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🔧 Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions to help you get the most out of Link Controller.

Quick Help

Password Reset & Account Access

❌ Common Problems

  • • Password reset email not arriving
  • • Reset link expired or invalid
  • • Can't remember which email I used to register
  • • Two-factor authentication lockout (lost device)
  • • Account locked after multiple failed login attempts
📧 Password Reset Email Not Arriving

Possible Causes:

  • • Email went to spam/junk folder
  • • Email delivery delay (up to 5 minutes)
  • • Email address typo when requesting reset
  • • Email blocked by your provider

✓ Solutions:

  1. Check spam/junk folder - Most common cause
  2. Wait 5 minutes - Email delivery can be delayed
  3. Verify email address - Double-check spelling when requesting reset
  4. Try different email - If you have multiple accounts
  5. Whitelist our emails - See Email Delivery Issues section below
  6. Contact support - If still no email after 10 minutes
⏰ Reset Link Expired or Invalid
Password reset links expire after 1 hour for security reasons.

✓ Solution:

  1. Go back to the password reset page
  2. Request a new reset link
  3. Check your email (including spam folder)
  4. Click the new link within 1 hour

Tip: Each reset request invalidates previous links for security.

🤔 Can't Remember Which Email I Used

✓ Solutions:

  • 1. Check your email accounts - Search for emails from "Link Controller" or "help@prosupportdesk.com"
  • 2. Try your most common emails - Request password reset for each email address you typically use
  • 3. Check payment confirmation - Your purchase receipt will show the email you used
  • 4. Contact support - Email help@prosupportdesk.com with your transaction ID
🔐 Two-Factor Authentication Lockout

If you've lost access to your authenticator app or device:

✓ Solution:

  1. Use recovery codes - When you enabled 2FA, you were shown recovery codes. Use one of these codes to log in.
  2. Find your codes - Check where you saved your recovery codes (password manager, secure notes, printed copy)
  3. Log in with recovery code - Enter the code when prompted for 2FA
  4. Disable and re-enable 2FA - Once logged in, go to Settings → Two-Factor Authentication to reset

Lost Recovery Codes?

Contact support with proof of account ownership (transaction ID, registered email, account details). Recovery may take 24-48 hours for security verification.

Email Delivery Issues

❌ Problem

"I'm not receiving any emails from Link Controller (welcome, password reset, notifications)"

Common Causes

  • ⚠️ Emails automatically filtered to spam/junk folder
  • ⚠️ Email provider blocking or filtering our domain
  • ⚠️ Aggressive spam filters (Gmail, Outlook, corporate email)
  • ⚠️ Incorrect email address in account settings
  • ⚠️ Email inbox full or over quota

✓ Solutions

1. Check Spam/Junk Folder

Look for emails from help@prosupportdesk.com. If found, mark as "Not Spam" and move to inbox.

2. Whitelist Our Email Address

Add help@prosupportdesk.com to your contacts or safe sender list:

Gmail Instructions
  1. Open an email from us (check spam folder)
  2. Click the three dots menu (⋮) in top-right
  3. Select "Add help@prosupportdesk.com to Contacts"
  4. Or go to Settings → Filters → Create filter → Add our email → "Never send to spam"
Outlook / Hotmail Instructions
  1. Go to Settings (gear icon) → View all Outlook settings
  2. Select Mail → Junk email
  3. Under "Safe senders and domains" click "Add"
  4. Enter: prosupportdesk.com
  5. Click Save
Apple Mail / iCloud Instructions
  1. Open an email from us
  2. Click the sender's email address
  3. Select "Add to VIPs" or "Add to Contacts"
  4. VIP emails bypass junk filtering
Corporate Email / Office 365

Corporate email systems often have strict filters. Options:

  • Contact your IT department to whitelist prosupportdesk.com
  • Use a personal email address instead (Gmail, Outlook.com, etc.)

3. Verify Email Address

  • • Log into your account
  • • Go to Settings → Profile
  • • Confirm email address is correct
  • • Update if needed and verify the new address

4. Check Email Quota

If your inbox is full, new emails can't be delivered. Delete old emails to free up space.

5. Try a Different Email Provider

If problems persist, consider using a different email address:

  • • Gmail - Most reliable for automated emails
  • • Outlook.com - Good delivery rates
  • • Avoid: Corporate email, school email, strict spam filters

Still Not Receiving Emails?

After trying all steps above, contact support at help@prosupportdesk.com from the email address you're having issues with. Include screenshots of your spam folder and account settings.

