Import Data

LinkCentral makes it easy to bring your links and tracking data into your site. Whether you’re migrating from another plugin, restoring a backup, or uploading a CSV file, you can manage all import options from Settings → Import/Export.

There are three import methods:

• Import from CSV – Quickly add links from a spreadsheet.
• Import from JSON – Restore backups or migrate all LinkCentral data.
• One-Click Plugin Migration – Import links from popular tools like ThirstyAffiliates or Pretty Links.

You can also import links using LinkCentral’s REST API. More info here

Importing CSV files

Supported Fields

Field name	Value
Title (required)	Any text value or basic characters
Custom Link / Slug (required)	The part after your domain (e.g., custom-slug) using only URL-safe characters (a-z, A-Z, 0-9, -, _, /)
Destination URL (required)	The full URL you want to redirect to
Category	A list of categories separated by ;, or leave blank
Nofollow	Enable with: 1, true, yes, on, enabled Disable with: 0, false, no, off, disabled Leave blank for default*
Sponsored	Same as Nofollow options
Parameter Forwarding	Same as Nofollow options
Redirect Type	Accepts 301, 302, 307, or leave blank for default*
Note	Any text value
	* default and global are accepted values too, and are both treated as default.

You can also import CSV files from other tools. Just ensure the fields match the table above.

Steps to import a CSV file

Step 1: Upload your file

Click Import CSV File, select your file, then click Continue to Settings.

Step 2: Configure Import Settings

At the top, you’ll find a quick summary with the number of links that have been identified in your uploaded CSV file.

Next, configure how data should be handled during import:

• Duplicate Handling: Skip duplicates (based on slug) or update existing links.
• Create Categories: Automatically create new categories if they don’t exist.
• Force URL Prefix: Apply your custom prefix (from plugin settings) to all slugs. For example, with a prefix /go/:

Force URL Prefix?	Slug in CSV	Final imported slug
Yes	/custom-link	/go/custom-link
Yes	/go/custom-link	/go/custom-link
No	/custom-link	/custom-link
No	/go/custom-link	/go/custom-link

Check the Import Results

Stay on the page until the import completes. You’ll see the total imported, skipped, or failed links.

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Importing a LinkCentral JSON file

LinkCentral can export data using the Export Data tool. This JSON file can include links and tracking data.

⚠️ Please always backup your website before importing LinkCentral data.

Steps to Import a JSON file

Step 1: Upload your file

Click Import JSON Export, choose your JSON file, and click Analyze File.

Step 2: Choose Import Mode

A. Migration Mode (Recommended)

• This creates new links with fresh IDs or updates existing links with the uploaded data. This is safe for any website and is best for moving links to a new website or importing links alongside existing ones.
• Under Duplicate Handling, you can choose whether to skip duplicates (based on the slug) or overwrite existing links with new data.

B. Restore Mode

• This creates new links based on the original link IDs when possible. This always overwrites existing link data and is best for restoring a backup to the same website and recovering its state.
• If existing links with the same IDs do not exist, it tries to save links with the original link IDs if possible. The benefit is that your content with synced IDs will continue to redirect correctly because they keep referring to the same links.
• If for any reason a post or page already exists with the same ID as an imported link ID, the link is saved with a new ID instead.

Step 3: Review Results

Click Start Import and wait for completion. The summary will show:

• How many links were successfully imported
• Any links that were skipped
• Errors (if any)
• Total analytics data imported

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Import from Popular Plugins

LinkCentral supports one-click imports from popular plugins. At this moment, the following plugins are supported:

• ThirstyAffiliates
• Pretty Links
• URL Shortener by MyThemeShop

This imports links, categories, and click statistics automatically.

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Troubleshooting

• Check the import summary, and in particular any message under ‘X links failed’.
• Please ensure your uploaded file does not exceed your server limits.
• Please confirm your file only contains valid data.
  • For CSV files, please check the table above with supported fields and characters.
  • For JSON files, please ensure you only use json files as generated by the LinkCentral Export method.