What are several of the advantages of using URL shorteners? Probably the main benefit is that a short URL is easier for copying into an email, a forum post, or perhaps a post on Twitter, where the poster is restricted to 140 characters for the whole post. Particularly if you want a Twitter post to be passed along by others, you want the address to be as brief as is possible to make room for their introductory words.

Another advantage of using URL shortening services is to generate URLs that will be read aloud, so that people can simply spell them out. The URL shortening sites create nice, human-readable URLs, however have a tendency to 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 very first “breakout” shortening service was Tiny URL, which launched in 2002. Today, you’ll find over 100 shortener sites.

Making a URL shorter requires using http redirection to employ a short domain linked to the web site 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 called a hash function, and some shorteners use random number generators to produce key sequences.

Additionally, you will find that URL shortening services have evolved a whole lot throughout the years which add many additional features to make using url shorteners even better. One nice function is whenever you shorten link 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 benefit of these services is the fact that you will begin to seek out some of them offer you to earn extra money by utilizing your short urls on other websites. When individuals click on your short URL on twitter or other social sites they will go to your URL but may also have an advertisement and also you can also make 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 in its free WiFi networks, and Craigslist won’t accept some shortened links.

In the event you plan to utilize a short URL service, you would be wise to always preview the shortened address before posting it. There have been 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 really is always a wise idea to test out any short URLs you generate using a shortening site before posting them to ensure they go in which you want them to.