I’m not 100% certain of this, but I’d make a substantial wager that TinyURL was the first URL shortener I ever used. I know I was using it before I started this blog and that’s going on 16 years this year. The point being that TinyURL has been around a long time. It’s that longevity that contributes to it often being the first tool people think of when they need to shorten URLs.
Like all web tools that have been around for a long time, there are features of TinyURL that people overlook or simply forget about. Two of those features are the ability to create custom URLs that people can actually spell and the ability to generate QR codes for your URLs. Both of those things are demonstrated in the short video that is embedded below.
Whether you use TinyURL to shorten links or you’re just clicking a TinyURL link, you should know how to preview where it’s directing you to without actually clicking on the link. Here’s a video overview of how to see what’s behind a TinyURL without actually clicking on the link.
