# Create a short link

Shorten a long URL with a custom back-half in the Shortener.dev link builder, preview how it looks on social media, and copy it to share.

Open **Links** in the sidebar and click **Create Link** in the top right corner. The **Short Link Builder** opens, with the form on the left and a live social media preview on the right.

![Short Link Builder with an empty form](/docs/images/create-link-dialog.png)

## Enter the destination URL

Paste the full URL into **Original URL**, including `https://`. When you click out of the field, Shortener.dev fetches the page's title, description and image and shows them in the **Social Media Preview** panel. That's how the link will look when you post it on Twitter / X, Facebook or LinkedIn.

The destination must start with `http://` or `https://` and be at least 10 characters long. Its domain also needs to be verified in your account or on the global whitelist. If it isn't, creating the link fails with `Domain not verified: example.com`. See [Verify a domain](/docs/verify-domain) to fix that.

## Choose a custom back-half

The **Short Link** field is the part after `srt1.link/`. Type a name your audience will recognize, like `spring-sale` or `webinar-2030`, so the link reads as `srt1.link/spring-sale`.

- Leave it empty and a random 7-character back-half is generated, such as `srt1.link/k3x9q2m`.
- Back-halves are converted to lowercase. Spaces become hyphens, and anything other than letters, numbers and hyphens is removed. `Spring Sale!` becomes `spring-sale`.
- The limit is 32 characters.
- Each back-half can be used only once across Shortener.dev. If it's taken, you'll see `This key 'spring-sale' has already been used`, so pick another one or leave the field empty.

The copy button next to the field copies the full short URL before you save, which is handy when you're drafting a post at the same time.

![Link builder filled in with a destination URL and custom back-half](/docs/images/create-link-filled.png)

## Add options

Below the URL fields is the **Options** list. Click any option to expand it. You can combine as many as you need on one link:

- [Expiration](/docs/link-expiration) for limited-time offers
- [UTM Builder](/docs/utm-parameters) for campaign tracking in Google Analytics
- [Social Preview](/docs/social-media-preview) to override the title, description and image
- [Password Protection](/docs/password-protected-links) to restrict who can open the link
- [iOS Targeting and Android Targeting](/docs/ios-android-app-links) to send mobile visitors to your app
- [Geo Targeting](/docs/geo-targeting) to send visitors to a country-specific page

## Save the link

Click **Create Short Link**. You'll see "Short link created successfully!" and the builder closes. The new link is added to the top of the **Links** list with the status **Enabled**.

![New short link at the top of the Links list](/docs/images/link-created.png)

Click the copy icon next to the short link to copy it, or click **View** in the **Clicks** column to open its [analytics](/docs/click-analytics).

## Plan limits

The Free plan includes 10 short links. Paid plans count the links you create in the last 30 days. When you reach the limit, the builder shows an error asking you to upgrade, and links you've already created keep redirecting. See [pricing](/pricing) for the limits on each plan.