URL Shortner

Turn long, unwieldy links into short, custom, shareable ones.

Live site

Source code

Overview

A full-stack URL shortener that compresses long links into short ones — with the option to customize the back-half so the result is memorable and branded rather than a random hash.

The problem

Long URLs are awkward to share, break inside messages, and reveal nothing about where they lead. A good shortener has to be fast, reliable, and let people brand the slug.

Architecture

1. Clients: React UI (Create, copy and manage links); Visitor (Opens a short link)
2. (HTTPS) API: Express service (Checks custom slugs are unique, resolves redirects)
3. (one indexed lookup) Data: MongoDB (slug → target URL)

Opening a short link costs one indexed lookup and a redirect.

Approach

Custom back-halves

Users can set their own slug instead of a random hash; the API validates uniqueness before creating the mapping.

Single-lookup redirects

A lightweight Express service resolves a slug to its target with one indexed MongoDB lookup and issues the redirect, keeping hops minimal.

A minimal React UI

A clean frontend to create, copy, and manage short links in a couple of clicks.

Highlights

• Custom, memorable back-halves
• Single-lookup redirects backed by MongoDB
• Copy-ready short links
• Live deployment

Stack

React.js, Node.js, Express.js, MongoDB