URL shortner are extremely used in different social networking platforms, video sharing & forum websites. They are also used by internet marketers & many other bloggers to hide their affiliate links from readers and search engines.
Actually every day millions of people over internet use these url shortener services such as bit.ly, tinyurl, goo.gl and many other. They all are good, but it would be great if you could create your own url shortener. This would give you a lot more power, will show your authority and importantly will not affect your SEO.
Presenting YOURLS ( Your Own URL Shortener )
It’s a free web-based PHP script which allows you to create your own personal self hosted url shortner service. Currently its hosted on Google codes and allows you to contribute in its further development, which means its open source tool.
We usually have fear, if any service like bit.ly goes offline then all our links will stop working. This means no commission and wastage of your hosting resources. But you won’t have to fear if its self hosted along with your website. Currently we are using it and trust me, it’s very powerful and works so smoothly. Below are few of its features.
It’s an open source tool : You can customize it as per your need. You can also use it for any commercial purpose.
Easy to set up and install : Takes less than 5 minutes for complete setup.
Works very smoothly : Help to keep all your links safe without eating server resources.
Offers admin panel : From this place you can create unlimited short-links and can monitor them.
You also get powerful analytic : Check who use the links. From which country he was and what was the IP address. It also shows the referring sites or pages.
Ability to switch visibility : You can make your links public or private.
Using the developer API you can also build your own personal plugin or modules for different platforms.
#1 How You Want To Use It
Now its up to you, on how you wants to use this script. I mean do you want to create your own URL shortener service or you want to use to beautify your affiliate links. Many bloggers and websites use it to add more personalization to their affiliate links and to defend themselves from any kind of Google algorithmic penalties.
But if you want to go commercial or even want to make your service publicly accessible, then you must follow these points.
Make sure you have a better hosting. Try managed or at-least VPS.
Add customizations and contribute toward the development of YOURLS.
Get a pretty memorable domain name. Use county code TLD to make domain name unique and short. Example .in, .ly, .lv, .at etc.
#2 Requirements
You hosting service provider must provide you with at least PHP 4.3 plus version and should support MySQL version 4.1 plus version. And you will also need a server with mod_rewrite rule enabled for complete functionality.
#3 Download & Setup
Click the button below to start downloading the latest version of YOURLS from Google codes. make sure to download the latest and tested version.
Once you download it, you have to unzip the file and edit it further to make the settings. Check the guide below and try to follow the steps as shown below.
Grab the script.
Unzip the fine.
Open your ftp and make a connection with your hosting.
Now browse to you public_html folder.
Now you have to decide if you want to install YOURLS in the home directory or any sub folder. If you want to install it in the sub directory, then you will have to create a new folder and name it as desired.
Now move to the file you downloaded.
Browse as : YOURLS > user > config-sample.php file.
Rename config-sample to config.
Now go the hosting admin panel and create the database. Then add new user to that database by adding the username, password and finally selecting the database name. Once completed follow steps provided below.
Now edit config.php file with notepad or notepad++.
Enter the details in the highlighted area.
Once completed, simply save the file. Then zip the complete folder and then upload it to the desired directory in your server.
#4 Final Installations
Now if you have uploaded the files to domain.com, then visit domain.com/admin/
If you installed it in any directory, the visit domain.com/dir/admin/ ( replace dir with your directory name ).
Then simply follow the instructions provided and simply enjoy this amazing free and open source script.
I hope my guide will help you create your own url shortener easily. Please kindly leave your questions and suggestion in the comment area.
