diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index b6fa401..ab95405 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ env.*.php
 env
 .env.php
 .env
+.env.bak
 .env.example
 vendor/
 composer.phar
diff --git a/app/Factories/LinkFactory.php b/app/Factories/LinkFactory.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..173e0fc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/Factories/LinkFactory.php
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+<?php
+namespace App\Factories;
+
+use App\Models\Link;
+use App\Helpers\CryptoHelper;
+use App\Helpers\LinkHelper;
+
+
+class LinkFactory {
+    private static function formatLink($link_ending, $secret_ending=false) {
+        /**
+        * Given a link ending and a boolean indicating whether a secret ending is needed,
+        * return a link formatted with app protocol, app address, and link ending.
+        * @param string $link_ending
+        * @param boolean $secret_ending
+        * @return string
+        */
+        $short_url = env('APP_PROTOCOL') . env('APP_ADDRESS') . '/' . $link_ending;
+
+        if ($secret_ending) {
+            $short_url .= '/' . $secret_ending;
+        }
+
+        return $short_url;
+    }
+
+    public static function createLink($long_url, $is_secret=false, $custom_ending=null, $link_ip='127.0.0.1', $creator=false) {
+        /**
+        * Given parameters needed to create a link, generate appropriate ending and
+        * return formatted link.
+        *
+        * @param string $custom_ending
+        * @param boolean (optional) $is_secret
+        * @param string (optional) $custom_ending
+        * @param string $link_ip
+        * @param string $creator
+        * @return string $formatted_link
+        */
+
+        $is_already_short = LinkHelper::checkIfAlreadyShortened($long_url);
+
+        if ($is_already_short) {
+            throw new \Exception('Sorry, but your link already
+                looks like a shortened URL.');
+        }
+
+        if (!$is_secret && !$custom_ending && $existing_link = LinkHelper::longLinkExists($long_url)) {
+            // if link is not specified as secret, is non-custom, and
+            // already exists in Polr, lookup the value and return
+            return self::formatLink($existing_link);
+        }
+
+        if ($custom_ending) {
+            // has custom ending
+            $ending_conforms = LinkHelper::validateEnding($custom_ending);
+            if (!$ending_conforms) {
+                throw new \Exception('Sorry, but custom endings
+                    can only contain alphanumeric characters');
+            }
+
+            $ending_in_use = LinkHelper::linkExists($custom_ending);
+            if ($ending_in_use) {
+                throw new \Exception('Sorry, but this URL ending is already in use.');
+            }
+
+            $link_ending = $custom_ending;
+        }
+        else {
+            // no custom ending
+            $link_ending = LinkHelper::findSuitableEnding();
+        }
+
+        $link = new Link;
+        $link->short_url = $link_ending;
+        $link->long_url  = $long_url;
+        $link->ip        = $link_ip;
+        $link->is_custom = $custom_ending != null;
+
+        if ($creator) {
+            // if user is logged in, save user as creator
+            $link->creator = $creator;
+        }
+
+        if ($is_secret) {
+            $rand_bytes_num = intval(env('POLR_SECRET_BYTES'));
+            $secret_key = CryptoHelper::generateRandomHex($rand_bytes_num);
+            $link->secret_key = $secret_key;
+        }
+        else {
+            $secret_key = false;
+        }
+
+        $link->save();
+
+        $formatted_link = self::formatLink($link_ending, $secret_key);
+
+        return $formatted_link;
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/app/Factories/UserFactory.php b/app/Factories/UserFactory.php
index 9d13efa..480c3c0 100644
--- a/app/Factories/UserFactory.php
+++ b/app/Factories/UserFactory.php
@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@
 use Hash;
 use App\Models\User;
 use App\Helpers\CryptoHelper;
-class UserFactory {
+
+class UserFactory {    
     public static function createUser($username, $email, $password, $active=0, $ip='127.0.0.1') {
         $hashed_password = Hash::make($password);
 
