How to choose a URL shortener — a checklist

A short link is hard to recall once it's out. After it's in a message, printed on something, and reshared by others, switching services is no longer easy. So a shortener is best chosen before you create anything. Below are questions worth asking of any tool you compare. Each one closes with a light note on how linkpado answers it.

Will the links keep working?

Start with stability. A link you create should keep pointing to the same place, and if the service disappears, those links die with it.

• Do links on the free plan expire? A link that stops working after a set period is hard to use in print or in a long-running campaign.
• What happens to your links if the service shuts down? Few providers answer this clearly, but checking how long they've operated and who runs them already tells you something about the risk.
• If you shorten the same original twice, do you get the same code or a new one each time? That affects whether your links end up duplicated.

Does it shorten any address?

This question matters in two directions. If a shortener shortens any address without asking, its links easily become a channel for phishing and spam. A short address hides the destination, so the recipient can't tell where it leads until they click.

• Is there a policy on what can be shortened, or does it shorten whatever you paste?
• Is there a way to report or block malicious links?
• If you're the one sending links, is the service's domain already blocked by spam filters? A shortening domain that anyone has abused sometimes gets blocked wholesale in mail and messengers.

linkpado only shortens URLs on approved domains. Rather than shortening any address, it limits what's eligible so its links don't become a channel for spam and phishing. A first-time domain needs one approval step, and in return the recipient gets a link to a destination that has at least been reviewed.

Does it count clicks correctly?

If you care about click counts, first check whether the service measures them accurately. The redirect type is what decides this.

• A permanent redirect, 301, lets the browser cache the result. From the second click on, it skips the service and goes straight to the original — fast, but that click isn't counted.
• A temporary redirect, 302, routes through the service every time, so every visit can be measured.

A service that advertises analytics but uses 301 may report fewer clicks than really happened. A related question: does it give you only a raw click count, or details like location and device? And does seeing that data require logging in?

linkpado responds to every short link with 302 so clicks are counted accurately, and after you log in it shows click counts along with visitors' location and device.

Are the paths readable, and does it stop you on the way?

Two short links can leave a different impression depending on whether the path reads at all.

• Can you set a custom path? Random codes are hard to guess but also hard for a person to remember.
• What are the constraints on a custom path? linkpado's Pro custom paths allow lowercase letters, digits, and hyphens, 3 to 32 characters.

Then check what happens after the click. Does the link go straight to the destination, or pass through an ad or a countdown screen first? Such interstitial pages are a common way to hold a user's attention, but they hide the real destination one more time and slow the click down. linkpado forwards straight to the destination with no screen in between.

Terms and link ownership

Finally, confirm who owns the links you make.

• What happens to your links if you pause a free plan or leave?
• Who owns the click data, and how long is it kept?
• If pricing changes, does it apply retroactively to links you've already made?

These questions are easy to miss behind a long feature list, but they matter more the longer you use a link. The shorter and clearer a service's terms, the less trouble you're likely to run into later.

Reduced to one line, the checklist is this: are the links stable, does it refuse to shorten any address, does it count clicks accurately, do the paths read, does it go straight through with no screen in between, and are the terms clear? If you want to see how linkpado answers these for yourself, you can try it from the home page.