FreeurlYou have a link that runs half a line long, full of slashes, question marks and random letters, and you need to paste it into a text message, a bio, a printed flyer or a tweet. A shorter version is easier to share, easier to type and a lot less ugly. That is all a URL shortener does.
This guide shows how to shorten a URL for free in under a minute, what happens when someone clicks the short version, and the cases where a shortened link is the wrong choice. We built Freeurl, so we will use it in the examples, but the ideas apply to any shortener.
The fastest way to shorten a link
Open the home page, paste the long address into the box and press the button. That is the whole job. You get a short link back, usually the site name followed by six random letters and numbers. Copy it and use it anywhere.
A few details that save trouble later:
- Paste the full address, including https://. If you copy from the browser bar, the whole thing comes along. If you type it by hand, add the https:// part yourself.
- Test the short link once before you share it. Open it in a private window and make sure it lands on the page you meant. It takes ten seconds and catches typos.
- Keep a note of what you made. If you create an account, your links are listed in your dashboard, so you can find them again, pause them or look at the click counts.
You do not need an account for a quick one-off link, but accounts give you a few things guests do not get: a list of your links, click analytics, and the ability to edit or switch a link off. If you plan to share more than a handful of links, signing up is worth the minute it takes.
What happens when someone clicks a short link
The short link points at our server, not at your page. When a visitor opens it, our server looks up which long address belongs to that code, notes that a click happened, and sends the visitor on to your page. The visitor sees your page load a moment later and usually never notices the detour.
That detour is also why short links can count clicks. A normal link goes straight from the sender to the destination, and the sender learns nothing. A short link passes through a counter on the way, so you can see how many people used it and roughly where they were and what device they had.
It also explains the one real downside. Your short link depends on the shortener staying online. If the service shuts down, every link it created stops working. That is a good reason to pick a shortener that has a clear owner and, if the links matter to your business, to use your own domain, which we cover below.
Make the short link say something
Random letters work, but a readable ending is easier to remember and gets more trust. When you create a link you can choose your own ending, for example /spring-menu instead of /k7Qp2x. People are more willing to tap a link that tells them what is behind it, and you can say it out loud at an event or on a podcast without spelling it letter by letter.
A few rules for custom endings: use lowercase, use dashes between words, keep it short, and avoid anything that looks like a scam keyword. Names such as login or verify are blocked on purpose, because they are the first things phishing links use.
Use your own domain for branded links
A shared domain is fine for personal use. For a business, a newsletter or anything you will print, a short link on your own domain looks more professional and cannot be damaged by what other people do on a shared service. If another user of a shared domain spreads spam, that domain's reputation drops for everyone, and mail filters may start treating all of its links with suspicion.
With a custom domain you point a subdomain such as go.yourbrand.com at the shortener by adding a DNS record at your domain provider. You can read the exact steps on our custom domain page. Setup is usually quick once the DNS change has spread, though that spread can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours.
Add a QR code, a password or an expiry date
Once you have a short link, there are three small upgrades worth knowing about.
QR codes. A short link makes a cleaner QR code than a long one, because less data means a simpler pattern that scans more easily. You can make one with our QR code generator and download it as an image. Before you print anything, scan it with two different phones and check the contrast.
Passwords. If the page behind the link is private, you can ask visitors for a password first. This keeps casual strangers out. It is not a replacement for real security on the destination, and anyone you give the password to can pass it along, so use it for convenience, not for secrets.
Expiry dates. A link can switch itself off on a date you choose. This suits sale pages, event signups and anything that should not stay open forever. After the date, visitors see a short "link expired" message instead of an old offer.
When you should not shorten a link
Shorteners are useful, but not every link should go through one. Think twice in these cases:
- Links in formal documents or contracts. If the link must work in ten years, point at an address you control, not a third-party service.
- Links to sensitive pages. Never shorten a link that includes a login token, a reset code or a private file address. Short links are easy to forward, and anyone who has one can use it.
- Email to people who are cautious about links. Some readers and some spam filters distrust shared short domains. A branded short link, or the plain full address, may be the safer choice.
- Anywhere the reader needs to see the destination. A short link hides where it leads. If trust matters more than length, show the real address.
Honest limits matter here: a shortener makes a link shorter and countable. It does not make a page load faster, it does not improve your search ranking, and it does not protect you if the destination is slow or broken.
Check where a short link goes before you click
The same hiding effect that makes short links neat also makes them a favourite of scammers. If someone sends you a short link and you are not sure about it, paste it into our unshorten tool to see the real destination without visiting it. Our guide on whether short links are safe goes through the warning signs in more detail.
Frequently asked questions
Is it really free to shorten a URL?
Yes. You can create short links on Freeurl for free. An account is optional for a single link, but it gives you a link list and click analytics.
Does a short link change where visitors end up?
No. The short link sends visitors to the same page, after a quick stop at our server that counts the click.
Will a short link hurt my search ranking?
A short link does not help or hurt the page it points to. Search engines follow the redirect to the destination.
How long do short links last?
They last until you delete them or set an expiry date. Links that nobody ever clicks can be removed after a long period of inactivity, so check the limits in the help center.