diff --git a/app/Helpers/ApiHelper.php b/app/Helpers/ApiHelper.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d645c8c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/Helpers/ApiHelper.php
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+<?php
+namespace App\Http\Controllers\Api;
+
+use App\Models\User;
+use App\Helpers\ApiHelper;
+
+class ApiHelper {
+    public static function checkUserApiQuota($username) {
+        // pass
+        return true;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/app/Helpers/LinkHelper.php b/app/Helpers/LinkHelper.php
index 27f8d67..40769c0 100644
--- a/app/Helpers/LinkHelper.php
+++ b/app/Helpers/LinkHelper.php
@@ -36,14 +36,15 @@ static public function checkIfAlreadyShortened($long_link) {
     static public function linkExists($link_ending) {
         /**
          * Provided a link ending (string),
-         * check whether the ending is in use.
-         * @return boolean
+         * return the link object, or false.
+         * @return Link model instance
          */
+
         $link = Link::where('short_url', $link_ending)
             ->first();
 
         if ($link == null) {
-            return false;
+            return $link;
         }
         else {
             return true;
@@ -73,6 +74,14 @@ static public function validateEnding($link_ending) {
         return $is_alphanum;
     }
 
+    static public function processPostClick($link) {
+        /**
+         * Given a Link model instance, process post click operations.
+         * @param Link model instance $link
+         * @return boolean
+         */
+    }
+
     static public function findSuitableEnding() {
         /**
          * Provided an in-use link ending (string),
diff --git a/app/Http/Controllers/AjaxController.php b/app/Http/Controllers/AjaxController.php
index 30acfcb..60ec371 100644
--- a/app/Http/Controllers/AjaxController.php
+++ b/app/Http/Controllers/AjaxController.php
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 <?php
 namespace App\Http\Controllers;
+
 use Illuminate\Http\Request;
 use App\Helpers\LinkHelper;
 use App\Helpers\CryptoHelper;
diff --git a/app/Http/Controllers/Api/ApiController.php b/app/Http/Controllers/Api/ApiController.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2c57ecd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/Http/Controllers/Api/ApiController.php
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+<?php
+namespace App\Http\Controllers\Api;
+
+use App\Models\User;
+use App\Helpers\ApiHelper;
+
+class ApiController extends ApiController {
+    protected static function getApiUserInfo(Request $request) {
+        $api_key = $request->input('api_key');
+        $user = User::where('active', 1)
+            ->where('api_key', $api_key)
+            ->where('api_active', true)
+            ->first();
+
+        $api_limited_reached = ApiHelper::checkUserApiQuota($user->username);
+    }
+
+    protected static function encodeResponse($result, $action, $response_type='json') {
+        $response = {
+            "action" => $action,
+            "result" => $result
+        }
+
+        if ($response_type == 'json') {
+            return json_encode($response);
+        }
+        else if ($response_type == 'plain_text') {
+            return $result;
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/app/Http/Controllers/Api/ApiLinkController.php b/app/Http/Controllers/Api/ApiLinkController.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5e6465f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/Http/Controllers/Api/ApiLinkController.php
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+<?php
+namespace App\Http\Controllers\Api;
+
+use App\Factories\LinkFactory;
+use App\Helpers\LinkHelper;
+
+class ApiLinkController extends ApiController {
+    public static function shortenLink(Request $request) {
+        $response_type = $request->input('response_type');
+        $ard = self::getApiUserInfo($request);
+
+        /* */
+        $long_url = $request->input('url');
+        $is_secret = $request->input('is_secret');
+        $custom_ending = $request->input('custom_ending');
+
+        $formatted_link = LinkFactory::createLink();
+
+        return self::encodeResponse($formatted_link, 'shorten', $response_type);
+    }
+
+    public static function lookupLink(Request $request) {
+        $response_type = $request->input('response_type');
+        $ard = self::getApiUserInfo($request);
+
+        /* */
+        $url_ending = $request->input('url_ending');
+        $link_or_false = LinkHelper::linkExists($url_ending);
+
+        if ($link_or_false) {
+            return $link_or_false;
+        }
+        else {
+            abort(404, "Link not found.");
+        }
+
+    }
+}
diff --git a/app/Http/Controllers/ApiController.php b/app/Http/Controllers/ApiController.php
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29..0000000
diff --git a/app/Http/Controllers/LinkController.php b/app/Http/Controllers/LinkController.php
index 161ef30..35e773e 100644
--- a/app/Http/Controllers/LinkController.php
+++ b/app/Http/Controllers/LinkController.php
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 use Illuminate\Http\Redirect;
 
