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Request a vanity URL

Request a vanity URL

Owned by Florence Edwards
Last updated: Feb 10, 2025 by Lindsay Foley
5 min read

What’s this page about?

If you’re a stakeholder, this guide will show you how to request a vanity URL and what information you’ll need to make the request.

What’s a vanity URL?

Vanity URLs are used to direct people from a non-digital marketing channel (such as a poster or TV advert) to the Shelter website. They should be short and easy to remember.

Say we put an advert in the print edition of The Big Issue and wanted to include a donation URL in the advert. Instead of listing a long URL like https://england.shelter.org.uk/donate-to-the-big-issue-campaign, we could use something nice and short like shelter.org.uk/BigIssue.

How are vanity URLs formatted?

Vanity URLs always follow the same format.

They are not case-sensitive so shelter.org.uk/GeneralElection would work just as well as shelter.org.uk/GENERALELECTION or shelter.org.uk/generalelection.

If you're using a Shelter computer (either in the office or working remotely) you need to add www. at the start of the vanity URL to be able to see it: e.g. www.shelter.org.uk/example. For everyone else, that won’t matter - they won’t need to add the “www.” to make it work.

What do I need to request a vanity URL for Shelter Scotland?

This guidance covers vanity URLs for England only. If you need a vanity URL for Scotland, contact the Scotland Brand team at scotlandbrand@shelter.org.uk and allow five working days for a response. Please include details of:

Example: https://scotland.shelter.org.uk/donate/february_stand?reserved_appeal_code=20230510-IG-02&utm_source=vanityurl&utm_medium=print&utm_campaign=FebCashAppeal

What do I need to request a vanity URL for Shelter England?

If you work in Income Generation, submit your request by using the Digital Product Team Tier 1 Request Form.

If you work in CPC, submit your request by emailing Marita Hutson and Chris Cocroft

Please include the following information:

The name of the vanity URL, e.g. shelter.org.uk/example

 

Keep it short, simple and relevant. For example:

shelter.org.uk/home

not shelter.org.uk/wecanallfightforhome

 

The vanity URL should include letters only. Avoid dashes, underscores, or any other extra characters to space out words. For example:

shelter.org.uk/SocialHousing

not shelter.org.uk/social_housing

 

Don't change the start of the URL

not sheltershop.org.uk/example


Don't use more than one /

not shelter.org.uk/campaigns/example

 

You can check if a vanity URL is already being used by typing it into your address bar (and remember to add www. if you're on the Shelter network).

If an error message appears – good news, that vanity URL is free!

If a Shelter webpage appears – that vanity URL is already in use.

If your preferred vanity URL is in use, let us know and we can contact the owning team to check if they still require it. However, please have an alternative option ready.

The destination URL, i.e. the Shelter website page you want to direct people to

Example: https://england.shelter.org.uk/donate

Example: https://england.shelter.org.uk/support_us/campaigns/be_a_housing_campaigns_hero

We can also direct to off-site URLs, such as an Impact Stack page or a video on Shelter’s YouTube channel.

The appeal code/campaign activity code (donate pages only)

Example: 20230515-IG-01

Appeal codes are used to make sure that income is correctly attributed.

If you're directing to a Shelter donate page, you'll need an appeal code (also known as a campaign activity code). These are needed so that donations can be linked with the relevant campaign and campaign activity in the Supporter CRM (SCRM).

If you don't already have a campaign activity code for this donation action, submit a request to the Supporter CRM helpdesk. Please allow at least four weeks' notice for a new campaign.

The campaign ID

Example: Winter_Appeal_2023

Example: General_Election

The campaign ID is different from the appeal code/campaign activity code. It's a short name for the campaign, formatted with no spaces.

You should only have one campaign ID per campaign.

The campaign ID is used for tracking in Google Analytics (GA4). It’s especially important if your vanity URL is just one channel of a wider campaign. Having a single, consistent campaign ID allows us to see the big picture of how a campaign is performing across different channels.

If you need help setting up your campaign ID for tracking a big marketing campaign (such as the Winter Appeal or Build Social Housing) the Data & Insights team can support with this. Please complete a Digital Analytics request form and allow at least six weeks' notice.

If your vanity URL is for a one-off activity and doesn't need to be tracked as part of a large wider campaign, let us know.

The type of “medium”

Example: print

The medium is the format in which your campaign appears. This is used to track analytics.

There are five main mediums:

  • print - e.g. a magazine or newspaper ad

  • tv - e.g. a television advert

  • QR code

  • partner link - for promotional materials, e.g. an HSBC customer leaflet

  • direct - default if none of the options above apply

Details about equivalent Scotland vanity URLs, if required

This is optional, but it would be helpful to know if you're already in contact with the Scotland brand team or would like us to liaise on your behalf.

How do I test a vanity URL?

We'll let you know as soon as your vanity URL has been set up. If you'd like to test it, type the vanity URL into your address bar (remember to add www. if you're connected to the Shelter network). You'll be redirected to the correct Shelter page, with a URL that looks something like this:

Example URL with UTM parameters showing reserved_appeal_code utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign

The utm_source can't be edited.

We can add a utm_content tag for tracking if you want to separately track vanity URLs in different places (e.g. an advert in three magazines). Please speak to the team creating your vanity URL if this applies.

Contacts

For England vanity URLs

If you work in Income Generation: submit your request by using the Digital Product Team Tier 1 Request Form.

If you work in CPC: submit your request by emailing Gabby Okon and Chris Cocroft.

Contact David Bunt and Florence Edwards if you have specific queries.

For Scotland vanity URLs

Scotland Brand team
scotlandbrand@shelter.org.uk
Please allow five working days for a response.

For setting up appeal codes/campaign activity codes (donate pages only)

Supporter CRM team
Complete a helpdesk request
Please give at least four weeks’ notice for new campaigns.

For questions about UTM tracking or Google Analytics (GA4)

Data & Insights team
Complete a Digital Analytics request form

 

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