Rotating On-Call Links by Time of Day
Use Redirect by Time to route a single link to different team members based on their shift.
The scenario
Your team handles customer enquiries in shifts — a day shift, an evening shift, and maybe an overnight fallback to voicemail or an answering service. Instead of updating a link manually at every shift change, you want a single URL that automatically routes to the right person based on the time of day.
How to set it up
1. Create a Redirect by Time link
Go to the Redirect by Time tool and configure your time slots. Each slot gets a time threshold and a destination URL:
- 09:00 → Day shift agent's phone, WhatsApp, or calendar link
- 17:00 → Evening shift agent's contact
- Default → Fallback for any time not covered (e.g., voicemail or an after-hours page)
The tool routes visitors to the destination that matches the current time. Set your timezone so the cutoffs align with your team's working hours.
Specify where users should be redirected to based on the specific time of their click.
2. Set a custom URL
Give it a memorable slug like nimble.li/oncall or links.yourcompany.com/support. This is the only URL anyone needs — it always routes to whoever is currently on duty.
3. Share it
Use the link anywhere customers or colleagues need to reach the on-call person:
- Internal wiki or Slack — Pin it as the "contact on-call" link.
- Website — Use it as your support contact link.
- Email auto-responders — Include it in out-of-office replies.
How it works
What you get
- Automatic handoff — No one needs to remember to update a link at shift changes. The routing happens based on the clock.
- One link for everything — Share it once, and it stays current regardless of schedule changes.
- Shift visibility — Analytics show when customers are clicking, so you can see if enquiries spike during a particular shift and adjust staffing.
Variations
Weekend routing
Use Redirect by Date & Time instead of Redirect by Time if you need different routing on weekends. Route weekday clicks to your regular shifts and weekend clicks to a separate on-call number or an automated response.
Combined with load balancing
If your day shift has multiple agents, stack a Redirect by Time link with a Redirect Evenly link. The time-based link routes to the right shift, and the Redirect Evenly link under it distributes within that shift.
Phone and WhatsApp destinations
The destination doesn't have to be a web page. Use tel: for direct phone calls, https://wa.me/... for WhatsApp, or a calendar booking link for scheduled callbacks. See the Deep Links guide for more on non-HTTP destinations.
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