Subscription Access Issues

❌ Problem

"I purchased a subscription but don't have access to features"

Possible Causes

  • ⚠️ Subscription hasn't synchronized yet
  • ⚠️ Product mapping not configured (contact admin)
  • ⚠️ Subscription status is "canceled" or "expired"
  • ⚠️ Payment didn't complete successfully

✓ Solution

  1. Wait a few minutes for synchronization to complete
  2. Check your subscription status in Settings → Subscription
  3. Verify payment was successful in your billing portal
  4. Log out and log back in to refresh your session
  5. If still no access after a few minutes, contact support with:
    • • Your account email
    • • Order/transaction ID
    • • Screenshot of your billing confirmation

Default Offer Not Showing

❌ Problem

"My default offer isn't showing up when invalid offer ID is used"

Possible Causes

  • ⚠️ No offer marked as default
  • ⚠️ Default offer is marked as inactive
  • ⚠️ Content delivery cache hasn't refreshed yet
  • ⚠️ Embed code syntax error

✓ Solution

  1. Set a default offer:
    • • Navigate to Featured Offers
    • • Click the star icon next to any offer
    • • Verify "Default" badge appears with gold star ⭐
  2. Ensure offer is active:
    • • Edit your default offer
    • • Check "Active" toggle is enabled
    • • Save changes
  3. Wait for content delivery synchronization:
    • • Changes synchronize to the content delivery network automatically
    • • Clear browser cache and test again
  4. Verify embed code:
    • • Ensure <div id="featured-offer"></div> exists
    • • Check script src includes ?id= parameter or uses default
    • • Verify no JavaScript errors in browser console

Weighted Distribution Problems

❌ Problem

"Weighted distribution isn't working correctly - percentages don't match"

Possible Causes

  • ⚠️ Weights don't add up to 100 (or consistent total)
  • ⚠️ Cache not cleared after weight changes
  • ⚠️ Small sample size (need more clicks to see accurate pattern)
  • ⚠️ Multiple versions of redirects.txt cached

✓ Solution

  1. Verify weights total 100:
    • • Go to Links → Edit your link
    • • Check that total weight shows "Perfect!" badge
    • • Adjust weights if needed
  2. Manually flush all site caches:
    • • Go to Sites in dashboard
    • • Click "Flush Cache" for each site
    • • Wait for synchronization to complete
  3. Clear browser cache:
    • • Your browser may be caching redirects
    • • Test in private/incognito mode
  4. Wait for sufficient sample size:
    • • Need at least 100+ clicks for accurate distribution
    • • Statistical variance is normal with small samples
    • • Check Analytics → Partner Distribution for variance analysis
  5. Reset distribution analytics:
    • • Go to Analytics → Select your link
    • • Click "Reset Distribution"
    • • Start with clean data after weight changes

Remember: Small Variance is Normal

Our testing shows variance of ±0.4% or less over 10,000 clicks. With fewer clicks, you may see temporary variance of ±5-10%.

Embed Won't Load (Known Limitations)

❌ Problem

"My featured offer embed doesn't show up at all on certain websites"

Important: Featured offer embeds require JavaScript and cannot work in certain environments due to technical limitations.

Environments Where Embeds Cannot Work

🔒 Sites with Strict Content Security Policy (CSP)

Why it fails: The embed code sets inline styles via JavaScript. If a website has a CSP header that blocks style-src 'unsafe-inline', the styles won't apply.

How to check:

// Open browser console (F12) and look for:
Refused to apply inline style because it violates CSP directive

Solutions:

  • Use Landing Pages: Enable landing page for your offer and link directly to it (no embed needed)
  • Relax CSP: If you control the website, add 'unsafe-inline' to CSP (not recommended for security)
  • Use iFrame: Embed the landing page URL in an iframe instead
🚫 JavaScript Disabled Environments

Why it fails: Embeds require JavaScript to fetch offer data and render the HTML. If JavaScript is disabled, nothing will show.

Affected users (~0.2% of web visitors):

  • Privacy-focused browsers (Tor Browser, Brave with shields up)
  • Users with NoScript extension
  • Corporate networks with strict security

Solutions:

  • Add Fallback Content: Use <noscript> tag with link to landing page
  • Use Landing Page Links: Skip embed entirely, link directly to landing page

Example with fallback:

<div id="featured-offer-your-slug">
  <noscript>
    <a href="https://links.linkcontroller.com/username/offer/your-slug">
      View this special offer →
    </a>
  </noscript>
</div>
<script src="..." async></script>
📧 Email Clients (Gmail, Outlook, etc.)

Why it fails: Email clients strip <script> tags for security. JavaScript never runs in emails.

