# Share a link or QR code

Copy or share a short link from its report, download its QR code, and see which network sent the clicks.
Page: https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/tutorials/share-a-link
Use when someone asks: qr code for short link wordpress; share link with utm on social; download qr code for link
Intent: How-to

To share a short link or get a QR code for a short link in WordPress, open the link's report in Link Manager Pro. Its top right holds **Copy link** and two icon buttons: **Share** (three connected dots) with seven share buttons, and **QR code** with **Download QR**. Always share the short link, like `yoursite.com/link/deal`, not the destination. Then Link Manager Pro counts its clicks, and you can change where it goes later.

## Before you start

- You need access to Link Manager Pro. Administrators always have it, and editors only when an administrator allows it ([Access for editors](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/guides/access)).
- Have the short link ready. Create one first if you haven't ([Create your first short link](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/getting-started/first-short-link)).
- Keep **Click tracking** on under Link Manager › Settings › Tracking. It's on by default, and the per-network results need it.

## Share a short link on social media with UTM tags

The report's **Share** button opens one button per network. Each one shares the short link with two UTM tags added: `utm_source` set to the network and `utm_medium=social`. **Email** is the one exception: it uses `utm_medium=email`. So the link's report can tell your Facebook clicks from your LinkedIn clicks.

A new link's report opens by itself after **Create short link**. For any other link, start from the list.

Link Manager › Short Links

1. Select the link's row to open its report.
2. Select **Share** (1), the icon with three connected dots at the top right. It sits between **QR code** (3) and **Edit short link**.
3. Find the network's round button (2) by its icon (the table below names each one). Hovering over a button shows its name: **X (Twitter)**, **Facebook**, **LinkedIn**, **WhatsApp**, **Telegram**, **Reddit** or **Email**.
4. Select the network. Its share page opens in a new tab with the tagged link filled in. **Email** opens a new message in your email app instead.
5. Write your post or message there and send it. Link Manager Pro only fills in the link, and the slug as the text or title where the network has one.

[Screenshot: The top of a short link report with the Share panel open, marked: 1 the Share button, 2 the seven network buttons, 3 the QR code button]

What each button puts in the share:

| Button | Icon | `utm_source` | Filled in for you |
|---|---|---|---|
| **X (Twitter)** | A bird | `x` | The tagged link, and the slug as the post text |
| **Facebook** | A lowercase f | `facebook` | The tagged link |
| **LinkedIn** | The letters "in" | `linkedin` | The tagged link |
| **WhatsApp** | A speech bubble | `whatsapp` | The slug, then the tagged link, as the message |
| **Telegram** | A paper plane | `telegram` | The tagged link, and the slug as the text |
| **Reddit** | A feed (RSS) icon | `reddit` | The tagged link, and the slug as the title |
| **Email** | An envelope | `email` | The slug as the subject, the tagged link as the body |

Every button adds `utm_medium=social`, except **Email**, which adds `utm_medium=email`. A share of `yoursite.com/link/deal` on Facebook, for example, posts `yoursite.com/link/deal?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social`.

### Do the share tags reach the destination?

Only when the link has **Forward the visitor’s query parameters to the destination** on, under **Schedule & access** in its edit dialog. Then the network's `utm_source` and `utm_medium` go on to the destination. They replace any `utm_source` and `utm_medium` it would otherwise get: site-wide, the link's own, an affiliate's or one already in the **Destination URL**. With the switch off (the default for a new link), they stop at your site, and the destination gets the link's usual tags. Either way, Link Manager Pro records them with the click while **Click tracking** is on. The full order is in [UTM parameters and forwarding](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/features/utm-parameters#forward-query-parameters-through-the-redirect).

To check a share, look at the address in the network's share page before you post. It should end with `?utm_source=` and the network's name, then `&utm_medium=social`. Email opens a new message with the same kind of address in the body, ending `&utm_source=email&utm_medium=email`.

