How to Shorten a URL: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

Learning how to shorten a URL is one of the simplest yet most useful digital skills you can pick up. Long web addresses clutter messages, break in email clients, and look suspicious. A short link is cleaner, safer, and trackable. This guide walks you through the entire process from copying your first URL to sharing a polished, customized short link using RELURL.

What You Will Need

• A long URL from any website, article, or product page you want to share
• A web browser Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge
• An internet connection
• Optionally a RELURL account to save and manage your links

Step 1: Copy the URL You Want to Shorten

Open the page you want to share in your browser. Click the address bar at the top of the window. The full URL highlights automatically. Press Ctrl+C on Windows or Command+C on Mac to copy it. You can also right-click the URL and select Copy. Make sure you copy the complete address, including the https:// at the beginning.

The URL might look like this: https://www.example.com/blog/2026/06/29/summer-sale-tips-for-maximizing-discounts-and-saving-money-online. That is a lot of characters to paste into a tweet, text message, or email. Shortening it will make it manageable.

Step 2: Open RELURL in Your Browser

Navigate to relurl.com in a new browser tab. You will see the link shortening interface front and center a large text field with the placeholder text asking for your long URL. This is how to shorten a URL on RELURL whether you have an account or not.

If you want to save your links and access analytics later, click Sign Up in the top right corner and create a free account. Registration takes less than a minute and requires only an email and password. If you prefer to shorten anonymously, skip registration the tool works either way.

Step 3: Paste Your URL and Shorten It

Click inside the text field and press Ctrl+V or Command+V to paste your copied URL. The field may auto-detect and validate the URL as you paste. Click the Shorten button. Within one second, the page displays your new short link.

The short link will look something like https://relurl.co/abc123. The slug the part after relurl.co/ is a randomly generated string of characters. This slug uniquely identifies your link in the RELURL system and redirects visitors to your original destination.

Step 4: Customize Your Slug (Optional)

A random slug works fine, but customizing it makes your link more recognizable and trustworthy. Instead of https://relurl.co/abc123, you can have https://relurl.co/summer-sale. Before clicking Shorten, look for the custom alias or custom slug field. Enter your desired word or phrase.

RELURL checks if your chosen slug is available. If someone already claimed it, try a variation like summer-sale-2026 or summer-deals. A good slug is short, descriptive, and relevant to the content. Avoid using special characters, spaces, or uppercase letters.

Step 5: Copy and Share Your Short Link

After shortening, RELURL displays your new short link with a Copy button next to it. Click Copy to copy the link to your clipboard. You can now paste it anywhere social media posts, emails, text messages, documents, or printed materials.

Test the link before sharing widely. Paste it into a private browser window and make sure it redirects to the correct destination. This verification step catches typos and ensures your audience lands where you intend.

Step 6: Track Your Link Performance

If you created an account, your short link appears in your dashboard with live analytics. You can see how many clicks it received, where visitors came from, what devices they used, and which countries they are in. This data helps you understand whether your content resonates with the intended audience.

To access analytics, log into your RELURL account and navigate to My Links. Find the link you just created and click on it. The analytics view opens with charts and breakdowns. Check back after a few hours or days to see how your link performed.

Best Practices for URL Shortening

• Always use custom slugs for important links. A descriptive slug builds trust and makes your link memorable.
• Test every link before sharing. A mistyped destination URL means lost traffic and frustrated visitors.
• Create separate short links for each channel. Use one link for Twitter, another for email, and another for your website. Channel-specific links give you clear attribution data.
• Monitor your analytics regularly. Check which links perform best, when your audience is most active, and which channels drive the most traffic.
• Use branded domains when possible. A link like yourbrand.com/sale is more trustworthy than a generic short URL.