 use App\Models\Link;
-
+use App\Factories\LinkFactory;
 use App\Helpers\CryptoHelper;
 use App\Helpers\LinkHelper;
 
@@ -19,78 +19,25 @@ private function renderError($message) {
         return redirect(route('index'))->with('error', $message);
     }
 
-    private function formatAndRender($link_ending, $secret_ending=False) {
-        $short_url = env('APP_PROTOCOL') . env('APP_ADDRESS') . '/' . $link_ending;
-        if ($secret_ending) {
-            $short_url .= '/' . $secret_ending;
-        }
-        return view('shorten_result', ['short_url' => $short_url]);
-    }
-
-
     public function performShorten(Request $request) {
         $this->request = $request;
 
         $long_url = $request->input('link-url');
         $custom_ending = $request->input('custom-ending');
         $is_secret = ($request->input('options') == "s" ? true : false);
-        $creator = session('username');
-
-        $is_already_short = LinkHelper::checkIfAlreadyShortened($long_url);
-        if ($is_already_short) {
-            return $this->renderError('Sorry, but your link already\
-                looks like a shortened URL.');
-        }
-
-        if (!$is_secret && $existing_link = LinkHelper::longLinkExists($long_url)) {
-            // if link is not specified as secret, is non-custom, and
-            // already exists in Polr, lookup the value and return
-            return $this->formatAndRender($existing_link);
-        }
-
-        if ($custom_ending) {
-            // has custom ending
-            $ending_conforms = LinkHelper::validateEnding($custom_ending);
-            if (!$ending_conforms) {
-                return $this->renderError('Sorry, but custom endings\
-                    can only contain alphanumeric characters');
-            }
-
-            $ending_in_use = LinkHelper::linkExists($custom_ending);
-            if ($ending_in_use) {
-                return $this->renderError('Sorry, but this URL ending is already in use.');
-            }
 
-            $link_ending = $custom_ending;
-        }
-        else {
-            // no custom ending
-            $link_ending = LinkHelper::findSuitableEnding();
-        }
-
-        $link = new Link;
-        $link->short_url = $link_ending;
-        $link->long_url  = $long_url;
-        $link->ip        = $request->ip();
-        $link->is_custom = $custom_ending != null;
+        $creator = session('username');
 
-        if ($creator) {
-            // if user is logged in, save user as creator
-            $link->creator = $creator;
-        }
+        $link_ip = $request->ip();
 
-        if ($is_secret) {
-            $rand_bytes_num = intval(env('POLR_SECRET_BYTES'));
-            $secret_key = CryptoHelper::generateRandomHex($rand_bytes_num);
-            $link->secret_key = $secret_key;
+        try {
+            $short_url = LinkFactory::createLink($long_url, $is_secret, $custom_ending, $link_ip, $creator);
         }
-        else {
-            $secret_key = false;
+        catch (\Exception $e) {
+            return self::renderError($e->getMessage());
         }
 
-        $link->save();
-
-        return $this->formatAndRender($link_ending, $secret_key);
+        return view('shorten_result', ['short_url' => $short_url]);
     }
 
     public function performRedirect(Request $request, $short_url, $secret_key=false) {
@@ -109,8 +56,6 @@ public function performRedirect(Request $request, $short_url, $secret_key=false)
             ]);
         }
 