## Which address should you share?

Share the short link itself, like `https://yoursite.com/link/deal`. **Copy link** puts that full address on your clipboard and says **Link copied.** You'll find it at the top right of the report. In the list under Link Manager › Short Links, every row has its own **Copy link** button.

- A link to one of your affiliates' domains shows under your **Affiliate link prefix**, like `yoursite.com/recommends/deal`, when you set one. Links to your own pages follow **Mask internal links**, and all others use the **Short link prefix** ([General settings](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/guides/settings/general#affiliate-link-prefix)).
- The copied link has no tags. Paste it as it is into a bio or a slide, or add tags yourself for one place, like `?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email`.
- You can change the destination later. Posts, social shares and printed QR codes keep working, because they all point at the short link ([Change a short link you already made](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/guides/creating-links#change-a-short-link-you-already-made)).
- Changing the slug or the short link prefix changes the address. A new slug stops the old address at once. After a prefix change, addresses with the old prefix keep opening the link ([Change your short link prefix](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/tutorials/change-link-prefix)).

## Download a QR code for a short link

Each short link has a QR code, ready to download as a PNG file. You'll find it in three places:

- In the report, select **QR code** at the top right, then **Download QR**.
- In the report's right column, the QR code sits at the bottom of the **Link details** card, with the address under it and its own **Download QR** button.
- In the list under Link Manager › Short Links, select the row's **QR code** button. A **QR code** dialog opens with **Download QR**, and **Close** closes it.

The file is named `short-link-<slug>.png`, for example `short-link-deal.png`. It's 192 by 192 pixels, with a narrow white border.

The QR code holds the plain short link, with no tags. Your **Site-wide UTM parameters** and the link's own tags are added when someone scans it, at the redirect, like on any other click. A scan is a click: it's counted like any visit. A scan has no referring page, so it usually shows as **Direct or unknown** under **Where clicks come from** ([Link report](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/guides/link-report#where-do-link-clicks-come-from)).

To test a QR code, scan it with your phone's camera. Your test scan counts in the link's numbers like any visitor's click.

## See which network sent the clicks

Open the link's report and look at **Campaign traffic**. Its **Source** bar shows each network's share of the clicks, like `facebook` and `x`, and **Medium** shows `social` for clicks from the share buttons, and `email` for the **Email** button.

- The three biggest values show on each bar. Select **Others** for the rest.
- Clicks without tags, like QR scans and the plain copied link, count under the link's own Source and Medium, when it has them. Without them, the shares are of tagged clicks only. So only clicks through a share button carry a network.
- Email shares count under `email`, because the **Email** button tags them that way.
- A campaign's report counts its links' own Source and Medium in **Channels**, so the networks show only in each link's report ([Campaigns](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/features/campaigns)).

**Campaign traffic** comes from a saved copy of the report, rebuilt every 600 seconds by default. Right after a click, **Recent clicks** already shows it, while **Campaign traffic** catches up after a reload ([When the numbers update](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/guides/link-report#when-the-numbers-update)). How the card counts is on [Campaign traffic](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/guides/link-report#campaign-traffic).

## How do you change or stop sharing a link later?

The short link stays the same while you change what's behind it. Edit the link under Link Manager › Short Links, change its **Destination URL** and select **Save changes**. Posts, shares and printed QR codes then open the new page.

To stop a shared link without deleting it, set an **Expires** date under **Schedule & access**: after it, the short link usually opens your 404 page. Clear the date to bring the link back. A share already posted on a network can't be edited from Link Manager Pro.

