Hyperlinks offer a convenient way for your subscribers to interact with your organization. In Communications Professional, you can insert hyperlinks in your mailings and templates so that your subscribers can more easily:
- link to your organization's web content,
- unsubscribe from mailings, and
- manage their preferences.
This article provides information about hyperlinks in Communications Professional.
Adding hyperlinks - where and how
You can add hyperlinks to three elements:
- Text (i.e., any layouts that use the Rich Text editor)
- Images
- Buttons
There are layout-specific ways to add hyperlinks:
- Text - In the Rich Text Editor, click the Insert Hyperlink button in the toolbar.
- Images and Buttons - Add hyperlinks in the Properties panel (Content tab). Simply click Edit Hyperlink.
Hyperlink types
Hyperlinks are configured in the Hyperlink pop-up.
Click the hyperlink dropdown to select a hyperlink type. Use the following descriptions to understand the hyperlink types and their respective options.
- Web Page - Select to link to an external web page.
- URL - Enter the web page URL. When you click Insert, Communications Professional attempts to validate that URL.
- Name - Enter an easily-recognizable name for the URL (optional). This name appears on any mailing reports.
- Disable Tracking - Check the checkbox to disable web tracking for this hyperlink.
- Web Version of this Mailing - This hyperlink opens the online/web version of your mailing (there are no additional controls).
- Form Landing Page - Select to link to a Form Landing Page. Click the Landing Page menu to select the specific page.
- Content-Only Landing Page - Select to link to a Content-Only Landing Page. Click the Landing Page menu to select the specific page.
- Unsubscribe Hyperlink - Select to insert the required unsubscribe hyperlink. You can toggle between two different options: Landing Page and External Link.
- Landing Page - Click to link to an Unsubscribe Landing Page. Click the Landing Page menu to select the specific page. Remember that all Communications Professional accounts have a default unsubscribe Landing Page.
- External Link - Click to link to an external unsubscribe web page. Like other web page hyperlinks, you’ll have options to enter the URL and optional Name (for reports) and to disable web tracking (checkbox).
- Email Address - Select to insert an email address. When readers click the hyperlink, they’ll open a new email draft in their mailing client (e.g., MS Outlook).
- Email - Enter the target email address.
- Subject - Enter the default subject line for the message (optional).
- Document - Select to insert a file that readers can download. Click Select Document to load a file from the Asset Manager or to upload a new one. Note that once you’ve inserted a file, the button updates to read Change.
- Name - Enter an easily-recognizable name for the file (optional). This name appears on any mailing reports.
- Disable Tracking - Check the checkbox to disable web tracking for this hyperlink.
- Bookmark - Select to insert a bookmark to a named Mailing Content Area.
- Bookmark - Click the dropdown list to select the target bookmark.
Hyperlink validation
Communications Professional uses some behind-the-scenes logic to validate hyperlinks. There are two aspects to this validation:
- Is the hyperlink's URL properly formatted?
- Does the target URL exist?
Both criteria must "pass" in order for the hyperlink to be deemed valid.
Format
Hyperlink URLs must have the following format to be considered valid.
<protocol>://<domain name>.<top level domain name>
For example, http://www.higherlogic.com is a valid URL.
Communications Professional displays an error message if the URL is invalid.
- Review the URL and correct any format errors.
Validation
Communications Professional sends a network request to the specified web address.
- If it receives a success code, the hyperlink passes validation.
- If it receives a different response (e.g., a 404 error), the hyperlink does not pass validation.
NOTE: The validation test is not a sure-fire way to determine that a destination address exists and truly works. For example, Communications Professional typically cannot validate a link to an organization's intranet site because, for security reasons, external network requests are usually blocked by these sites.
If you are targeting a URL that you know (or suspect) Communications Professional won't be able to validate, check the Allow Insert box below the URL. Communications Professional will bypass the validation and add the hyperlink to your template or mailing.