User Manual
How to use 4warding.us
Use this guide to operate 4warding.us day to day: create links, group content, control redirects, monitor health, read stats, and protect access.
Mission
Link experience - Organize, Shorten, Monitor, Track, Protect your links for individuals and SMEs.
Sign up and login
- Use Log in when you already have an account. Use Sign up to create a new account before managing links.
- During sign up, choose Regular user for a single account or Agency when you need to manage related user accounts together.
- Agency accounts can group associated users so the agency can view and manage their related links, QR codes, monitors, templates, and account stats together.
- After sign up, verify the email address so the account can be used normally.
Create and manage short links
- Paste the long URL into the main URL field.
- Choose a domain, enter a custom short code if needed, then select the send button.
- Use Recent shortened links to copy, edit, monitor, view stats, generate QR codes, or delete a link.
- Use Batch import links when you need to create many links from a spreadsheet or CSV file.
Advanced options
Branding and access
Set a password, OTP destination, OIDC SSO values, tags, description, expiration rules, and a start time when a link should become active.
UTM tracking
Add campaign, source, medium, keywords, and content values. 4warding.us appends the UTM parameters during redirect so the visitor only sees them after landing.
Redirect rules
Use Mobile OS, Geo, Schedule, and Language redirects to send visitors to the best destination. Priority is Mobile OS, Geo, Schedule, Language, then the original URL.
Protection controls
Privacy protection limits unnecessary visitor data exposure. Session binding helps bind a protected redirect flow to the current session.
Templates and grouped links
- Open Template from the dashboard when you want a grouped link experience.
- Select Mini Web Site for HTML action links or File Sharing Site for PDF/document action links.
- Choose an industry template, fill the name, logo URL, background URL, welcome message, and action URLs.
- Create or update the template first. This only saves the template itself; it does not automatically create or update any short link.
- When you click Select from Template, choose the template first, then create a new link or update the existing link from the returned link form.
- For a new link, Select from Template returns to the dashboard with the template information pre-filled. Then click Create a link to save the short link.
- For an existing link, Select from Template in Recent shortened links returns to the opened edit row with the template information selected. Then click Update to save the change.
- Template-based stats include visits for the template landing page plus its action links.
Uptime monitoring
Create a monitor from a short link to track whether the original destination is reachable. Uptime shows normal links in green, broken links in red, and 403 responses in dark grey. Redirect loop checks use a maximum redirect depth and explicit visited-URL detection.
Stats and analytics
Link stats
Open Stats for a link to review tracked visits by time range, original/geo/scheduled/language/action-link traffic, devices, browsers, systems, referrers, locations, tags, and UTM attributes.
Account and platform stats
Account stats summarize your links, visits, monitors, templates, and action links. Platform stats give admins a wider view across the system.
QR codes
Use the QR code action from Recent shortened links to create and manage QR codes. QR codes can be branded and tracked through the linked short URL.
Settings, plans, and support
- Use Settings to manage account information, API access, domains, plan usage, payment history, and batch import templates.
- Use Premium to compare plan limits for links, tracked stats, custom domains, redirects, monitors, templates, API access, Deep Link support, and protection features.
- Use Report Abuse if a 4warding.us short link points to malware, phishing, scams, or other harmful content.
