Why should I use a short URL to the Support.com Cloud connection page?

Depending on your business, establishing remote control may be an essential part of the sales and service delivery process. Every second that an agent spends getting connected to your customers is time that could have been better spent pitching new sales or delivering valuable services. Out of the box, every Support.com Cloud tenant is provided with a default connection page  (e.g.  https://mycompany.nexus.support.com/connect) that agents can direct the consumer to, in order to download the Remote Control toolbar. Consumers who aren't comfortable manually typing URLs may find it easier to type in a shorter URL. Reduce your average handle time (AHT) and improve your consumer satisfaction (CSAT) by making it easier for your agents and customers to get to the connection page with a short URL. 

What is a short URL?

As the name suggests, a short URL is just like any other URL but is concise and contains the fewest characters possible. The URL can either redirect to the out-of-the-box connection page  (e.g.  https://mycompany.nexus.support.com/connect), or host a custom connection page.


What should I consider when designing my short URL?

Don't replace one long URL with another. Avoid using unnecessary sub-domains ("www.") or extra paths ("/to/connect") if possible. 

Keep it simple

Is that an uppercase O or a zero? Forward slash or backslash? Avoid characters that are difficult to find, are easily mistaken for others, or are difficult to pronounce.

Maintain some resemblance to your corporate brand

With all the hijacked and intentionally misspelled URLs out there, customers are more likely to trust a URL that appears to match your business name. For example, if my company name is "SDC Ryan", a good short URL might be "sdcr123.com". 

Support HTTP

Especially for a simple redirect, adjusting your site to allow your webpages to render in HTTP (instead of forcing the user to type "https://" at the front of your URL in order to get to your site) will make it easier for novice customers to get to where they need to be. 

Redirect or Host?

Setting up a redirect takes less effort and can be done directly from the domain control panel without any coding.

Hosting a custom connection page is a great option to pursue if IT resources are available to host a simple HTML/JS page. Additional benefits include more creative control over the consumer experience. For a functional template and detailed instructions on how to implement a custom connection page see:  How do I build a custom Connection page?

How do I set up my new short URL?

Once you have your shiny new short URL in hand, the last step is to configure it in the admin portal to make it available for your agents. For detailed instructions, please see:  How do I set up a Connection page?