A link shortening service translates any web URL link into a custom, and typically shorter and more manageable link.
A link shortening service is useful for a number of reasons:
- A shorter link to share, especially if the target is a long complex one
- The short link can have a more intuitive name to remember
- Basic stats are provided on how often it is accessed and from which countries
- A self-hosted one could bypass Bitly being blocked
- No need to update social media posts if the backend is moved
- Brand consistency by using your own custom domain
My video goes over how YOURLS can be used, and includes a few tips that I picked up for installing php-zip for the download plugin, as well as how to deal with any plugins which break the service.