Overview

Use the CHSSWeb URL Shortener when you have a URL which is too long or when you want to add tracking information to the URL without distracting your users.

To add a shortened URL, from the dashboard click on "URL Shortener" in the left-hand navigation.

This will take you to the URL Shortener list page. On this page you can view and edit existing shortened URLs.

Click the green "Create New" button in the top-right corner. This will take you to the URL Shortener edit page.

Paste your long URL into the "Original URL" field. You can now save it and use the shortened URL the system generates for you. In the example shown here, your resulting URL would be to.gmu.edu/Pt3D4M.

However, you may want to override that by adding something to the "Custom name" field. Use something that is short and memorable. Try not to use abbreviations.

You may now save your shortened URL. Once you save it, it is available for use.

If you wish to use the URL in a Google Analytics Custom Campaign, complete the Campaign, Source, and Medium fields. When you save, the shortened URL will redirect to your original URL with the Google Campaign variables added and formatted correctly.

QR Codes

For each shortened URL you create, the system will also create a corresponding QR code. An image of this QR code will be available on the edit page for your shortened URL after the first time you save the URL. To use this QR code on your print materials you can right-click and download it to your computer as an image. 

Click Counter

Each shortened URL will keep track of the number of times it was clicked. This count includes direct clicks to the shortened URL and visits from its QR code. You can find this count on the edit page for your shortened URL after the first time you save the URL.

The click counter was introduced on 2/16/2023. All link counts are from that day onward for shortened URLs created before 2/16/2023.