Long URLs are simply hard to pass along. The links tend to sometimes break in email, are harder to verbalize in a conversation, and they are difficult, or in some cases near impossible to remember.
For example, let’s say you want to pass along this piece of news to your friends about how the ‘Iphone will test loyalty of cellular customers’- Which you can visit with this long URL…
http://www.macworld.com/news/2007/04/24/loyalty/index.php?lsrc=mwrss
…which I will need to shorten to something more digestible.
Now, there are a plethora of URL shortening services out there - the majority of them free, but most of them not bringing anything unique to the table. Here are some notable exceptions with useful value-added features in place:
#1 Choose your own page name with Doiop
What Doiop allows you to do is actually define your own keyword (In this case I used loyalty) so you can give your short link some context, something simple which many URL shortening services just don’t offer.
Result: Link shortened to - http://doiop.com/loyalty
#2 Create instant short URLs using bookmarklets and enjoy previews with TinyURL
TinyURL is probably the most famous of all the URL shortening sites out there, but many people don’t take advantage of two key features they offer. The first - Incorporating a one-click bookmarklet on your browser, so you never have to visit the site to shorten a URL, just click a button on your browser and it’s done!
The second is a preview feature. This tells anyone who clicks on the preview link - what exactly they are accessing, so there are no surprises on the other end.
Result: Link shortened to http://tinyurl.com/2ck97a
#3 Tag short URLs using multiple keywords with ReadthisURL
Just like Doiop, this allows you to add context to your shortened URLS but this time by allowing users to tag it with multiple keywords.
Result: Link shortened to http://readthisurl.com/iphone+loyalty
#4 Create pronounceable with MemURL.com
Too lazy to think of a keyword but still want some form of coherence for your shortened URLs? memURL will create a mnemonic link which is easy to pronounce (but doesn’t mean anything). memURL also comes with a bookmarklet feature for one click shortening.
Result: Link shortened to http://memurl.com/luviru
#5 Track your short URL traffic and stats with dwarfURL.com
On top of a basic URL shortening system, DwarfURL allows users to track statistics and traffic of these shortened URLs. Perfect for tracking how many people actually visit those links you send them :)
Result: Link shortened to http://dwarfurl.com/e9b5d
A word to the wise here - Like most good things on the Internet, spammers have invaded the URL shortening space -using these services to cover their tracks. I would apply the same level of caution when clicking on the links - only doing so when you’re sure it comes from a trusted source.
What URL shortening services do you use? Let us know in the comments!
[tags] url redirection, url shortener, tinyurl, domain [/tags]
May 4th, 2007 at 5:15 am
I use urlTea.com, it automatically copies the shorten URL into clipboard. urlTea supports bookmarklets and optional keywords
May 4th, 2007 at 7:53 am
Thanks for the tip LcF, I checked it out and urlTea is a very elegant solution indeed :)
May 4th, 2007 at 8:13 am
I also like urlTea.com
May 4th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
Cool find James. I will start using it now.
May 5th, 2007 at 12:57 am
QurlyQ.com
May 5th, 2007 at 11:31 am
Thanks James. cool gadget. I only use the tinyurl. never knew the others. thanks. checking LCF urltea.com too. thanks all. ;)
May 8th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
Hi there,
landing to your page from malaysia bloggers forum.
Nice article, very helpfully for newbie like me :)
p/s: this article make me subscribed your rss :)
cheers
May 15th, 2007 at 5:38 am
Check out http://traceurl.com
Traceurl.com does not only track and count accesses to your URLs, but also shows where the accesses came from.
May 15th, 2007 at 8:51 am
Adrian & Chris: Thanks for the tips- valuable info indeed
PapaJoneh and ismail: glad to have helped :)
May 30th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
MULTIPLE SNIPPINGS
Now you can snip many URLs in one go:
SnipUrl.com
May 31st, 2007 at 7:13 am
hi,
i suggest to use http://ix.lt
FREE
super SHORT
NEW (all popular tags are available)
enjoy
June 3rd, 2007 at 3:57 am
While they are usefull tools, they are spam enablers and I had to block all comments to sites I’ve worked for, that reference these services as spammers love them.
June 3rd, 2007 at 8:32 am
Coach & Gedax : thanks for the tips
Matt:Yeah fully understand… I use those services to email long links to friends and have used them for print classifieds to advertise some property after I made a quick web page in Googlepages.com not so much for blogs
June 13th, 2007 at 1:49 am
As far i know, the shortest url redirection service is http://dn.vc and it feature like masking and keyword.
