# Short Links Short links are one-tap URLs that route a new visitor straight into a WhatsApp conversation on one of your connected numbers. Instead of handing out a long `wa.me/...` URL, you share a short branded link. When someone clicks it, the platform picks one of your WhatsApp numbers, optionally pre-fills the first message for them, and opens WhatsApp. Use short links anywhere you'd normally drop a WhatsApp URL: bios, ad creatives, QR codes, email signatures, websites, and printed materials. --- ## What Short Links Do | Capability | How it works | |---|---| | **One-tap to chat** | Visitor taps the link, WhatsApp opens on their device with your number already selected. | | **Multi-number rotation** | Attach several WhatsApp numbers to one link. The platform automatically picks the number with the most daily-cap headroom, spreading traffic evenly across your connected numbers. | | **Sticky routing** | A returning visitor lands on the same number they were paired with the first time, so conversation history stays in one place. | | **Prefilled first message** | Optionally drop the visitor into the chat with the opening message already typed. | | **Daily-limit aware** | The routing engine watches each WhatsApp Web number's daily message usage and avoids saturating any single number. | | **Disconnect aware** | If a number gets disconnected or banned, the link automatically skips it and routes to the remaining healthy numbers. | --- ## Creating a Short Link **How to get there:** Settings → **Channels** group → **Short Links**. 1. Open **Settings** (gear icon in the left sidebar), then click **Short Links** under the **Channels** group. 2. Click **New link**. 3. **Route to these numbers** — pick one or more connected WhatsApp numbers as chips. Both WhatsApp Web and WhatsApp Business API numbers are eligible. 4. **Prefill message** *(optional)* — the message typed into WhatsApp for the visitor. Leave it blank for an empty chat. 5. Click **Create link**. The platform generates a short slug automatically — you don't pick the ending — and copies the finished link to your clipboard as soon as it's created. --- ## Using Short Links Short links are plain URLs, so they work anywhere a URL works: - **Social media bios** — Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, LinkedIn. - **Ad creatives** — Meta Ads, TikTok Ads, Google Ads landing destinations. - **QR codes** — generate one from your short link for posters, flyers, packaging, table tents. - **Email signatures and campaigns** — a one-tap "chat with us on WhatsApp" link. - **Website CTAs** — sticky chat buttons, hero sections, contact pages. - **Outbound campaigns** sent from the platform — paste the short link into the message body or template. - **WhatsApp templates** — embed in a CTA button or message body where allowed. - **AI agent handoffs** — paste the link into an agent's instructions so it can offer to continue a website chat on WhatsApp when the visitor is about to leave (recipe in [Chat Widget](../get-started/chat-widget.md)). Tip: short links work well as the destination of "Send to WhatsApp" ad CTAs, since Meta's own lead-ad routing can be slower to optimize than a click-to-chat link you control. --- ## How Routing Works When a visitor clicks a short link: 1. The platform looks up the link and checks it's enabled. 2. If **sticky routing** applies and the visitor has clicked this link before, they go to the same number as last time — as long as it's still connected. 3. Otherwise, the platform picks the WhatsApp Web number with the most daily-cap headroom (lowest usage today), so traffic spreads evenly. 4. If every WhatsApp Web number is near its daily cap, the platform falls back to a WhatsApp Business API number if one is attached to the link. 5. The visitor is redirected to WhatsApp with your number selected and any prefill message pre-typed. Disconnected, banned, or non-routable numbers are skipped automatically. If every number on a link is unavailable, the visitor sees a "link not active" page instead of a broken chat. --- ## Managing Your Links Every link you've created is listed with its full URL, how many numbers it routes across, and its prefill message (if set). From this list you can: - **Copy** the link's URL with one click. - **Delete** a link permanently — the URL stops working immediately, and this can't be undone. If a number attached to a link is later disconnected or banned, you'll see that reflected in the link's routing the next time it's used — no live per-number status indicator is shown in the link list itself, so check [Phone Numbers](phone-numbers.md) for the source of truth on a number's connection state. --- ## Click Activity and Health Short links don't currently expose a per-link click counter in the dashboard, but you can monitor health and traffic in other ways: - **Conversations** — every visitor who clicks and sends the prefill message becomes a contact on the receiving number. Filter your Chats inbox by that WhatsApp number to see conversations that came in through a specific link. - **Per-number daily usage** — the routing engine respects each WhatsApp Web number's daily message cap; if a number nears its cap, traffic shifts to the others on the link. If you need attribution-level click counts, route your short link through an external analytics tool (a UTM-tracked redirect or tracking platform) and have that tool redirect on to your short link. --- ## Link Codes Short-link codes are generated automatically and can't be changed after creation. To get a different link, create a new one and delete the old one. --- ## Disabling or Deleting a Link Short links don't have a built-in expiry date. To take one out of service, delete it — the URL stops working immediately and this can't be undone. If you need a link that "expires" on a specific date, delete it manually when the campaign ends. --- ## Best Practices - **Use one link per channel or campaign** — a separate short link for Instagram, TikTok, a Q4 sale, and so on. The receiving WhatsApp number's inbox then tells you where the lead came from. - **Attach multiple numbers** to high-volume links (ads, viral posts, paid traffic). A single number will hit its daily WhatsApp cap quickly. - **Set a sensible prefill message** like "Hi, I'm interested in [your offer]" — it helps the AI understand context immediately even though an empty prefill also works. - **Generate QR codes** of your short links for offline use — any free QR generator works, since short links are just regular URLs. - **Audit your links periodically.** Delete ones you no longer use. --- ## Need Help? - [Phone Numbers](phone-numbers.md) — manage the WhatsApp numbers your short links route to. - [Notifications](notifications.md) — get alerts when a number on a short link disconnects. - [Account Settings](account-settings.md) — manage your profile and security.