-
-
         if ($link_secret_key) {
             if (!$secret_key) {
                 // if we do not receieve a secret key
@@ -137,6 +82,8 @@ public function performRedirect(Request $request, $short_url, $secret_key=false)
 
         $link->save();
 
+        LinkHelper::processPostClick($link);
+
         return redirect()->to($long_url);
     }
 }
diff --git a/app/Http/routes.php b/app/Http/routes.php
index a0a791e..949162b 100644
--- a/app/Http/routes.php
+++ b/app/Http/routes.php
@@ -42,5 +42,7 @@
 $app->post('/api/v2/link_avail_check', ['as' => 'api_link_check', 'uses' => 'AjaxController@checkLinkAvailability']);
 $app->post('/api/v2/admin/toggle_api_active', ['as' => 'api_toggle_api_active', 'uses' => 'AjaxController@toggleAPIActive']);
 $app->post('/api/v2/admin/generate_new_api_key', ['as' => 'api_generate_new_api_key', 'uses' => 'AjaxController@generateNewAPIKey']);
-
 $app->post('/api/v2/admin/delete_user', ['as' => 'api_generate_new_api_key', 'uses' => 'AjaxController@deleteUser']);
+
+$app->post('/api/v2/action/shorten', ['as' => 'api_shorten_url', 'uses' => 'Api\ApiLinkController@shortenLink']);
+$app->post('/api/v2/action/lookup', ['as' => 'api_lookup_url', 'uses' => 'Api\ApiLinkController@lookupLink']);
diff --git a/database/migrations/2015_11_04_015813_create_link_table.php b/database/migrations/2015_11_04_015813_create_link_table.php
index f2e32c2..78be1e5 100644
--- a/database/migrations/2015_11_04_015813_create_link_table.php
+++ b/database/migrations/2015_11_04_015813_create_link_table.php
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ public function up()
 
             $table->boolean('is_disabled')->default(0);
             $table->boolean('is_custom')->default(0);
+            $table->boolean('is_api')->default(0);
 
             $table->timestamps();
         });
diff --git a/resources/views/layouts/base.blade.php b/resources/views/layouts/base.blade.php
index e20bf4c..a87b175 100644
--- a/resources/views/layouts/base.blade.php
+++ b/resources/views/layouts/base.blade.php
@@ -57,16 +57,16 @@
     <script src='/js/base.js'></script>
     <script>
     @if (Session::has('info'))
-        toastr["info"]("{{session('infoo')}}", "Info")
+        toastr["info"](`{{session('infoo')}}`, "Info")
     @endif
     @if (Session::has('error'))
-        toastr["error"]("{{session('error')}}", "Error")
+        toastr["error"](`{{session('error')}}`, "Error")
     @endif
     @if (Session::has('warning'))
-        toastr["warning"]("{{session('warning')}}", "Warning")
+        toastr["warning"](`{{session('warning')}}`, "Warning")
     @endif
     @if (Session::has('success'))
-        toastr["success"]("{{session('success')}}", "Success")
+        toastr["success"](`{{session('success')}}`, "Success")
     @endif
     </script>
 
diff --git a/resources/views/snippets/user_table.blade.php b/resources/views/snippets/user_table.blade.php
index 9644a8d..19430de 100644
--- a/resources/views/snippets/user_table.blade.php
+++ b/resources/views/snippets/user_table.blade.php
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@
         </td>
 
         <td>
-            <a  class='delete-user btn btn-sm btn-danger'
+            <a  class='delete-user btn btn-sm btn-danger @if (session('username') == $user->username)btn-disabled @endif'
 
                 data-user-id='{{$user->id}}'>
                 Delete
diff --git a/util/restore_stock_env.sh b/util/restore_stock_env.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a5bc73d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/util/restore_stock_env.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+mv .env .env.bak
+wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cydrobolt/polr/2.0-dev/.env
+echo "Done!"