June 15th, 2007 at 5:36 am
I run http://notlong.com/ and have a review of a few of the bigger URL shortening sites (and links to many others) here: http://notlong.com/links/
July 14th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
i always use:
http://www.kurl.us
pretty fast and verry simple
September 29th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
I recommend http://is.gd/ URL shortener.
It’s fast and simple, and generates seriously short URLs.
September 30th, 2007 at 5:40 am
I made http://lilurl.us
It has stats, choosable names, and password protection. It’s free and has been around forever and likely will be as it costs zilch to maintain.
October 29th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
I use http://xil.in
It has a firefox search engine plug-in for easy creation of short URLs and supports custom tag features..http://xil.in/john
December 7th, 2007 at 3:55 am
I recommend http://plexp.com. It has some original features.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
http://www.bellypath.com/
December 29th, 2007 at 5:31 am
I use url-press.com one of the best I personally think.
January 2nd, 2008 at 8:54 am
Cool…
January 16th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
I use fire.to. They have other good names to choose from.
http://fire.to
January 17th, 2008 at 6:01 am
Another handy url shortener made with php and jQuery, also copies the short url to your clipboard: http://miklos.dk
February 28th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Thanks for the info.
I use http://www.url9.com
March 15th, 2008 at 9:31 am
My best is smarturl.eu
http://smarturl.eu
;)
March 17th, 2008 at 10:24 am
Another great option is http://qicute.com which is free, password-protected, saves your short urls, and lets you choose a special keyword or a random tag.
March 17th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Doiop is the best. Picking your keyword is great.
April 19th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
I use yweb.com - nothing special (though they do hint at future extended features) but the domain itself is quite short (4 letters)
Besides, since it’s quite new, their URLs still have only 2 digits, like http://yweb.com/9p (which goes to this page)
Plus, I think the big guy with tattoos who crushes the URLs is funny. But maybe that’s just me.
May 10th, 2008 at 5:50 am
I like these two:
http://urlsn.com
http://www.snipurl.com
The first has an API you can integrate with your website so user-submitted links are shortened.
May 17th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
I use http://gonext.org
Free, ad-free, new (all tags avalaible)
May 30th, 2008 at 1:56 am
best i ever used
May 30th, 2008 at 1:57 am
http://smarturl.eu/
forgot to paste link
June 1st, 2008 at 1:11 am
I always use xaddr.com. It has no frills, but users always see a preview page to find out where they are going before they click.
June 19th, 2008 at 7:25 am
Another tiny URL site which allows you to use your own domains or sub domains.
http://www.ellix.org
July 28th, 2008 at 2:44 am
A new site that has a firefox search engine plug-in for easy creation of short URLs, supports custom tag features, and has an API feature - http://urlcover.com
August 5th, 2008 at 1:16 am
Here another site with a small url for redirect servcie
August 8th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
I’ve got all information about url shortener here. Thanks a lot.
August 12th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
I run http://muhlink.org - it’s simple, no-frills. NO ads either. Working on implemented preview as well. No harm in trying it out.
August 19th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
4url.cc has spam blocking system.
August 28th, 2008 at 5:57 am
Thanks for the URL shorteners, looking at the rest of your site too.
August 28th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
This is one great collection of URL shorteners! Thanks for blogging about this! =)
September 1st, 2008 at 9:25 am
If I can I’d like to plug the URL shortener service my website runs, urlShort at http://u.mavrev.com
Currently it offers a simple API for creation via a URL request, a bookmarklet, and the web form with more on the way.
September 10th, 2008 at 12:11 am
We love http://bit.ly though so many of these are so very similar.
It’s cool to get the newer, less-used ones so you can create common custom URLs now that they’re all offering that as well…
October 6th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
http://go2cut.com - another URL shortener with statistics.
October 7th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
A new one on the scene ins Shrink Link..
http://www.shrinklink.co.uk
it has a really easy to remember name, provides a bookmarklet for one click access, lets you track link visits / clicks, and also lets you add customised keywords (aliases) for your links.
worth a look..
October 9th, 2008 at 11:20 am
http://kissa.be - another URL, mail, text, image shortener with statistics.
October 29th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Nice list. But maybe you people want to try http://ilix.in.
