tool, CRM, partner portal, or internal dashboard. API links still follow the same validation, safety, domain, UTM, expiration, password, and targeting rules.
Groups organize links in your workspace, usually by customer, project, folder, or internal structure. Campaigns organize marketing attribution and UTM values, usually by promotion, channel, or reporting period. A link can use both at the same time.
Use an expiration date when the link should stop after a known time, such as an event or seasonal offer. Use a click limit when access is scarce, such as private downloads or limited invitations. You can combine both controls.
Use preview pages when visitors should see the final destination before leaving clk.ms. Use warning pages when the destination is sensitive, unfamiliar, or requires extra attention. These controls improve trust but add one more step before conversion.
Accounts registered during the development and testing period keep free access to the service permanently. The project can still change while features are refined, so feedback, bug reports, and wishes can be sent to dev@clk.ms.
clk.ms and the site owners are not responsible for links created or shared by other users.
Prohibited
It is forbidden to create or share short links that lead to illegal content, spam, malware, phishing, or other harmful sites.
If such links are detected, the user or IP address that created the link will be permanently blocked and the links may be removed.