Short links / Backup links

Backup links

Give a short link a backup URL. When the main destination breaks, visitors are sent to the backup until it works again.

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A backup URL is a second destination for a short link. useClick checks the main destination every day. If it is broken, for example the page was deleted or the account behind it was banned, visitors go to the backup URL instead of an error page. When the main destination works again, they go back to it. You do not have to change anything by hand.

It suits links that sit where you cannot quickly edit them: printed QR codes, video descriptions, bio pages, sponsor posts and accounts on platforms that suspend profiles without warning.

Before you start

  • Backup URLs need the Growth plan or higher. On lower plans, the Backup URL field shows a Growth badge and opens an upgrade prompt.
  • Pick a backup that makes sense on its own: your account on another platform, a page on your own site, or a mirror of the same content.

Add a backup URL

  1. In Short links, open the link to go to its analytics page.
  2. Click Edit link.
  3. Enter the address in Backup URL. It must start with http:// or https://.
  4. Click Save changes. The settings grid on the link's page now shows Backup URL.

From a bio page, open the button's Edit bio link and click More link settings: destination, password, expiry, backup URL to get to the same place. To remove a backup, empty the field and save.

With the API, send backup_url when you create a link (POST /api/v1/links) or update one (PUT /api/v1/links/{slug}). Send null to remove it.

How failover works

  1. Once a day, useClick checks the main destination of every link that has a backup URL. It requests the page, follows up to 10 redirects and waits up to 8 seconds for an answer.
  2. If the result counts as broken (see the table below), the link is marked broken. From then on, visitors go to the backup URL.
  3. Each following day the main destination is checked again. As soon as it answers normally, visitors go back to it.
Result of the checkStatusWhere visitors go
The page answers normally, such as 200 OK (after following redirects)HealthyMain destination
An error answer: 404 Not Found, 410 Gone, 403 Forbidden, 500, 503 and any other 4xx or 5xxBrokenBackup URL
The server cannot be reached: the domain no longer exists, the connection is refused, or the certificate is invalidBrokenBackup URL
No answer within 8 seconds, or more than 10 redirectsTimeoutMain destination

A timeout does not trigger the backup. Slow servers are too often only slow for a moment, and switching on them would send visitors away from pages that work.

How fast it switches

  • Up to a day. The check runs once a day, so a destination that breaks right after a check is caught the next day. Recovery works the same way.
  • Plus up to 5 minutes. Links on useclick.io are served from the edge, which keeps a link's settings for up to 5 minutes. After a switch, some visitors may reach the previous destination for up to 5 more minutes.
  • The weekly broken-link check on paid plans uses the same test, so it can also switch a link over.

What you see

  • On the link's analytics page, the status chip reads Broken while the main destination fails, and Timeout when it did not answer in time.
  • In Edit link, a notice reads Main link broken, sending visitors to your backup while the backup is in use.
  • Clicks are tracked on the same short link either way. Your analytics keep counting while visitors go to the backup.

Good to know

  • Geo-targeting still wins. On a geo-targeted link, visitors from a country with its own target go there. The backup replaces only the default destination, and country targets are not checked.
  • The backup is not checked. Make sure it is a page that stays up.
  • Sites that block robots. Some sites answer automated requests with 403 or 429 even though the page works for people. Such a link would switch to its backup. If the status chip shows Broken but the page opens fine in your browser, remove the backup URL for that link.
  • After a downgrade below Growth, a backup URL you already set keeps working. You can remove it, but not change it.
  • Password, content warning and expiry rules still apply before the visitor is sent on. An expired link shows its expired page, not the backup.

Troubleshooting

  • "Please enter a valid backup URL". Include http:// or https:// and check the address for typos.
  • The main page is down but visitors still land on it. The daily check has not run since it broke, or the server timed out instead of returning an error. Wait for the next check, or change the destination by hand in Edit link.

Related Docs & Resources

Create Your First LinkUTM Builder GuideA/B Testing GuideREST API DocsLink AnalyticsPricing