You want people to get from Snapchat to your website, and something is in the way. There is no website field when you edit your profile. The paperclip you've seen other people use isn't there. Or a link you sent, or one someone sent you, won't open or throws up a warning.
Four different things cause this: your account type doesn't include a profile website, the link tool needs a permission or is being used in the wrong place, Snapchat's safety check has flagged the link, or the link was a shared Snap link that has expired. The fix depends on which one you have.
Tell which case you're in
- No website field on your Public Profile: account type. A profile website is listed as a Creator Account or Business Profile feature.
- No Public Profile at all: Snapchat says Public Profiles are for Snapchatters aged 16 and older in certain countries.
- You can't find where to attach a link to a Snap: the paperclip is on the Preview screen, after you take the Snap.
- Paste doesn't work in the link box on Android: check that Snapchat has clipboard permission.
- A warning appears when a link is opened, or a link in Chat is blocked: Snapchat's Safe Browsing check.
- A link to a shared Snap or Memory stopped opening: those links expire after around 36 hours.
Why there's no website field on your profile
This is the one people get stuck on longest. Snapchat's help article on Creator features lists 'Add a Website and Public Email to your Public Profile' among the features of a Creator Account or a Business Profile with a Public Profile. If you only have a standard Public Profile and the edit screen has no place for a website, that is the reason, not a bug.
To check, open your Public Profile editor. Snapchat's help centre gives the steps as: tap your Bitmoji or Story icon at the top to go to your Profile, tap Public Profile, then tap the pencil icon at the top of the screen. The article says you can add a bio, profile photo and other public information there; it doesn't list every field, so what you see depends on your account.
There are two documented routes to the features that include a website:
- Creator Account: Snapchat says these are upgraded by Snapchat rather than requested. The account must have a Public Profile, be an active poster to Stories and Spotlight, have grown an audience, and have story visibility set to Everyone. Snapchat also says Creator Accounts cannot be downgraded back to a non-Creator Account.
- Professional Account: some Snapchatters can convert their Public Profile into one and choose a Creator or Business type. Snapchat says these are limited to people aged 18 and older and that the feature isn't available to everyone yet. To switch, open your Public Profile, select Edit Profile, go to Account Type, choose Switch to a Professional Account, pick Creator or Business, and follow the prompts.
- Business Profile: Snapchat's 'About Profiles' article lists Business Profiles for brands as a separate profile type, and the Creator features article includes a Business Profile with a Public Profile among the accounts that can show a website.
How to attach a link to a Snap
Even without a profile website, any Snap can carry a link. Snapchat's help article 'How do I attach a link to a Snap?' gives three steps:
- Take your Snap, then tap the paperclip icon on the Preview screen.
- Add a link: paste a URL you copied, type one in, or search for one.
- Tap 'Attach to Snap', then send it or post it to your Story.
If the paperclip or paste isn't working
The paperclip appears on the Preview screen, the screen you see after taking or selecting a Snap and before sending it. It isn't on the camera screen itself, which is the most common reason people think it's missing.
On Android, pasting a copied link depends on a permission. Snapchat's Android permissions article says: 'Allow Snapchat to access your clipboard so you can attach links quickly with the Paperclip tool.' To check it, tap the Profile icon at the top of the screen, tap the settings gear, scroll to App & Privacy and tap My Privacy & Data, then scroll to Privacy Choices and tap Permissions. If you don't want to grant clipboard access, you can still type the address in by hand.
Spotlight is a separate case. Snapchat's help pages on posting to Spotlight don't mention attaching links, so don't count on a link reaching viewers there. Put it on a Snap to friends or your Story instead.
When a link won't open or shows a warning
Snapchat checks links for safety. Its help article on Google Safe Browsing says Snapchat looks at whether a link is associated with spam, abuse, phishing or other harmful activity, using information from Google's Safe Browsing service. If you open a flagged link, you get an alert that lets you back out or learn more about Safe Browsing. Snapchat says the URL itself is not shared with Google.
If it's your own site being flagged and you think that's wrong, Snapchat points site owners to Google rather than to its own support:
- Google's 'Report Incorrect Phishing Warning' page: google.com/safebrowsing/report_error/
- Google's 'Malware and Unwanted Software' help for site owners in Search Console help.
Links in Chat are treated the same way. Snapchat's safety tips say that if Snapchat blocks a link in Chat, that is for your protection and does not mean your account was hacked. The same page advises not to install links or shortcuts shared in Chat if you don't know what they do, even when a friend says it's a joke.
Shared Snap links expire
There is one more kind of 'Snapchat link': the public link you make to share a Snap or a Memory outside the app, using the link button on the Snap. Snapchat's help centre says these links are public, so anyone who has the link can view the content and pass it on, and that the link stays accessible until it expires, which happens around 36 hours after it is created. If someone tells you your link is dead a couple of days later, that's expected. Make a new one.
If you're the one tapping the link
If you swiped up on a Snap and got a warning, the safest choice is to back out, as Snapchat's alert lets you do. Snapchat's help centre also says it will never email or text you to ask for your password or two-factor verification codes, or ask you to click on a login link, so treat any message like that as a scam. If a friend's shared Snap link won't load, ask them to send a fresh one; it has probably passed the roughly 36-hour expiry.
One link you control
If your account can't show a website yet, attaching the same link to your Snaps works well when that link is a single page you keep updated. OneSol gives you a free page with one link for all your profiles, plus a digital business card with a QR code you can show in person.