1. Overview
  2. Smart Links
  3. Creating a smart link

Creating a smart link

This guide walks you through creating a standard redirect smart link — a short URL that forwards visitors to any destination you choose. You would do this whenever you want a trackable, branded short link for social media, email campaigns, packaging inserts, or anywhere else you share URLs.

Note: Smart links are a Pro feature on 1smart.link. Free-tier users will see an Upgrade to Pro overlay when opening the Create Link modal. Upgrade your plan to access link creation.

Open the Create Link modal

  1. Log in to your dashboard at www.1smart.link.
  2. Navigate to Dashboard → Links (or go directly to /dashboard/links).
  3. Click the Create Link button (or the + button if you see one in the top-right area of the links list).
  4. The Create Link modal opens with several fields ready to fill in.

Fill in the basic fields

  1. Link type — Select Redirect. This is the default option and creates a standard forwarding link.
  2. Destination URL — Paste the full target URL you want visitors to land on. Include https:// at the start. This is the only required field.
  3. Domain — Use the domain picker to choose which domain your short link will sit on. By default this is 1smart.link. If you have connected any custom domains (a Pro feature), they appear here as additional options.
  4. Slug — This is the path that appears after your domain (e.g. 1smart.link/my-offer). You have two choices: - Leave it blank to let the system auto-generate a short random slug. - Type a custom slug to create a memorable, branded path.
  5. Redirect type — Choose the HTTP redirect behaviour:
Redirect typeWhat it doesWhen to use it
302 (default)Temporary redirectMost everyday use cases — promotions, campaigns, social bios
301Permanent redirectSEO-focused links where you want search engines to transfer authority
307Temporary redirect (strict)When you need the browser to preserve the original HTTP method exactly

If you are unsure, leave it on 302. It works well for the vast majority of scenarios.

  1. Title (optional) — Add an internal label to help you remember what this link is for. Visitors never see this; it is purely for your own organisation in the dashboard.
  2. Tags (optional) — Assign one or more tags to group related links together. Useful when you manage many links across different campaigns or products.

Configure advanced options

Below the basic fields you will find expandable sections for advanced settings. These are all optional.

  1. UTM parameters — Expand this section to append tracking parameters to your destination URL automatically. Fill in any combination of: - utm_source — where the traffic comes from (e.g. instagram, newsletter) - utm_medium — the marketing medium (e.g. social, email, cpc) - utm_campaign — the campaign name (e.g. summer-sale) - utm_term — the paid keyword, if relevant - utm_content — used to differentiate similar content or links within the same campaign

Tip: UTM parameters are appended to the destination URL for you. You do not need to add them manually inside the Destination URL field — doing so would result in duplicates.

  1. Forward URL parameters — Toggle this on if you want any query-string parameters a visitor brings with them (e.g. ?ref=abc) to be passed through to the destination URL. This is helpful when downstream analytics or affiliate systems rely on parameters attached by the referrer.
  1. Expiry date — Set a date and time after which the link stops working. Useful for time-limited promotions or event registrations.
  1. Pixels — Assign one or more saved retargeting pixels to this link. When a visitor clicks the link, the pixel fires before the redirect, allowing you to build retargeting audiences. See Article #27 for details on setting up pixels.

Save and share your link

  1. Click Save.
  2. Your smart link is active immediately. It will be live at the domain and slug you chose — for example, www.1smart.link/my-offer or yourdomain.com/my-offer if you selected a custom domain.

You can copy the link directly from the links list in your dashboard and start sharing it straight away.

What happens behind the scenes

When you save the link, 1smart.link automatically runs a Google Safe Browsing check against your destination URL. If the destination is flagged as malicious, the link is blocked and will not be created. If the destination is flagged as suspicious (for example, phishing-adjacent content), the link is still created but logged for review.

Troubleshooting

"Slug is reserved" error

Some slugs are reserved by the system — words like admin, api, dashboard, login, and signup cannot be used. If you see this error, choose a different slug or let the system auto-generate one.

The Create Link modal is greyed out or blocked

Free-tier accounts cannot create smart links. If you see a frosted overlay with an Upgrade to Pro prompt, you need to upgrade your plan before you can proceed.

Destination URL rejected

Make sure your destination URL starts with https:// (or http://). Incomplete URLs or URLs flagged as malicious by Google Safe Browsing will be rejected.

Related articles

  • Article #18
  • Article #20
  • Article #27
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