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Short answer: An event records an important action on your site, like a signup, purchase, or form submission, and attributes it to your ShortPen links. To get started, you’ll ensure a Pixel is active on your domain, create an event with a trigger, verify it fires, and (optionally) enable event tracking on the links that drive traffic. This page gives you the conceptual overview for creating your first event.
See: Understanding events and conversions in ShortPen

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What events are (and why they matter)

Events extend ShortPen beyond clicks by capturing what happens after a visitor lands on your site. Use events to measure outcomes, signup completed, purchase, lead created, and tie them back to campaigns, links, folders, and tags.
In short: clicks show engagement. Events show outcomes .

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Prerequisites

  • A working ShortPen Pixel installed on the destination domain(s) where events will occur.
  • Access to create events in your workspace.
  • A shortlist of actions you want to track (e.g., signup, purchase, lead_created).
Tip: Events are not retroactive. Create and test them before launching campaigns so you don’t miss early conversions.

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How to create your first event

All events share the same high-level flow:
1

Open Events

Go to Events → New Event in your workspace.
2

Name the event

Use a clear, consistent naming convention (e.g., signup_newsletter, checkout_purchase).
3

Choose a trigger type

URL-Triggered

  • Fires when a visitor loads a specific path (e.g., /thank-you).

Code-Triggered

  • Fires when your site/app tells ShortPen that an action happened.
4

Test the event

Use the Event Testing Panel to perform the action once and confirm it appears under Events received (test data doesn’t affect analytics).
Learn more: How to test ShortPen events with the Event Testing Panel
5

Enable tracking on links (optional but recommended)

In the link editor, toggle Enable Event Tracking for links that will drive traffic to pages where your event can fire. The toggle appears when a Pixel is active for the destination domain.

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Verification and data flow

  • Pixel dependency. Events require a verified Pixel on the domain where the action happens. Without it, the event cannot be recorded.
  • Real-time checks. The Event Testing Panel confirms that your trigger fires correctly before you go live.
  • Attribution. Once active, events are attributed to the ShortPen links that sent traffic, visible in Link Analytics and Workspace Analytics.

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Best practices

  • Plan a minimal set. Start with a few meaningful events (e.g., signup, purchase) and add more later.
  • Name consistently. Prefer noun_action or context_action patterns (e.g., checkout_purchase, newsletter_subscribed).
  • Test on production URLs. Staging environments may block or cache scripts differently.
  • Avoid duplicates. Ensure each action fires one event; watch out for multiple triggers or repeated JS calls.
  • Mind quotas. Your plan may include monthly event limits, enable tracking where it matters most.

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Troubleshooting

Confirm the event exists and is active, the link has Enable event tracking toggled on, and the Pixel is firing on the page.
Look for duplicate JS calls, multiple Pixels, or overlapping triggers.

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FAQ

Yes. Events require an installed and verified Pixel on the destination domain.