# slsh.me

> Free URL shortener with real-time first-party click analytics, custom domains via CNAME, QR codes, password protection, custom Open Graph cards, and built-in UTM tracking. Nothing paywalled. Paste. Slash. Share.

slsh.me is for marketers running multi-channel campaigns with UTM attribution, developers creating short links programmatically over a REST API on branded domains, and creators who want custom Open Graph previews and branded social cards. Your links never break, even past plan caps, and you're never billed for traffic.

Structured pricing for agents: https://slsh.me/pricing.md

## Free tools (no signup)

- [Link expander & redirect checker](https://slsh.me/redirect-checker): Expand any bit.ly, t.co, or shortened URL server-side and trace every redirect hop — status codes, loops, insecure-http flags — to the final destination.
- [Open Graph preview checker](https://slsh.me/og-preview): Preview and validate how a URL's social card renders on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Slack, Discord, iMessage, and WhatsApp, with a best-practices tag audit.
- [UTM builder](https://slsh.me/utm-builder): Build properly tagged campaign URLs for clean attribution.
- [QR code generator](https://slsh.me/qr-code-generator): Generate downloadable QR codes for any link, free and without an account.

## Guides

- [Open Graph image size](https://slsh.me/guides/open-graph-image-size): The right OG image is 1200×630 px (1.91:1), under 1 MB, PNG or JPG — per-platform specs, why those numbers, and common mistakes.
- [The Open Graph tags that matter](https://slsh.me/guides/open-graph-tags): The six tags that decide whether a link unfurls into a rich card (og:title, og:description, og:image, og:url, og:type, twitter:card), with a copy-paste head block.
- [Link preview not working](https://slsh.me/guides/link-preview-not-working): Why a link unfurls on LinkedIn but shows a bare card on X — usually a missing twitter:card tag plus per-platform caching, and how to fix it.
- [Refresh a cached link preview](https://slsh.me/guides/refresh-link-preview-cache): How to force Facebook, LinkedIn, X, and other platforms to re-scrape a page after its OG tags change.
- [Twitter card not showing an image](https://slsh.me/guides/twitter-card-not-showing-image): Checklist for X posts that render a bare link instead of a large image card — twitter:card, absolute HTTPS og:image, file size, blocked scrapers, stale cache.
- [utm_source vs utm_medium vs utm_campaign](https://slsh.me/guides/utm-source-vs-medium-vs-campaign): source is WHERE the click came from (twitter, newsletter), medium is HOW — the channel type (social, email, cpc), campaign is WHICH initiative (spring-launch). With worked examples.
- [UTM naming convention](https://slsh.me/guides/utm-naming-convention): Lowercase everything, hyphens not spaces, a shared finite taxonomy — stop splitting one campaign across three GA4 rows.
- [UTM parameters in GA4](https://slsh.me/guides/utm-parameters-ga4): Where UTMs surface in GA4 reports and the real reasons one campaign splits into five rows — casing, default channel grouping, source/medium gotchas.

## Product

- [Pricing](https://slsh.me/pricing): Four tiers — Free Slash ($0), Big Slash ($8/mo), Team Slash ($25/mo + $5/seat), Grand Slash (custom). No per-click fees; links keep redirecting past caps. Machine-readable: [pricing.md](https://slsh.me/pricing.md).
- [API docs](https://api.slsh.me/doc): Live interactive REST API documentation — token auth, POST /v1/links to create short links, click analytics endpoints.
- [Features](https://slsh.me/features): Analytics, custom domains, QR codes, password protection, link expiry, click caps, UTM tracking, custom social cards.
- [Click analytics](https://slsh.me/features/analytics): Real-time, first-party analytics for every short link — country, city, device, browser, OS, referrer. No cookies, no third-party scripts.
- [Custom domains](https://slsh.me/features/custom-domains): Point any domain at slsh.me with one CNAME record; SSL is issued automatically.
- [Social cards](https://slsh.me/features/social-cards): Design a custom 1200×630 Open Graph image for any short link — headline, colors, logo — in-app, with no design tool, no upload, and no paywall.
- [Bitly alternative](https://slsh.me/bitly-alternative): How slsh.me compares as a Bitly alternative.
- [Short.io alternative](https://slsh.me/short-io-alternative): How slsh.me compares to Short.io — password and analytics on the free tier, link masking at half the Pro price.
- [Rebrandly alternative](https://slsh.me/rebrandly-alternative): How slsh.me compares to Rebrandly — branded links with no tracked-click ceiling, 1,500 links/mo for $8.
- [TinyURL alternative](https://slsh.me/tinyurl-alternative): How slsh.me compares to TinyURL — real-time analytics on the free tier, where TinyURL charges $9.99/mo for any.

## Reference facts

- The recommended Open Graph image size is 1200×630 px (1.91:1 aspect ratio), under 1 MB, in PNG or JPG format.
- og:title should be 60 characters or fewer; og:description should be 50–160 characters.
- For large image cards on X/Twitter, set twitter:card to summary_large_image.
- utm_source identifies where a click came from (twitter, newsletter), utm_medium the channel type (social, email, cpc), utm_campaign the initiative (spring-launch). Keep values lowercase with hyphens.
- A short link is an HTTP redirect: expanding (unshortening) it means following each 301/302 hop to the final URL. slsh.me's free link expander does this server-side, so the destination never touches your browser.
- slsh.me includes a free in-app Open Graph image designer: compose a 1200×630 social card (headline, subtitle, background, highlight color, logo) on any short link — no upload and no external design tool. You can also upload a finished image instead.
- The slsh.me API creates short links via POST /v1/links with bearer-token auth; the Free plan includes read-only API access at 100 requests/day, paid plans get full access.

## Optional

- [Use case: marketers](https://slsh.me/use-cases/marketers): UTM-tagged short links, channel-sorted clicks, and reporting that writes itself.
- [Use case: developers](https://slsh.me/use-cases/developers): JSON API with token auth, idempotent slugs, branded domains via CNAME, OG control — no SDK required.
- [Use case: creators](https://slsh.me/use-cases/creators): Control the OG image, title, and description platforms render for your short links — even for destination pages with no OG tags.
- [Changelog](https://slsh.me/changelog): Shipped product features, newest first.