Creating and editing links
Every field on the link form, what it does, and how to change a link after you have already shared it.
Reviewed 24 Oct 2026
What a link is
A link pairs a short address you hand out with a destination you can change afterwards. That second half is the point: the address on the poster stays the same forever, while where it sends people is yours to edit on any afternoon.
This article covers making one, naming it, changing it later, and taking it out of service. Creating and editing basic links is available on every plan. Password protection, scheduling, and expiry are Advanced options gated to paid plans (see Protecting and scheduling links).
- Links / month, by plan
- Free 30 · Starter 500 · Pro 2,000 · Business 10,000
The fields on the form
Only the first one is required. Everything else exists to make the link easier to recognise later, or to make it behave differently.
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Destination URL | Where visitors end up. https:// is added if you leave it off. Required. |
| Custom slug | The readable part after the slash. Leave blank for a generated one. |
| Title | A name for your own benefit. Shown in your Links list and the command palette. Visitors do not see it. |
| Domain | Which domain the short address lives on. Your workspace default is already selected. Only appears once you have a verified custom domain. |
| Note | A longer internal comment. Not shown publicly. |
| Folder | Files the link into one of your folders. Only appears once you have created a folder. |
| Tags | Pick existing tags or create one in place; they are applied with the link. Tags can also be changed later from the link panel. |
| UTM parameters | Campaign tags appended to the destination on every click. See UTM parameters. |
| Advanced options | Password, fallback URL, go-live time, expiry, and max clicks. See Protecting and scheduling links. |
Choosing a good slug
A slug you chose beats a slug we generated almost every time: people are more willing to click a link they can read. Keep it short and use hyphens rather than running words together.
- Allowed: letters, numbers, and hyphens, up to 64 characters.
- The panel checks whether a slug is free as you type and says so under the field. It does not stop you saving: if someone claims the slug in between, Create tells you on the field.
- Capitals are folded on save: type Spring-Sale and the link is stored and served as spring-sale.
- A slug must be unique on the domain it lives on. The same slug can exist once on your shared short domain and once on each custom domain you have connected.
- Some words are reserved so links cannot collide with ShortZen's own pages. If you hit one, the form tells you.
- Slugs are part of your public brand. spring-sale outlives q2-final-v3-USE-THIS.
Editing a link after you have shared it
Click any row in the Links table to open it. Everything on the create form is editable, including the destination and the slug.
Changing the slug keeps the old address working for 30 days, then it stops
If another member saves the same link while you are editing it, your save is held and the form says so: Reload brings their version in so you can edit on top of it, and Keep mine saves yours over theirs. Nothing is overwritten silently.
Repoint a link you have already published
For: Anyone who can edit links in the workspace
Before you start
- An existing link in your Links table.
- The new destination URL.
Steps
Open Links and find the link. Use the search box if the list is long.
Click the row.
The link opens on its Details tab, ready to edit.
Replace the Destination URL with the new address.
Leave the slug exactly as it is.
This is the point: the address people already have must not change.
Choose Save changes.
It appears once something has changed; the row updates when it saves.
Open the short link in a new tab.
You arrive at the new destination.
What you should see
The same short address now sends visitors somewhere new. Nothing you have printed or published needs reissuing.
How to check it worked
- The short address is unchanged in your Links table.
- Opening it lands on the new destination on the first try, with no stale page from your browser cache.
- The link's existing click history is still there on its analytics page.
Edge cases
- The new destination fails safety screening.
- The save is refused and the old destination stays live. Check the URL, then check whether the destination site itself has been flagged.
- The link has routing rules.
- The destination you edit here is the default. Visitors matching a routing rule go where that rule says instead. Choose the Routing tab on this same record to edit them.
If something goes wrong
- You still land on the old destination.
- Your browser is showing you a cached page, not a cached redirect. Try a private window. If it persists in a fresh window, reopen the link and confirm the save actually took.
Pausing versus deleting
| Action | What happens | Use when |
|---|---|---|
| Pause | The link stops redirecting and shows a "This link has been paused" page. Its analytics stay. You can switch it back on. | A campaign has ended but you may want the link again. |
| Delete | The link stops redirecting and leaves your list. The slug becomes available to reuse. | You are certain you are finished with it. |
Neither gives you your monthly quota back
If you set a fallback URL on the link, visitors are sent there instead of seeing an error page. That is usually kinder than a dead end: point it at your homepage or the campaign's replacement.
Which domain a link uses
The create panel lets you pick any verified custom domain you have connected, right alongside your default short domain. The same choice is available whether you create through the dashboard, the REST API, or an import.