Frequently Asked Question
gen.direct
gen.direct, a redirection services allows links to be shortened. e.g.
https://www.gen.uk/index.php?page=Support&option=FAQ
can be shortened to
and this allows short links to be used in email's, social media and anywhere a link is used. Its much easier to remember gen.direct/faq than to remember the full FAQ address.
For serious traffic applications, we can setup a subdomain redirect (not gen.direct) which will conditionally perform a redirect, e.g.
faq.gen.uk
but this FAQ is only about gen.direct.
Parameters
Parameters can also be passed in a shortened link. This is because gen.direct takes everything after the first ? and appends this to the onward link. Therefore;
if 'b' is setup as a redirect to https://www.gen.uk/index.php?page=Home&option=Blog&article= (which it is) then:
is translated into
https://www.gen.uk/index.php?page=Home&option=Blog&article=20240824
and gen.direct/i?BE1
is translated into
https://www.gen.uk/index.php?page=Interest&i=BE1
This is the basics of link shortening, and unlike many link shorteners like bit.ly or t.co, gen.direct is not generally blocked by corporate firewalls.
Customer Portal
In the customer portal, under Services you will see all the short links you have setup, when they were setup, the translation, and the count of use together with the last time the link was used. Links that have not been used for 90 days are expired unless you request otherwise.
Logging and Reporting
Corporate and Enterprise customers can request a daily export of link usage, detailing from, to, timestamp, IP, region and browser. Make this request via the HelpDesk.
Requesting Links
Simple raise a ticket from the customer portal or the Helpdesk. Not every short link is approved and some are reserved by other customers so do not advertise your link until it is confirmed.
