Have you ever wanted to create your own URL shortener? In this article, we’ll show you how to do just that! We’ll go over all the steps involved, from setting up your development environment to deploying your application.
URLs can become lengthy and cumbersome. The typical web address is too intricate to input by hand, and URLs look hideous when entirely typed out. And if you try to include a URL in a Twitter post, you’ll use up most of your character limit.
That’s why URL shorteners are so popular; they take a long and cumbersome URL and convert it into a short and sweet web link with only a few clicks of a button. That’s why URL shorteners are so popular; they take a long and cumbersome URL and convert it into a short and sweet web link with only a few clicks of a button.
If you’re using a URL shortener, the service will redirect you to the full-length web address. The person clicking the short URL does not need to be aware that it has been compressed; it happens automatically.
Table of Contents
What Is A URL Shortener?
A URL shortener is a web application that takes long URLs and converts them into shorter, more manageable ones. This can be useful for various reasons, such as reducing the length of links in social media posts or making it easier to remember a link.
Many URL shortener applications are available, each with its features. In this guide, we’ll walk you through creating your URL shortener application from scratch with the power of URL Shortener API.
How Does A URL Shortener Work?
A URL shortener gets a long URL and converts it into a shorter one. The short URL can then be used instead of the long one, making it easier to remember and share.
URL shorteners work by taking a long URL and mapping it to a shorter, unique code. While a user types the short URL, the web app looks up the code in its system records and transfers the user to the original, lengthy URL.
There are many different URL shorteners, each with its features and benefits. Some of the more popular ones include bit.ly or goo.gl;
What Is A URL Shortener API?
A URL shortener API is an API that allows developers to create their URL-shortening applications. A URL shortener API typically provides a way to create a shortened URL from a long URL and expand a shortened URL back into the original long URL. Some URL shortener APIs provide additional features such as click tracking and analytics.
URL Shortener API by APILayer in the api marketplace provides complete privacy and ownership of your short URL service. Capability to generate thousands of URLs with a powerful API and get all the stats without anyone else maintaining credentials to it.
This API is organized around REST. Our API has predictable resource-oriented URLs, accepts form-encoded request bodies, returns JSON-encoded responses, and uses standard HTTP response codes, authentication, and verbs.
Moreover, you can play with live demos where you can see how the URL Shortener API processes and response to
How To Use Your Own Domain With URL Shortener API?
Our short URL system uses the https://p1.rs domain prefix by default. Kindly let us know if you want to utilize your domain name to promote your company. We will guide you through the DNS setup so you can white-label our API as if it were your system.
Submit your request to [email protected]
What Are The Features Of URL Shortener API?
API stands for “Application Programming Interface” and refers to the various means one company has of communicating with another company’s software internally. An API would allow its service to take care of almost everything. A URL shortener API would allow developers to programmatically create shortened links within their applications.
There are many features that a URL shortener API might offer, but some of the most common and useful ones include:
- The ability to create shortened links directly from within your application without visiting a separate URL shortening site.
- The ability to track how many times a particular shortened link has been clicked. This information can be valuable for analyzing traffic patterns and understanding which content is most popular with your users.
- The ability to specify a custom alias for your shortened links. This can help create branded links or make sure that certain links are easy to remember.
- The ability to choose between different URL shortening services, each with its advantages and disadvantages. This flexibility allows you to find the perfect fit for your needs.
What Are The Use Cases?
There are many different use cases for URL shorteners. Some of the most common uses include:
- Shortening long, complicated URLs to make them easier to share.
- Tracking clicks on links to see how popular they are.
- Hiding affiliate links.
- They are making links look nicer in social media posts and emails.
Moreover, with short URLs, marketing analysis could be better in several ways. As we said earlier, short URLs enable better tracking and research behind the scenes.
- Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) – UTM tracking entails using UTM codes to determine where traffic originates. When UTMs are used correctly, they add more specificity to your reporting. Furthermore, understanding the content that drives traffic aids in audience targeting.
- Improved search engine rankings: The structure of your URL has an impact on site ranking. For example, a targeted keyword in shortened URLs informs users and search engines about your page’s topic. Tracking link metrics is just as important as monitoring comments, follows, or likes.
- Higher click-through rate: On social media, people are familiar with and prefer shortened links; as a result, shortened links increase click-through rates. Changing to shorter links yields results almost immediately.
- Brand enhancement: With specific shortened links, you can emphasize your brand.
How To Build A URL Shortener?
URL shorteners are handy tools that can take long, complicated URLs and turn them into shorter, more manageable links. They’re great for sharing links via social media or other online platforms and can even help to improve click-through rates.
If you are thinking of building a URL shortener application, there are a few things you will need to consider. You will learn everything to create a successful URL shortener application here.
First, you need to get your free API access key to work with the API. Head to the URL Shortener API web page to get your free API access key!
The API keys are extremely powerful, so keep them secure! Do not disclose your private API keys in public areas such as GitHub, client-side code, etc. Here are the examples that show you how to work with API.
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var myHeaders = new Headers(); myHeaders.append("apikey", "{API-KEY}"); var requestOptions = { method: 'GET', redirect: 'follow', headers: myHeaders }; fetch("https://api.apilayer.com/short_url/hash/{hash}", requestOptions) .then(response => response.text()) .then(result => console.log(result)) .catch(error => console.log('error', error)); |
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var myHeaders = new Headers(); myHeaders.append("apikey", "{API-KEY}"); var raw = "{body}"; var requestOptions = { method: 'POST', redirect: 'follow', headers: myHeaders, body: raw }; fetch("https://api.apilayer.com/short_url/hash", requestOptions) .then(response => response.text()) .then(result => console.log(result)) .catch(error => console.log('error', error)); |
Besides, if you would like to know about this URL Shortener API, be sure to check out this article also.
Can I Automate URL Shortening With This API?
APILayer is one of the best and most reliable API marketplaces. URL Shortener API is part of this API we have discussed. Of course, you can automate and create your URL shortener service out of it using any technical skills you have. If you look into the documentation, you can find various types of code examples in several languages. Moreover, the free API access key is here to help you test it out. Head over now and get your free API access key to URL Shortener API.
