Text In Church's built-in URL Shortener lets you create compact, trackable links for your text messages and emails. Rather than pasting a long URL that looks cluttered or gets cut off, you can shorten any link — including PDFs hosted on Google Drive — and track how many times it has been clicked. Unlike third-party services like bit.ly, which carriers often flag as spam, Text In Church shortened links come directly from your account.
Note: The URL Shortener is available on the desktop version of Text In Church. It is not currently available in the mobile app.
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How to Shorten a Link Inside a Text In Church Message
You can shorten a URL directly while composing a text or email message. Watch the walkthrough below, then follow the steps.
Open or create a message in the Text In Church message builder.
Click Links in the message toolbar and select Shortened Links.
Browse for an existing shortened link, or click Shorten New Link to create one on the spot.
Fill out the form and click Save. The shortened link inserts into your message automatically.
Any links you create this way are saved to the URL Shortener section of the Tools tab, where you can edit them later.
How to Create a New Shortened Link in Text In Church
You can also create and manage shortened links from the Tools tab — a good option when you want links ready before you start writing messages.
Log in to Text In Church on a web browser and click the Tools tab (wrench icon). Then click URL Shortener.
Paste your long URL into the provided field and click the blue Shorten button.
Give your link a Title so you can identify it later, then customize the link structure.
Choose your Root URL — this is the domain that appears at the start of your shortened link.
Optionally, add a Prefix to personalize the link for your church.
Edit the Slug — the final portion of your URL, typically a word or phrase related to the content. Then click Save.
Your new shortened link is ready to copy and paste into any message or email.
How to Edit a Shortened Link in Text In Church
You can update any shortened link in your account at any time from the URL Shortener section of the Tools tab.
Go to the Tools tab and click URL Shortener.
Find the link you want to update and click the three-dot menu next to it.
Edit the title, destination URL, prefix, or slug as needed, then click Save.
Changing the destination URL updates where the link redirects — any previous messages that included this shortened link will also point to the new destination. You can also delete a shortened link from this same menu.
How to Track Clicks on a Shortened URL in Text In Church
Text In Church tracks every click on your shortened links so you can see how your congregation is engaging with what you share.
Log in to Text In Church on a web browser and click the Tools tab (wrench icon).
Click URL Shortener.
Review the Used Count column — this shows the number of times each shortened link has been clicked.
You can also filter your links by whether they were created by a user or generated automatically, making it easier to find the specific links you want to review.
How to Create a Shortened Link to a PDF in Text In Church
Text In Church does not support direct file attachments in text messages, but you can share a PDF by hosting it online and shortening the link. Google Drive works well for this.
Upload your PDF to Google Drive or another file-hosting platform.
Click Share on the file and set access to Anyone with the link.
Copy the share link.
In Text In Church, go to the Tools tab and click URL Shortener.
Paste the share link into the URL field and click Shorten.
Give the link a title, choose a root URL, and optionally add a prefix and slug.
Click Save. You can now paste this shortened link into any text or email message.
Seeing a "This Link Is Already In Use" error? This means another account — or your own account — is already using that exact short URL. Add a word to the Optional Prefix or Slug to make your link unique (for example, your church name or acronym in the prefix, or a word describing the content in the slug), then click Save again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use the URL Shortener on the Text In Church mobile app?
The URL Shortener is only available on the desktop version of Text In Church. The mobile app does not currently include this feature.
What if another account is already using the URL I want?
If the shortened link you are trying to create is already in use by another account, Text In Church displays an error. Add a prefix or adjust the slug to make your link unique and try saving again.
How can I tell if a link was created by a user or generated automatically?
Look at the icon next to the link's title in the URL Shortener list. A silhouette icon means a user created the link manually. A robot icon means the system generated it automatically — for example, when a Connect Card link is inserted through the keyword reply message builder.
What is an automatically generated link?
When you add a Connect Card link from the Links drop-down in a keyword reply message, Text In Church automatically shortens the link. Because it was not created manually, it is considered a bot-generated link.
Still have questions? Reach out to the Text In Church team at Support@TextInChurch.com.
