URL Shortener Service Design

URL Shortener Service

• A URL shortener service generates a short URL/alias/tiny URL for a long URL.
• The short URL redirects users to the original URL when clicked.
• Tiny URLs are useful for sharing through:
  • SMS (due to character limit)
  • Tweets (due to character limit)
  • Printed materials (books, magazines, etc.) (reduced printing cost)
• Benefits of using short URLs include:
  • Ease of typing (less error-prone)
  • Reduced character count (less typing required)
• Example of URL shortener service: tinyurl.com (users can generate short URLs)
• Another example: tinyrl.com (used to create a short URL for a Medium profile)