Requesting a Short URL / Link

We have information on how and when to request a short URL from our team. Please note: Requests for Boston.gov short urls can only be made by City of Boston staff.

If you find yourself in need of a short URL to add to a press release, social media post, advertisement, or printed materials, you should always use a Boston.gov short link.

We have the ability to create a boston.gov short link for any URL, both on the Boston.gov website and outside of the Boston.gov environment. Here are some Dos and Don’ts for using short links:

DON'T

• DON'T use a bit.ly link. There is never a reason to create a short link using bit.ly or any other URL shortener. We want all links to appear tied to Boston.gov to give the public the assurance that the link they’re clicking is safe and approved by City channels.

• DON'T assume a short link is available and put it on any materials before reaching out to [email protected]. We have many short links that are already in use and we will be able to let you know if a particular short link is unavailable.

• DON'T use acronyms in your short link. While it may be tempting to use acronyms in a short link to keep it as short as possible, most acronyms do a poor job of telling people what they’re clicking on. Additionally, there are too many pages that may need the same acronym for completely different programs, and we don’t want to create confusion for residents.

DO

• DO email [email protected] to request any and all short URLs. Once we receive your request, we can create a short link using Drupal, the content management system we use for Boston.gov, that you can use across all of your needs. Examples of short links you can request are:

  • Short links for pages that exist on Boston.gov

  • Short links for surveys or Google forms

  • Short links for specific documents

  • Short links for event information or signups on other websites (i.e., Eventbright)

  If you’re unsure if you can get a short link for something, reach out to [email protected] and we’ll let you know.

• DO use short links with hyphens for all printed and visual materials. The only time a non-hyphenated short link should be used is for radio advertising.

  • For example: Boston.gov/open-streets should be used instead of Boston.gov/openstreets. The hyphen makes the url visibly easier to understand and read for residents.

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