Besides (1)shortening link without registration, your (2) true link will not be shown on address bar and source code. Which mean, your (3) html source is 100% encrypted, hence protecting your webpage or affiliate link etc.
November 4th, 2008 at 11:15 am
I think http://tr.im is the best since it has free stats for URLs you shorten and accounts are free. If you use it to promote blog posts etc then the stats are helpful!
November 28th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
In my opinion I would use http://xs.md because it is simple and easy to use. Only few clicks and you are done.
November 29th, 2008 at 10:07 am
I use http://is.gd/
December 1st, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Try http://1link.in
- shorten your long and ugly URLs -
- put multiple links into one link -
- protect your links with password -
- protect multiple links at once -
- cloak your affiliate links -
- download files just by one click -
- register for free and save your links -
December 7th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
I’d add http://shrt.st it has some nice additions like Mac OS Dashboard widget or bookmarklet. Also it is very good looking. Many url shorteners mentioned here are just plain ugly.
December 11th, 2008 at 4:04 am
Fast and basic URL Shorhener http://www.wlink.us
December 21st, 2008 at 9:57 pm
tiny123.com
short and sweet
December 27th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
Yes. I tried some many of them. Now, I use easyuri on easyuri.com, easyuri is so far the fastest url shorting service after so many of them I used. It supports personal keywords. Highly recommended.
December 30th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Hi,
I am madly in love with myurl.us. Its great, simple and gives me a us brand ;).
All the best,
Sandra
January 6th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
I tried all of those. Not bad. But I prefer http://easyuri.com. It is fast and allows me to create shorten URL fast with their browser toolbar. I can customize my url name too!!
January 21st, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Shall it be of any interest to you and you readers, I collect usage market share statistics of URL shortening services throught my microblogbuzz.com web site. You may find it at http://microblogbuzz.com/stats/urlshorteners/
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:40 am
I use Tr.im . it is the shortest one, and it has a bookmarklet that can shorten the current URL and post it directly to twitter!
January 29th, 2009 at 4:13 am
Tinyurl lets you choose keywords now.
January 29th, 2009 at 8:49 am
Thanks for all the feedback guys.
Jacob - useful to know that TinyURL now supports custom keywords!
February 1st, 2009 at 12:36 am
I use:
http://min.im
no pretense, no fuss, simple.
February 5th, 2009 at 10:36 am
I have been looking for something to cut down the URL to all my sites. Thank you for the information.
February 8th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
I suggest to try http://gu.ma/ with its interesting feature of adding a comment/description to generated links.
February 13th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Nice. I tried all of them and found out that easyuri.com is the best.
February 15th, 2009 at 6:45 am
Really nice and reliable url shortener.
February 15th, 2009 at 8:06 am
Here a small on that always up:
http://1iny.com
February 21st, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Thanks, mon!!
February 22nd, 2009 at 3:16 am
here is a new one with a lot of features:
http://urlshort.ca
read the help section to know more about all options
February 26th, 2009 at 4:40 am
Another great URL shortener is thurly (http://thurly.net). Works really well and is a very clean design. Also has an API for use in apps.
February 26th, 2009 at 8:41 am
If anyone’s interested, I built a Dashboard widget that taps the tr.im API. Find out more here: http://tr.im/trimit
March 9th, 2009 at 2:24 am
Nice List, Thank You for compiling and sharing these URL Shorteners with us all! :)
We Prefer/Really Like http://twitpwr.com
Thank you again for compiling and sharing these URL Shorteners with us all! :)
We hope this all helps and Have a Great Day! :)
March 9th, 2009 at 3:55 am
I have tried many of the URL shorteners listed above, but I found them to be a little too long to use in Twitter. I now I use a new URL shortener, called TWTR.US. Why? Because they have:
- The smallest tiny URL’s available - only 17 characters or less (versus 25 for tinyurl.com)
- Statistics on how many visits you receive, and how many retweets you get if it’s used on Twitter.
- 1.6 million tiny URL’s still available
- They are FREE and you don’t have to register.
http://twtr.us
March 11th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
not forgetting this url shortener
March 17th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Another great URL shortener is thurly http://www.2dwn.com Works really well and is a very clean design. Also has an API for use in apps.
March 18th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
I’ve built another Dashboard widget that lets you shorten URLs: http://andrew.hedges.name/widgets/#hurler
This one uses http://hurl.ws as the shortening API. Like http://tr.im/trimit, it automatically pulls the URL from the browser of your choice and copies the shortened URL to the pasteboard when it’s done. I’ve also recently integrated Growl support if you exit Dashboard before the shortening process is complete.
