Save the file and then navigate to /admin to complete the setup. Open config.php and add the MySQL credentials, site options, and user access details. YOURLS config file located in the user folder Open the user folder and then either rename or copy and rename the config-sample.php file to config.php. Setting up YOURLS is similar to configuring the wp-config.php file for WordPress. Then, upload YOURLS to your site folder using an FTP/SFTP app like Transmit. Setting up YOURLSĬreate a new MySQL database with your hosting provider and save the account credentials for later. I also recommend using Cloudflare to take advantage of its free SSL, DDoS protection, performance boosts, and access to smart page rules for your domain. Once you choose a domain, add it to your shared hosting account. If you can’t find a good short domain to use, consider using a subdomain from an existing domain. I use clck.io, coywolf.io, and an emoji domain ( ??.to) for my URL shorteners.
If you go with Pair, use this referral code to get 20% off a new account: pairref-QQGBi69J. I’ve used them for over two decades, and they are affordable, performant, and highly reliable. I recommend using a shared hosting account with Pair. The next step is to make sure you have a hosting provider that supports PHP and MySQL. And it has the same essential features as Bitly and TinyURL. YOURLS, which stands for “Your Own URL Shortener,” is the best open-source URL shortener I’ve used. The first step to setting up a URL shortener is to download YOURLS.
How to setup and host your own URL shortener Shortening an affiliate link, especially with a branded custom domain, can make the link look less suspicious. Affiliate Marketing – Some affiliate links use strange-looking domains and long URLs with strings and special characters.Which is why the use of a custom domain is preferred. Most desirable naming options are taken when using the domain of a shortening service or. Vanity URLs – Marketers prefer naming short URLs with words associated with the campaign.Most popular URL shortening companies charge a fee to use a custom domain. Custom Domains – Marketers like to use abbreviated short domains (i.e., custom domain) to brand short URLs.Coupled with campaign variables, marketers can better understand which channels perform best.
Offline Campaigns – Similar to using a service like CallAction or CallRail, multiple shortened URLs can be created for the same link.That enables them to track the success of a campaign in site analytics services like Fathom and GA. Campaign Tracking – Marketers add campaign variables to the original URL and then shorten it.These changes eliminated the primary need for URL shorteners on social posts, but marketers continue to use them for other reasons. They visually truncated long URLs, and they set a limit for the number of characters that counted towards the maximum characters allowed per post. URL shorteners, such as Bitly, were seen as essential tools when sharing links on social media.Įventually, social networking platforms like Twitter updated how they handled links. They became even more popular when social networks like Twitter launched because long links used too many characters in posts. URL shorteners like TinyURL were first introduced to keep long and unwieldy links from breaking in email messages. Jon Henshaw | | Last updated: | Social Marketing