Solution: Use Static Image + Landing Page Link

Create your offer with an image
Enable landing page for the offer
Use offer image URL in email
Link to landing page URL

Email-safe HTML:

<a href="https://links.linkcontroller.com/username/offer/your-slug">
  <img src="https://cdn.gururesources.com/offers/2/your-slug/promo.jpg"
       alt="Special Offer"
       style="max-width: 600px; width: 100%;">
</a>
Clicks are still tracked when users visit the landing page!

💡 Best Practices

  • ✓ Regular websites: Use embed code (works 95%+ of the time)
  • ✓ Email campaigns: Use static image + landing page link
  • ✓ High-security sites: Check CSP headers before embedding
  • ✓ Maximum compatibility: Always enable landing pages as a fallback option

Image Optimization Best Practices

Why Optimize Images?
Optimized images load faster, save bandwidth, reduce costs, and improve user experience. Always optimize before uploading!

Recommended Dimensions by Template

Upload images at these sizes for optimal display quality without wasting space:

Template Category Recommended Size Examples
Large Hero Templates 800 × 400 px gradient-hero
Standard Cards 600 × 400 px modern-card, clean-box
Wide Banners 700 × 240-260 px bold-cta, urgent-offer, badge-feature
Feature Cards 600 × 220 px feature-highlight, glass-card
Split Layouts 400 × 300 px split-layout
Sidebars 300 × 180 px simple-sidebar
Small Icons 140 × 140 px minimal-banner
Native Ads 120 × 90 px native-ad
Note: Uploading larger images wastes space and bandwidth. Browsers will scale them down anyway.

File Size & Format Guidelines

File Size Limits:

  • • Hard limit: 2MB maximum
  • • Recommended: Under 200KB
  • • Ideal: 50-150KB for most templates

Format Recommendations:

  • • JPG: Best for photos (quality 80-85%)
  • • PNG: Best for graphics with transparency
  • • GIF: For simple animations only
Pro Tip: Use JPG at 80-85% quality. You'll save 50-70% file size with no visible quality loss!

Free Image Optimization Tools

Online Tools (No Software Needed):

  • TinyPNG (tinypng.com)

    Excellent compression for PNG and JPG. Drag & drop interface.

  • Squoosh (squoosh.app)

    Google's image optimizer. Shows before/after comparison, works offline.

  • ImageOptim Online (imageoptim.com/online)

    Batch optimization, multiple formats supported.

Desktop Software (More Control):

  • ImageOptim (Mac only)

    Free, drag & drop, lossless compression. Removes metadata.

  • RIOT (Windows)

    Free, visual comparison, resize and optimize in one step.

  • GIMP (All platforms)

    Free, full editing + "Export As" with quality slider.

Common Image Problems & Solutions

❌ Problem: Image exceeds 2MB limit

Solutions:

  • • Resize to recommended dimensions (see table above)
  • • Compress using TinyPNG or Squoosh
  • • For JPG: Export at 75-85% quality
  • • For PNG: Use TinyPNG to reduce colors

❌ Problem: Image looks blurry or pixelated

Solutions:

  • • Upload image at exact recommended size (not smaller)
  • • Use higher quality JPG (85% instead of 60%)
  • • Ensure original image is high resolution
  • • Try PNG for graphics with text

❌ Problem: Image loads slowly

Solutions:

  • • Compress the image (target 50-150KB)
  • • Don't upload images larger than recommended dimensions
  • • Convert PNG to JPG if no transparency needed
  • • Use progressive JPG format for faster perceived loading

❌ Problem: Wrong aspect ratio (image stretched/squashed)

Solutions:

  • • Crop image to match template aspect ratio before uploading
  • • Use template preview to check how image displays
  • • Most templates use 16:9 or 4:3 ratios
  • • Consider using Unsplash (photos are pre-optimized)

✓ Quick Optimization Workflow

  1. Check your template → Note recommended dimensions
  2. Resize image → Match recommended width × height
  3. Choose format:
    • • Photo? → JPG at 80-85% quality
    • • Logo/graphic with transparency? → PNG
  4. Compress → Use TinyPNG or Squoosh
  5. Verify file size → Under 200KB ideal, 2MB max
  6. Upload & preview → Check appearance in template
Pro Tip: Use Unsplash search instead! Photos are already optimized, professional quality, and free.