Enjoy!
March 21st, 2009 at 12:28 am
Was ist das?
March 27th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
bit.ly
- allows to track links
March 27th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
http://bit.ly/
March 27th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
cli.gs tracker with geo info and analytics
March 28th, 2009 at 10:23 am
What about bit.ly?
April 3rd, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Ow.ly is short and sweet plus if you use hootsuite.com for twitter posts you get analytics.
April 21st, 2009 at 3:24 pm
I’ve just started using http://u.nu which, at this point, has the shortest possible URLs out there. I am not sure it would be possible for anyone else to get shorter than them, unless they managed to get a hold of a ccTLD somehow.
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:35 pm
http://1url.com is my favorite because it’s the shortest “.com” shortener on the web. I don’t like using anything that’s not a “.com” because their domains are usually linked to remote island nations with extensions that can shut down at any time, as has happened to me before when I used one and I lost all of my links that way. “.com” is just more reliable, period.
April 25th, 2009 at 10:18 am
I found a wonderful one on aafter.com. The biggest advantage I enjoyed was that the shorter ones generated did not look like gibberish, they made sense. Also, each could be used independently on a server, so that if one fails, you always have another option.
May 2nd, 2009 at 5:04 am
Anyone interested in hosting their own URL Shortener should check out the project I manage, urlShort at http://urlshort.sourceforge.net. We’re aiming to have it include all the good features of URL shorteners, but be free, open-source, and easy to use/setup.
May 2nd, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Checkout http://z.pe, they are the shortest with a nice bookmarklet
May 9th, 2009 at 4:53 am
http://nsfw4.me url shortener FTW! It’s great for links that are questionable for people at work… It’s short, allows you to specify keyword, presents a warning to people allowing them to decide whether to continue and lets everyone rate how unsafe for work it is.
May 9th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
I recently wrote a URL shortener service called Twi.tl http://twi.tl. I’d like people to try it out and give me their feedback via Twitter @twi_tl
May 12th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Thank u..is a simple URL shortener..
May 14th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Try This & Join The Contest!!
May 14th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Great article! There are quite a few out there these days. I used to use tinyurl.com, but now I use veeox.com . It beats the outdated look of tinyurl and it’s very simple…
May 18th, 2009 at 4:54 am
ShortGPS.com is a shortener Service for postal addresses. So if you wil post a location in Twitter or Facebook, how to make it? Google Maps and than a URL shortener?? — No!
Try ShortGPS. You can remove the marker and fit the scale. If everything is fine you can copy the shorten link.
May 25th, 2009 at 2:10 am
3.ly is the shortest url shortener EVER!
May 26th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Hi.
I use qurl.cc
You can track your visitors (you can see their cities!) and it remembers your socalled “qURLs”. Really nice :)
Regards.
May 30th, 2009 at 11:59 pm
I love http://3.ly - use it all the time- apparently it’s the world’s shortest!
June 7th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Wow, nice list guys… we just opened our doors a few days ago and we’re getting great reviews :), check us out! scrnch.me ;) free and premium accounts, with (ahem!) more features than you can shake a stick at.
June 8th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
I use http:\\is.gd
Its the best….
Can create very short Url….
June 10th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
I use Squeerl.
June 11th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
After trying to use several popular URL shorteners, I decided to make my own. It is fast and clean, with simple stats.
http://go2.st
Feel free to suggest new features and improvements (twitter: @haqu)
June 16th, 2009 at 6:36 am
I think the best new URL shortener is http://farturl.com. It not only shortens your URL, but it inserts an interstitial fart, which is great.
June 17th, 2009 at 7:06 am
Shorteners are useful, but they bring additional security problems, since the user can’t properly validate where he/she is going before clicking.
One of the solutions for this is to use tools to validate the URL before clicking: http://sucuri.net/index.php?page=tools&title=check-url
Thanks,
June 17th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
just launched: http://www.short.web.id | shorten your web identity.
size does matter. this short will satisfied you!
June 19th, 2009 at 1:48 am
I use: is.gd
Here is an example of how short a url is. You can test it by pasting it into your address bar: is.gd/15uEI
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:45 pm
I use http://1url.com because of its simple design and the fact that it’s a “.com” (which I like) and short at the same time.
June 28th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Great !!!