How to shorten a URL
A step-by-step guide to shortening any link, plus how to add a custom ending, an expiry date or a QR code.
Shortening a link takes a few seconds and does not require an account. Here is the process, followed by the optional extras worth knowing about.
The basic steps
- Copy the long URL. Select it from your browser’s address bar and copy the whole thing, including any query parameters after the
?. Those parameters often carry campaign tracking or the specific product variant, and dropping them changes where the link goes. - Paste it into the shortener. Open the URL shortener and paste into the input.
- Select Shorten URL. Your short link appears immediately below the input.
- Copy the result. Use the copy button rather than selecting the text — it copies the full URL including the
https://prefix, which some applications need in order to make it clickable.
That is the whole process. The link works immediately and does not expire by default.
Checking it worked
Open the short link once before sharing it. This catches the most common mistake, which is copying a partial URL — a truncated link will still shorten successfully, because it is still a valid address, and will simply lead somewhere unexpected.
Optional: a custom ending
With a free account you can replace the random code with your own, so zurl.world/a8K3xPq becomes zurl.world/spring-sale. This is worth doing whenever a human will read the link aloud, type it manually, or judge whether it looks trustworthy. See how to create a custom short URL.
Optional: an expiry date
Links can be set to stop working at a specific time. This suits time-limited offers, event registration and anything where an out-of-date link is worse than no link. After the expiry moment, visitors see a short notice explaining the link has expired rather than being redirected.
Optional: a password
A link can require a password before the redirect happens. This is a light access control for links shared in semi-public places — it keeps casual visitors out, but anyone with the password can share it onward, so it is not a substitute for real authentication on the destination.
Optional: a QR code
Every short link can be turned into a QR code with the QR button on the result. Download the PNG for screens and general use, or the SVG for print — SVG stays sharp at any size, which matters on posters and packaging. You can also generate a code for any URL directly with the QR code generator.
Shortening many links at once
For a batch, paste a list into the bulk URL shortener rather than doing them one at a time. For anything recurring or automated, the API is a better fit.
A note on tracking parameters
If your long URL contains utm_ parameters, keep them. The shortener preserves your query string exactly as supplied — parameter order and duplicates included — so your destination analytics continues to work. If you need to add campaign parameters in the first place, the UTM builder assembles them correctly.