Short.io is a service that shortens links using your own domain. With the Short.io integration, you can transform URLs directly.
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In Glide, click the Settings menu.
Find the Integrations section and then select Short.io.
Click the Add button.
You will need your Short.io API key to finish configuring the integration.
You can find your Short.io API key in your Short.io dashboard. It's usually a 20-character string of letters and numbers starting with
sk_Note: Make sure that you do not toggle on the "Public key" button. This generated a key starting with
pk_which is not the one you need.
Shorten URL
The Shorten URL feature can be used as an action or as a computed column to shorten a URL.
With this integration, you could turn a long YouTube Link like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqxP0DnJlBI into a short link like this mysite.com/special-name.
The URL must be publicly accessible for the integration to work.
Required Inputs
To make a short URL, you need to provide the Original URL you want to shorten and the Short.io Domain you want to use.
Optional Inputs
You can further customize your the shortened URLs by specifying a custom Path, setting a Title, Expiration Date, Expired URL redirect, and Password protection.
A note on expiration dates
Short.io requires the expiration data to be sent as a unix timestamp. You can generate one here.
If you have not yet set up a URL column to store the full links and a URL column to store the shortened links, do that first in the Data Editor.
Select the component you'd like to add the action to. Remember, this must be a component that supports actions.
Search for the Shorten URL action or navigate to Integrations -> Short.io -> Shorten URL.
Name the action.
Choose an icon.
Add the domain you want to use for the short URL. This should come from your short.io dashboard.
For Original URL, add the column where you are storing the full URLs.
The Path data will appear at the end of your URL. This can be a custom value or a text column in your data.
The Title will be the name of the link in your short.io dashboard.
Set up expiration and password information if needed.
Specify which column should store the resulting Shortened URL.
Click away from the menu to save your configuration.
In the Data Editor
Shorten URL can also be used as a computed column. The configuration fields are the same, and the shortened URL will be stored in a new column.
Use Cases
The integration of Short.io with Glide provides a seamless way to shorten URLs directly within your Glide apps. Here are some practical scenarios for this feature:
Social Media Sharing: Transform lengthy URLs into concise, branded links, ideal for sharing on various social media platforms.
Affiliate Links: Condense and brand affiliate links, enhancing their appeal and credibility to users.
Collaboration: Simplify the sharing of documents, forms, and collaborative tools among teams or groups using shortened URLs.
Example: Shortening Event Registration Links
BetterMore, an wellness event organizer, wants to share event sign-up links on social media, but they get cut off due to character limits. They need concise, branded URLs, so they turn to the Shorten URL feature in Glide.
Setting Up the Short URL Generation
After setting up the Short.io integration in Glide, BetterMore adds a column to their event table to shorten the event page URLs. The Shorten URL computed column takes the original URL as an input and returns a shortened url for each event page.
Adding the Shortened URLs to Social Media Posts
With the short URLs now available in their Glide app, the marketing team can easily copy these links for their promotional campaigns. Whether it's a tweet, a Facebook post, or an Instagram story, the shortened URLs not only fit perfectly but also maintain the brand's identity.
The result? A significant uptick in event registrations, cleaner social media posts, and a consistent brand image across all platforms.
To learn more generally about Integrations in Glide, including how they affect your app’s usage, check out our Introduction to Integrations.