Ask HN: Google is sunsetting goo.gl on 3/30. What will be your URL shortener? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Google is sunsetting goo.gl on 3/30. What will be your URL shortener?

12 pointswyclif14 comments

And the cycle continues... https://killedbygoogle.com/

I like that site, I wish it had a filter by services that cost money vs services that are free. IMO it applies to any service if it's free don't assume it'll be here tomorrow and certainly don't rely on it for your business. If it's a paid service at least that gives you a better chance of being able to keep the other business afloat by paying for it. Anyways, I think it's a better way to look at things if it's free don't count on it. If it's for cost count on it but with an alternative if necessary because even paid services go out of business or change model... VC's will only throw money away for so long... before cutting the coord.

I bought https://gnu.gl/ with the intention of turning it into a URL shortener site. Might get around to it some day.

Looks like the next couple of weeks is the optimum launch window...

I create redirect entries in my web server. Since they are my redirects and domains, the url's can be 1 or 2 characters long.

Classic HN response

I blame this on watching both HN and n-gate. [1] I have a reflex action of sharing my deepest darkest secrets.

[1] - http://n-gate.com/

https://sk.tl

Minimal, super fast, simple, no ads, opensource, works.

I've been thinking about building one for my app for quite some time, mostly because I never liked that goo.gl used characters that could be confusing in certain fonts (e.g. Il), which is really frustrating when you have to type them.

Still, goo.gl was really convenient so I just put it off, but then I got the shutdown notice and that was the best motivator :)

It doesn't have such a short domain, but on the plus side it's now branded and still fits in an SMS, so it's all good.

I still use http://tinyurl.com/ out of habit. Afaik it was the first on the market (2002).

Have a look at https://replug.io

A URL Shortener to shorten, track and optimize your links with catchy call-to-actions, retargeting pixels, branded links with powerful analytics.

I value my readers too much to shroud URLs that I invite them to click.

URL shorteners are false economy.

If you're talking about clickable URLs, I agree with you. But shortened URLs are incredibly useful in non-clickable environments such as posters, where you need a memorable address.

(Example: My department recently organized a scientific conference. The info&registration page was hidden six layers deep on the university website, but we still needed to put the link to it on the advertising poster. In that scenario, a shortened URL (with a QR code) was a sensible solution.)

If a QR code was used, why would the text length even be relevant?

I don't click on shrouded URLs, myself. Period.

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