#vanity urls

[engageordie]

Hootsuite: How to Create Branded Web Addresses with Vanity URLs

Learn how to create branded web addresses with Hootsuite Vanity URLs.

[gdwilkerson-blog]

Vanity URL Administration for IBM WebSphere Portal and Web Content Manager

http://wp.me/p1ll9G-5o

Business users of IBM WebSphere Portal version 8.5 can offer customers better digital experiences by using Vanity URLs. Managing this new feature should not introduce any new headaches for administrators but a few tips and a little prior planning will go a long way toward ensuring a smooth implementation.

URLs are important; short, readable URLs empower potential customers and users to locate…

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[rustservers]

Vanity URL's

Today we are rolling out vanity url's to those who have shown support of the project.

A vanity url makes your http://toprustservers.com/server/1234 easier to remember EG: http://toprustservers.com/dev

The criteria for a vanity url is:

- Listing has at least 100 points or be a current sponsor (past sponsors, contact me privately, I'll give you a vanity url as well) - Have your server listing claimed

To set up your vanity url: 

Go to your server listing, click Edit Server Details.

Just our way of saying thanks for supporting the project.

[mixify]

Reserve Your Custom Profile URL!

We just released new and improved URLs across the site. They're easier to remember and better for DJs. More importantly, every user can now reserve a custom profile URL.

New users will select their URL upon signup.

Existing users should go to their Account Settings page to update their URL. Until you do, your URL has been set to match your display name. 

Reserve it now ›

[chartier]

Affordable short URL services that offer root domain redirects

To follow up on Bitly's vanity URL news, I know of at least two services that offer custom root domain redirects at prices that are much more affordable to individuals and small businesses.

The first is CloudApp, a super simple service for sharing links, media, and other files. Basic features are free, but a vanity URL with root redirection (and other features like larger uploads and storage persistence) starts at $5 per month, with discounts for longer terms. Regular yearly price is $60, but it's on sale right now for just $45.

The other option I know of is HootSuite, a social media dashboard that lets you wrangle and cross-post to Twitter, Facebook, WordPress, and a bunch of other social networks. Depending on your needs, HootSuite might offer more than you're looking for since it's designed for small businesses and individuals who want a little more than your typical Twitter client. But you can ditch its dashboard interface and just shorten links with HootSuite's bookmarklet, browser plugins, and free mobile apps. Many of HootSuite's features are free (including the ability to schedule tweets and posts), while the premium version that offers things like team members and analytics starts at $6/month. Add another $50/month on top of that you can shorten links with your vanity URL and set a root redirect.

[chartier]

Bitly's vanity URL feature was free during the Pro service private beta, and now it's available to all users at the same low price. Some perks of using a vanity URL, however, are still walled off behind Bitly's paid service, which is aimed at enterprise customers.

For example, if you want a root domain redirect for your vanity URL (so when users type your http://short.url into a browser they are taken to your site, not Bitly), you'll have to swim in the adult pool with the likes of Pepsi and New York Times and drop $995/month.

There is certainly a discussion to be had around the pros and cons of using vanity URLs, especially when it comes to their long-term existence and concerns over phishing. For instance: what happens if you stop paying for your short domain, or the clever domain you chose gets yanked because war breaks out in the country of its controlling body? Plus, due to Bitly/j.mp's popularity and Twitter's recent policy of shortening links at Twitter.com with t.co, users are getting accustomed to trusting those short URL domains a little more (I sometimes use 1fps.me to shorten URLs, and followers have asked me on multiple occasions whether the tweet or URL was genuine or if "I got hacked".

But who knows, maybe that trust will teeter back a little since Bitly has released custom domain support to the masses for free and is actively promoting it. And maybe Twitter clients and other services can work in some sort of safety check so users can verify whether a short URL was created with Bitly's tools.

[gary]

Why Facebook fan page Vanity URL's will change the game Just watch the video.

Having trouble viewing this video? Try the Quicktime version.