8 New URL Shorteners for Quickly Sharing Links

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.

Crum.bs

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).

ByZe.us

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.

go2.tl

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.

bi.gl

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.

tdb.rs

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.

Blu.cc

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.

Trii.us

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.

twi.gy

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?

Written by Charnita Fance from mrsfance
Posted on July 17th, 2010 and filed under Social Media
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