Fix Links with Special Characters in URLs

Links containing special characters like ampersands (&), apostrophes ('), quotation marks ("), or spaces may not work correctly in your emails. This happens because web browsers cannot interpret these characters in URLs.

This issue most commonly affects intranet links and internal resources that include special characters in their web addresses.

Solution 1: Use URL Encoding

Replace special characters with their percent-encoded equivalents directly in your URL.

1. Open your template in the ContactMonkey Email Builder
2. Locate the URL containing special characters
3. Replace each special character with its percent code:
   • Replace & with %26
   • Replace ' (apostrophe) with %27
   • Replace " (quotation mark) with %22
   • Replace spaces with %20

Example:

• Original: https://intranet.company.com/news&updates
• Fixed: https://intranet.company.com/news%26updates

Solution 2: Use a URL Shortener

Create a shortened link that bypasses the special character issue entirely.

1. Copy the problematic URL
2. Go to bitly.com
3. Paste your URL and create a shortened link
4. Copy the shortened link
5. Use the shortened link in your email draft

When to use each solution

• Use URL encoding for internal links that need to remain recognizable
• Use URL shorteners for external links or when you want cleaner, shorter URLs

Test Your Links

Always test your links before sending:

1. Click Preview in the Email Builder, or
2. Send yourself a test email
3. Click each link to verify it redirects correctly

Note: Links may not work when using the Send Test feature.