Framework’d: URL Shortening

We have just completed the roll-out of a nifty, new feature to the WooFramework, which now includes support for URL Shortening. The basic idea is to offer you a template tag which would output a shorter URL – currently only supports TinyURL (default) and bit.ly (with your API key) – which you can then publish as added meta on your posts.

This functionality was inspired by the implementation thereof on various Tumblr-powered sites (for example: Matthew Buchanan). The benefit of publishing a shortened URL is in minimizing the amount of time that your readers will need to link to your content (i.e. increasing their convenience). So it’s a pretty nifty feature to have we believe!

As mentioned, this functionality is available in the WooFramework now and we’ll soon be publishing a little tutorial with regards to the backwards integration thereof. Both Cinch & Slanted have been updated to include the backend functionality, as well as the publishing of “Short URL” links in the front-end.

Too Easy

Here’s a little preview of the backend:

WooFramework: URL Shortening Settings

And this is what the function (in the front-end) looks like:

<a title='Short URL for <?php the_title(); ?>' href='<?php echo woo_short_url(get_permalink()); ?>'>Short URL</a>

Instead of thus using a standard WP template tag for the link, we’re now just using one function:

<?php echo woo_short_url(get_permalink()); ?>

What do you think?

Original post by Adii Rockstar