When it comes to sharing content online, long URLs can often be unwieldy and difficult to manage. This post brings you a curated list of URL-shortening services(Also called URL Shorteners, Link Shorteners) that can transform lengthy links into short, clean, and easily shareable URLs, perfect for social media and other platforms.
Why Use URL Shorteners?
URL shorteners are online tools designed to take a long URL and compress it into a much shorter version. Not only do these services make links more visually appealing, but they are also ideal for platforms where character limits matter, such as Twitter. These short URLs redirect users to the original link seamlessly, often using a 301 permanent redirect to ensure SEO value is passed to the original URL.
Using tools like the MOZ extension, you can verify whether a URL shortener uses the 301 redirect status for optimal SEO benefits. This can be particularly useful for publishers who want to maintain link equity while sharing tidy URLs.
For instance, consider this link to one of my blog posts:
👉 Original → https://www.techtricksworld.com/prank-links-to-send-to-friends/
👉 Shortened → https://trimli.co/y0NEw0 (I used Linkverkorten.com for shortening this link, and see how the shortened link looks like)
Clearly, the shortened link looks more professional and easier to share on social media or via messaging platforms.
When to Use URL Shorteners?
There are various scenarios where a URL shortener can be invaluable:
- Social Media Posts: Long URLs can be cumbersome on platforms with limited characters or aesthetic requirements.
- SMS and Messaging Apps: Short links are more user-friendly in mobile messaging.
- Analytics Tracking: Many URL shorteners provide analytics to track click-through rates and engagement.
- Hiding Long Query Strings: Links with extensive query parameters can be concealed for a cleaner look.
Now, if you look at the long link, and the short link, you can easily find which is better to share on social media?
Of course the second one → the shortened link!
There are thousands of such URL shorteners, and out of those, I am sharing here 14 such which I have used and found them good.
List of 14 URL shorteners(URL shortening services)
- linkverkorten.com
- bit.ly
- ow.ly
- po.st
- tinyurl.com
- shorte.st
- tr.im
- cli.gs
- ity.im
- reducelnk.com
- hex.io
- is.gd
- fur.ly
- tinyarrows.com
Additional URL Shorteners Worth Trying
To keep up with the increasing demand for link management, here are a few more modern tools to consider:
👉 cutt.ly → A versatile tool with features for tracking and managing links.
👉 rebrandly.com → Ideal for businesses, it offers branded links for enhanced professionalism.
👉 short.io → Provides custom domain options and detailed analytics.
👉 t2mio.com → Offers a range of services, including QR code generation alongside link shortening.
👉 urlz.fr → Simple and effective for basic link-shortening needs.
Final Thoughts
Choosing the right URL shortener depends on your specific requirements. Some offer advanced analytics and branding options, while others focus on simplicity. Regardless of your choice, these tools are a game-changer for anyone looking to enhance the sharing experience while maintaining a clean, professional appearance.
Start experimenting with these URL shorteners today and see the difference they make in your online presence!
Simple but sweet post Atish!
Yes, it is good to use url shorteners while sharing the blog posts in social media. I use bit.ly and goo.gl to shorten my urls.
Thanks for sharing these resources to make the urls short, keep sharing beneficial stuffs for us.
Thanks for checking this post Nirmala. Keep coming.
Nice and very important post
Even though the above written is the shortest article among all, it has some very helpful and important information. Most of the web masters or bloggers use shortening URL’s too much in many situations. Like social media, while using hyperlinks in the article, interlinking etc.
You have provided a great list. I mostly used to use Google URL shortener . It is among the top position in the list which you have provided.
Great post and I hope this post would help many bloggers and web masters especially beginners.
Thank you for sharing.
I too use goo.gl the most but others are good too. Try them out. Thanks for coming.
For a very long time, I used to run stand-alone script to be my own personal shorterner for one of my projects. Though it was very tough to deal with spam on my “branding” shortener. Now some of the services offer the option to use our own domain which is idea.
Thanks Kaloyan. Yes its tough to fight with spam. Yes bitly gives the option to use own domain for short links but you need to pay for that I think.
Thanks Atish,
This is a wonderful collection of the URL shortners, will be a lot help when I fall short of the names!
I am glad that you liked the post Karan.
Hi atish..
Does any of this shortener pay us.. alike shorte.st,……….???
No idea Rahul.
Ok.. thanks for your response atish 🙂
Great list of URL shorteners, Most names in this list are new for me, I am going to try some.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing this nice imformation..This is a wonderful collection of the URL shortners, will be a lot help when I fall short of the names!
Great collection. But I wondered why did’nt you mentioned smarturl. Great collection. 3 of theme are new to me. I will try them for sure.
For WordPress, inbuilt URL shortner does a good job, what do you think?
While making lists we do miss few good ones. Thanks for the add up. Yes for wordpress, inbuilt one is good. Thanks for coming by Akshay.
Hey Atish Ranjan,
I have been using bitly and goo.gl shortner most of the time. They are handy and useful, I don’t use most of the shortner you have mentioned here.But goo.gl and bitly are useful for affiliate links as well as twitter tweets for me.
Regards,
Bhavesh Sondagar
I mostly use Goo.gl only but I have shared this list here so that others can make use of it as per their requirements. Thanks for coming by Bhavesh.
Hi Atish nice list of URLs. My favorite is Google url shortener..
Hey Ranjan,
I haven’t used any URL shortener, but i was worrying about my long URL’s. This post is greatly useful for me in configuring the length of my website URL.
Thanks for sharing these resources to make the URLs short, keep sharing beneficial stuffs for us..