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What are several of the benefits of using URL shorteners? Perhaps the main benefit is that a short URL is easier for copying into an e-mail, a forum post, or perhaps a post on Twitter, where the poster is limited by 140 characters for the whole post. Especially if you want a Twitter post to be passed along by others, you want the address to be as brief as it can be to make room for their introductory words.
Another benefit of using URL shortening services is to create URLs that can be read aloud, to ensure that people can certainly spell them out. The URL shortening sites create nice, human-readable URLs, however usually create longer URLs for readable purposes than when they are strictly shortening an address to minimize the range of characters it contains.
The concept of shortening long URLs goes back to at least the year 2001. The first “breakout” shortening service was Tiny URL, which launched in 2002. Today, there are actually over 100 shortener sites.
Making a URL shorter requires using http redirection to use a short domain linked to the website with the longer address. Techniques for doing this include generating keys within the numerical base 36, which assumes 26 letters and 10 digits, or base 62, that features 10 digits, upper case and lower case letters. Another technique uses what is referred to as a hash function, and some shorteners use random number generators to generate key sequences.
You will also see that URL shortening services have evolved a great deal in the past which add many additional features to make using url shorteners even better. One nice function is when you shorten a URL you will be able to keep track of that URL and check statistics on it for example how many clicks you have received.
Another advantage of these services is the fact that you will start to locate a lot of them offer you to earn extra money by using your short urls on other websites. When people click on your short URL on twitter or other social sites they will go to your URL but will likely have an advertisement and you also can earn money through the URL shortening service.
Users of shortening services should be aware that some services and their products are blocked in certain places. By way of example, Saudi Arabia blocks some link shortening services, as does the social site MySpace. Panera Bread locations block URL-shortening access Hawaii said in a blog post its free WiFi networks, and Craigslist won’t accept some shortened links.
In the event you plan to use a short URL service, you will be wise to always preview the shortened address before posting it. There are already instances of services being hacked and redirecting users in unexpected ways.
For the casual poster on sites like Twitter and Facebook, short addresses are certainly handy for keeping your posts brief. But it’s always a good idea to test out any short URLs you generate using a shortening site before posting them to make sure they go the place you want them to.
