Would you like to shorten the URL of a page you are viewing in your browser without having to leave the page or copy and paste the URL from the address bar?

Chrome Extension

There are various URL shorteners that offer this ability. All do so through the use of a browser extension. This method has various serious drawbacks, however.

The drawbacks of using a URL Shortener Chrome Extension

1. Extensions are not available for use on mobile devices.
2. Extensions cannot be added to Internet Explorer.
3. You have to specifically install these extensions from the Chrome web store or similar and give them access to your browser content.
4. Every browser type requires custom made extensions (Chrome, Safari, Firefox all require seperate custom built extensions.
5. Extensions can include malicious malware.

Bookmarklet Extension is the Answer

A bookmarklet has none of these drawbacks. You simply put the bookmarklet in your bookmarks and when you want to get a short URL you just click that bookmark while viewing the page you want the short URL for.

Advantages of Using Bookmarklet

1. Bookmarklets work on mobile devices!
2. There is nothing to install.
3. You do not have to give them special permissions.
4. They work on all browser types.
5. They are not activated on a site unless you click the bookmark.

How It Works

Bookmarklets are simply snippets of Javascript that are activated when you click the bookmark.

To add the Good News bookmarklet to your bookmarks, simply drag and drop the bookmarklet button onto your bookmarks bar.

When viewing a page that you would like to make a shortened URL for, simply click that bookmark while viewing the page. A window will pop up that will allow you to set the desired parameters for the shortened URL, create the shortened URL and add the shortened URL to your clipboard.

The bookmarklet is a free feature for all accounts.

Desktop Demo

Mobile Demo