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When you share a Strella study link, you can append URL parameters to carry metadata — participant identifiers, campaign tags, cohort labels, or analytics tracking values — through the interview flow. Strella supports two distinct modes: capturing that metadata inside Strella for later analysis, or forwarding it to an external redirect URL so your downstream systems receive it automatically after the interview ends.

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Study URL Format

Every Strella study has a unique public share link generated when you publish your project. The base format is:
For example:
Find this link by clicking the Share button in the upper-right corner of your study dashboard.

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Mode 1: Capture Metadata in Strella

Use standard URL parameter names (without any prefix) when you want Strella to store the values internally and associate them with the participant’s record. Example parameters:
  • user_id=abcd-1234-efgh-5678
  • source=cohort202602
Full URL example:
When a participant opens this link, Strella captures: These values are stored with the participant’s record in Strella so you can filter or reference them during analysis.

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Mode 2: Forward Metadata to an External URL

Use this mode when you want metadata passed to an external system after the interview ends — for example, to credit a panel provider or trigger a downstream workflow.
Forwarding requires Redirect to URL to be configured in your study settings. Strella appends the forwarded parameters to that destination URL after the participant finishes their call. See Redirect Participants After Interview for setup steps.
To forward metadata, add the forward_ prefix to each parameter name in your study link. Strella strips the prefix before appending the parameters to the redirect destination. Example parameters:
  • forward_user_id=abcd-1234-efgh-5678
  • forward_source=cohort202602
Full study link example:
How parameters are forwarded: If your Redirect to URL is configured as:
Then Strella redirects the participant to:

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End-to-End Example

The table below traces a full forwarding flow from the link you share to the URL the participant lands on after finishing the call.

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Best Practices

If a parameter value contains spaces, ampersands, or other special characters, URL-encode them before adding them to the link. For example, a space becomes %20 and an ampersand becomes %26. Most link-building tools handle this automatically, but verify if you’re constructing URLs by hand.
Query strings are logged in browser history, server access logs, and analytics tools. Avoid placing sensitive personal information — full names, email addresses, government IDs — directly in URL parameters. Use opaque identifiers or hashed values instead.
Use IDs that remain constant for a given participant across sessions — such as a CRM ID or a hashed email — rather than ephemeral values. Stable IDs make it much easier to join Strella data with your external systems reliably.
You can mix both modes in a single link. Parameters without the forward_ prefix are captured in Strella; parameters with the prefix are forwarded to the redirect URL. Both sets can appear in the same query string.
In this example, user_id is stored in Strella and source is forwarded to the redirect destination.