Cache Flush Failures

❌ Problem

"Sites show 'Failed' status in cache flush monitoring"

Common Error Messages

  • 404
    Flush endpoint not found - check URL path
  • 403
    Invalid flush key - verify config.php
  • 500
    Server error - check error logs
  • Timeout
    Connection timeout - server overloaded or blocking connections

✓ Solution by Error Type

404 Not Found:

  • • Verify flush.php exists on your server
  • • Check flush endpoint URL in site registration
  • • Example: https://example.com/go/flush.php

403 Forbidden / Invalid Key:

  • • Copy flush key from dashboard
  • • Paste into config.php exactly (no spaces)
  • • Regenerate key if compromised

500 Server Error:

  • • Check server error logs
  • • Verify PHP version is 7.0+
  • • Ensure cURL extension is enabled
  • • Check file permissions on cache/ directory

Connection Timeout:

  • • Check server firewall settings
  • • Verify outbound HTTPS connections allowed
  • • Contact hosting provider if persistent

Installation Issues

Common Installation Problems

Problem: Links return 404 errors

Solution: Check .htaccess file exists and mod_rewrite is enabled. Contact hosting provider if needed.

Problem: "Permission denied" errors in logs

Solution: Set cache/ and logs/ directories to 755 or 775 permissions.

Problem: Links redirect to wrong URLs

Solution: Verify username in config.php is correct. Must match your Link Controller username exactly.

Problem: "Failed to download redirects.txt" error

Solution: Check server has outbound HTTPS access. Verify cURL extension is installed and enabled.

Problem: Scripts work but don't update automatically

Solution: Register your site and configure flush key in config.php for automatic cache updates.

Scripts Uploaded to Wrong Location

CRITICAL: This is the #1 installation mistake! Uploading scripts to a folder with existing files WILL overwrite them and break your site.

❌ Problem

"I uploaded the scripts and now my website is broken / showing a blank page / WordPress admin won't load"

What Happened?

The Link Controller scripts include an index.php file. If you upload to a folder that already has an index.php (like your WordPress installation), you'll overwrite it.

Common Mistake

Uploading scripts to public_html/ or www/ where WordPress or another CMS is installed.

Symptoms

  • ⚠️ Website shows blank white page
  • ⚠️ Homepage broken but other pages work
  • ⚠️ WordPress admin panel inaccessible
  • ⚠️ "Fatal error" or "Cannot redeclare" PHP errors
  • ⚠️ Site redirects to wrong page unexpectedly

✓ Recovery Steps

  1. Don't panic - your site can be recovered!
  2. Option 1: Restore from Backup (Recommended)
    • • Check if your hosting provider has automatic backups
    • • Most hosts keep daily backups for 7-30 days
    • • Contact support: "I accidentally overwrote files, can you restore from backup?"
    • • This is the safest and fastest recovery method
  3. Option 2: Re-upload Your Original Files
    • • If you have local copies of your site, re-upload them via FTP
    • • For WordPress: Download fresh files from wordpress.org
    • • Only upload wp-admin/ and wp-includes/ folders + root index.php
    • • Do NOT overwrite wp-config.php or wp-content/
  4. Option 3: Contact Hosting Provider
    • • Explain: "I accidentally uploaded files to the wrong location"
    • • Most providers can help restore from backups
    • • They may charge a small fee for manual restoration
  5. After recovery: Upload scripts to the CORRECT location
    • • Create a NEW empty subfolder (e.g., /go/ or /links/)
    • • Upload Link Controller scripts there
    • • See "Prevention" section below

🛡️ Prevention: Where to Upload Scripts

Golden Rule

Upload scripts to an EMPTY folder or subdomain. Never upload to a location with existing files!

✓ CORRECT Locations (Safe):

  • ✓
    Dedicated Subfolder:
    • • yoursite.com/go/
    • • yoursite.com/links/
    • • yoursite.com/redirect/
    • Create empty folder, upload scripts there
  • ✓
    Subdomain (Dedicated):
    • • go.yoursite.com
    • • links.yoursite.com
    • Create subdomain, upload scripts to its root
  • ✓
    Dedicated Domain (Entire Site):
    • • yourshortlinks.com (entire domain for links only)
    • OK to use site root if ENTIRE domain is dedicated to links

❌ INCORRECT Locations (Dangerous):

  • ✗
    Site Root with WordPress:
    • • public_html/ (where WordPress is installed)
    • • www/ (where your CMS lives)
    • Will overwrite WordPress index.php!
  • ✗
    Existing Application Folders:
    • • yoursite.com/blog/ (WordPress blog location)
    • • yoursite.com/shop/ (WooCommerce/store)
    • Will break existing applications!
  • ✗
    Folders with Existing Content:
    • • Any folder that already has files in it
    • Check folder is completely empty first!

How to Check if a Folder is Empty

Use FTP client or hosting file manager to browse the folder. If you see ANY files (index.php, .htaccess, etc.), DO NOT upload there! Create a new empty folder instead.

Still Need Help?

Can't find a solution to your problem? Our support team is here to help!

Contact Support

Please include:

  • • Your account email
  • • Detailed description of the issue
  • • Steps you've already tried
  • • Screenshots if applicable