## Details

| Where | What you get | Holds |
|---|---|---|
| Report, **Copy link** | The full short address on your clipboard | The plain short link |
| Report, **Share** | Seven network buttons | The short link plus `utm_source=<network>&utm_medium=social` (`email` for the **Email** button) |
| Report, **QR code** and the **Link details** card | A QR code and **Download QR** | The plain short link |
| **Short Links** row, **Copy link** and **QR code** | The same copy, and a **QR code** dialog | The plain short link |

- QR file: PNG, 192 by 192 pixels, named `short-link-<slug>.png`. There's no size or color option.
- The share text, title or subject is the link's slug. Facebook and LinkedIn get only the link.
- When a network builds a link preview, its bot usually opens the short link. Preview bots like `facebookexternalhit`, `Twitterbot` and `LinkedInBot` are on the built-in bot list, so with **Ignore bots** on (the default) their visits aren't counted. Entries in **Extra bot patterns** replace that list, and a bot that sends a normal browser name isn't caught ([which clicks aren't counted](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/features/click-tracking#which-clicks-aren-t-counted-bots-blocked-ips-and-repeat-clicks)).
- Developers can change the list of networks with the `link_manager_pro_social_share_platforms` filter. Only share addresses that start with `https://` or `mailto:` are kept. Each network's key, reduced to lowercase letters, digits, `-` and `_`, becomes its `utm_source`.

## Get more out of it

- Send the network to your analytics too. Turn on **Forward the visitor’s query parameters to the destination** on links you share socially. The destination's analytics can then see `facebook` or `linkedin` as the source. On those clicks, the network's tags replace the Source and Medium the destination would otherwise get, the link's own included. Forwarding passes every parameter in the address except `pid`, including ones a network adds to shared links.
- Tag newsletters by hand. The **Email** button marks shares as `email`, but it opens one message from your own email app. For a newsletter, use **Copy link** and add `?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email`, so **Campaign traffic** shows email apart from social posts.
- Give each printed piece its own short link. A QR code carries no tags, so make a separate short link for a flyer, with Source `flyer` and Medium `print` in its **UTM parameters**. Its scans then show under `flyer` in **Campaign traffic** ([Tag links for a campaign](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/tutorials/add-utm-parameters)).
- Print once, change later. Before you print a QR code, settle the slug and the prefix, and check the link's **Starts** and **Expires** dates. After that, edit only the **Destination URL** when the offer moves: the next scan goes to the new page.
- Pick a readable slug before you share. The slug is the post text on X and the subject of the email, and `spring-sale` reads better than a random `eLhQMWKU`.

## If something goes wrong

- If **Campaign traffic** shows no networks after you shared the link, then the saved copy hasn't caught up yet. Reload the report after the **Refresh reports every** time (600 seconds by default, under Link Manager › Settings › Advanced). **Recent clicks** shows new clicks at once. Also check that **Click tracking** is on.
- If the destination doesn't get `utm_source=facebook` or the other network tags, then turn on **Forward the visitor’s query parameters to the destination** under the link's **Schedule & access**. Turn it off again to undo.
- If **Email** opens nothing, then your computer probably has no email app set up for email links. Use **Copy link** and paste the link into your message.
- If a printed QR code stopped opening the link, then check the link first. A scheduled or expired link usually opens your 404 page: clear or move its **Starts** and **Expires** dates under **Schedule & access**. A deleted link is gone: create a new short link with the same slug. If the slug changed, change it back, or add the old address under **Other addresses** ([Other addresses and conflicts](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/guides/other-addresses)). If the old prefix was replaced and a page or redirect now uses that address, or you changed the prefix five more times, add the old address the same way, or change the prefix back ([Change your short link prefix](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/tutorials/change-link-prefix)).
- If copying fails, then select the address shown as **Short link** under **At a glance** and copy it yourself. It's shown without `https://`, so add that in front.

More fixes are on [Troubleshooting](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/troubleshooting).

## Related

- [Tag links for a campaign](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/tutorials/add-utm-parameters)
- [Link report](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/guides/link-report)
- [UTM parameters and forwarding](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/features/utm-parameters)
- [Change your short link prefix](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/tutorials/change-link-prefix)
- [Troubleshooting](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/troubleshooting)