Have you noticed that new URL shortners are always popping up here and there? One would think that just a few would be enough, but then again what fun would that be? It’s always nice to have a choice or just be able to try something new. Don’t you think? Though most people are usually faithful to one of the more popular services (ie. bit.ly, tinyurl, is.gd, etc), let’s take a look at some of the newer URL shorteners to recently hit the scene.
This one has a cute, catchy design that is sure to get your attention and have you coming back. When you shorten a URL, you’re actually “crumbling it”. You have to agree to the terms before crumbling a URL and you can create a custom link if you desire. You can also add a password and create visitor limits (which limits the amount of clicks for your link).
Here when you shorten your URL you’re “zapping it”. The design is very clean and simple. You can create an account in order to track your links. Each time they redirect someone using your short URL, they “pass the redirection along with a “301 status” which means the page has permenantly moved”. They do this so that you get all of the “link juice” for your URL; your site will always receive the proper credit – not theirs. They also have a couple bookmarklets for instant URL shortening from your browser.
This is another clean design with an interesting background. You can shorten a URL and create a custom alias if desired. There are 2 bookmarklets: one is for shortening URLs directly from your browser toolbar and the other is for sharing a short URL directly on Twitter. If you want to track your URLs you can create an account and sign in. On the public stats page you can view the 25 recently added URLs.
This one is as simple as they get. There is a box to enter your link and a button to “short it”. They also have a bookmarklet that you can add to your browser toolbar for quick URL shortening. They also provide their API documentation for those who want to implement it.
According to their site, “tdb.rs is just another URL shortener service, but much nicer than the others on the Internet”. I somewhat agree. Their design is eye catching and their service is simple to use. Like bi.gl (above) you simply enter a URL and click the button to shorten it. They also provide a bookmarklet for easy shortening from your browser.
Here is yet another quick shortener with a bookmarklet to match. They claim that they provide “small links for tweeting” yet, there is no way to actually tweet a link from the site. The site is powered by Shrten.com.
Their design kind of resembles a search engine. There is a box for entering your URL to shorten. Once you shorten the URl there is a button to copy the link and a button to share it (via AddThis). If you’re not familiar with AddThis, it lets you bookmark and share on hundreds of sites. You can also create an account if you want to track your links.
This is yet another URL shortener with a cute design. Here you can shorten links, tweet them and gain more followers on Twitter. They also have a developer API for you programmers out there. Unlike Blu.cc (above) they do offer a way to tweet your shortened URL. Unfortunately though, you will need to manually enter your Twitter username and password (no OAuth). When someone clicks on your link they will have the option to follow you (if they aren’t already) on Twitter via the integrated header; they can also retweet the link. You can create an account if you want to track stats for your URLs.
Which one is your favorite? Will you stick with the URL shortener you currently use or switch to one mentioned above?
Nice list of URL shortening but I prefer TinyURL. Thank for sharing I will check some of them.
Out of fear of sounding like the rookie, when you are redirecting or shortening your url does it effect your SEO?
I've always thought it is a good idea to have as many shortener sites as possible because I do worry that the big sites like Tinyurl will eventually run out of combinations.
I'm glad to see there are more options to choose from!
Those look good. I own three 'three-letter-dot-two-letter' domains now, all are pronounceable, so I wonder if there is a white label service that I can download and install on my server. Of course there's always bit.ly PRO that allows custom domains.
Great links ,it would be very help full too add those links to your site,
Nice post
I read somewhere that URL shortener are "weakening the web." But that hasn't stopped google and facebook from having their own.
My worry is that a service decides it is not making money (how does a URL shortener make a profit???) and packs in. Then, you lose all of your links and how could you recover them?
I might not know where they are to change them, and where they point to if I find them!
That's why I would like a copy on my own server. Is there no open source short URL service, I wish WordPress would release their wp.me service for use on self-hosted sites.
Nice list of URL shortner but when we write post on wordpress there is an option for short URL .. is it same as URL produced by these services??
Great info…url shortners are in vogue these days…unique and one of its kind…thanks once again.
shrten.com is not on the list? i like its service, easy and simple
I have another one of which i think it's really handy, called lnq.me
It's easy and simple.
Great list, also another great one which I use is lovebyt.es
just found this url shortener. I use these services quite often and what I really like about this one is that they have decided to not put URL in the domain name which is much more end user friendly. its a very cool name to linkfi.sh