While link shortening is an age-old niche for a platform on the Internet, I personally feel that most link shortening platforms lack the rich functionality. I built an MVP for smartjump.io within less than a week to be the solution to my perceived problem. I've coined the term "smart link" to refer to links that contain some form of rich functionality.
What makes this different?
Instead of simply redirecting users to the shortened link's preset target destination, I've built a simple but effective way to allow shortened links to act as mini-routers that use parameterized conditional logic and provide Webhook integration for developers (while also being behind a pretty cool domain).
The logic behind smart links
The logic behind each smart link boils down to parameters such as geolocation, IPv4 addresses, device type, and HTTP headers. Then, based on these conditionals, the redirect engine will simply analyze the request and redirect the user based on all parameters accounted for.
Real world use-cases
These smart links can be particularly powerful in several use cases:
- A/B testing - assign users to different versions of the same destination based on a single
rand()operation. - Real-time marketing campaigns - track analytical data and setup custom logic based on time of day or request geolocation.
- Webhook integrations - trigger an external Webhook when a particular condition is met
- QR codes - try redirecting based on what device was used to scan the QR code, or where the QR code was scanned
With these smart links being part of a freemium service, this makes them accessible to the general public without having to setting up custom web servers to handle the logic directly.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I've built a better version of most link shortening and tracking services that works by extending the functionality of existing technologies.
- compscitwilight
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