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A link survey is a page hosted by Usertick at its own address. The link can be shared anywhere people already are, such as chat, social posts, text messages, support replies or an email signature. People answer in the browser on any device, without installing anything or signing in.
1

Choose the channel

In the editor’s Channel step, select Link & QR.
2

Copy the link

In the Share step, under Share link, select Copy URL.
The link is created the first time the survey is saved and has this form:
A survey can open on your own domain instead, for example https://feedback.example.com/s/<survey token>. See Custom domain. The address stays the same while its domain is live, so shared links and printed QR codes keep working. The link opens the survey’s current published version, so the survey can still be edited after the link is shared. To take the page down, pause the survey.

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Custom domain

On the Pro plan and above, link and QR surveys can open on a subdomain you control, such as feedback.example.com.
1

Add the domain

Under Settings → Developers → Custom domains, select Add domain and enter the subdomain.
2

Add the two DNS records

At your DNS provider, add the TXT record and the CNAME record the domain shows. The TXT record proves the domain is yours, and the CNAME record sends visitors to Usertick. If your provider adds your domain to record names on its own, enter only the part before your domain.
3

Wait for Live

Usertick checks the records every 10 minutes, or right away when you select Check now. Once both are found, Usertick issues the HTTPS certificate, which takes a few minutes, and the domain’s status turns to Live.
4

Pick the domain for a survey

In the survey’s Share step, select the domain under Domain. The link and the QR code change at once.
  • A survey opens on usertick.com until it picks a domain. There is no organization-wide default.
  • Only a live domain is used. A domain that is still waiting for its records or its certificate can’t be picked yet.
  • Email answer links use the survey’s domain too.
  • When a domain stops pointing to Usertick, its status turns to Not reachable, members who manage developer settings get a notification, and the surveys on it show their usertick.com link until the records are back.
  • Usertick checks a domain whose TXT record is missing on its own for 7 days. After that, select Check now once the records are in place.
  • A domain’s Surveys row lists the surveys that use it, by name. With more than eight, the row scrolls and offers Search surveys. Select a survey to open its Share step.
  • Deleting a domain sends its surveys back to their usertick.com links. Links already sent and printed QR codes with that domain stop working.
  • Pro includes 1 custom domain and Business 5. Every added domain counts, live or not; to add another at the limit, delete one or upgrade.
  • When the plan no longer includes custom domains, the domains stay listed and turn off. New links open on usertick.com, and a visit to a link on a live domain redirects to the same survey on the Usertick address, with its language and parameters, so links already shared, printed QR codes and email links keep working. Settings → Developers → Custom domains says “Needs Pro. Links on your domains redirect to the same survey on the Usertick address until you upgrade.” After an upgrade the domains work again without new verification, as long as their DNS records are still in place.
  • The domain serves the hosted survey pages only. The website widget always loads from Usertick.

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Choose the link’s language

Language under the link sets the language the page opens in. Respondent’s language, the default, opens the page in the language of the respondent’s browser. When you select one of the survey’s languages, the link and the QR code get a lang parameter that opens the page in that language. The Availability section of the Share step limits when the survey is open and who can open it:
  • Opens at keeps the survey closed until the selected date and time.
  • Closes at closes the survey at the selected date and time, which is the same moment for every respondent. When Tell respondents is on, the survey footer shows the closing date. A page opened before the close stays open, and Usertick still accepts responses for 30 minutes after Closes at, so a respondent who started before the close can finish. A response sent later than that shows the thank-you screen but isn’t recorded.
  • Only on certain days or hours limits the survey to selected weekdays and hours in each respondent’s local time.
  • Show on devices limits which devices can open the survey page.
  • Visitor country limits which countries can open the survey page. A visitor whose country can’t be determined is treated as outside the list.
  • Response limit closes the survey once it reaches the set number of responses.
A visitor on another device or from another country sees the survey’s closed screen.

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Track where responses come from

To tell apart responses from different places, add a parameter to each copy of the link:
Each response stores the page address with its parameters. Don’t use a for tracking, because ?a= fills in the answer to the first question.

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Identify who answered

When your own system builds the link for a person, add uid=user_123&uh=HASH, where the hash is the one your server computes for that user ID. The response then carries that user, as a response from your website does. The hash never expires, so the link can go out by email or on paper, and the page removes both parameters from the address bar once it has read them. See Identify your users.

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Branding

The hosted page uses the survey’s theme, including its colors, its logo and its light and dark modes. See Design. The logo, background picture and cover need the Starter plan or above; after a move to the Free plan, the page shows the Usertick badge and loses those pictures at once. Custom CSS applies only to website surveys, never to the hosted page.

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Share the same survey as a QR code

The Share step also shows a QR code for the same link. The link and the code open the same survey, and their responses are reported together.