What is a URL Slug?

A URL slug is the readable part at the end of a link—for example,/blog/seo‑friendly‑url‑slugs. A good slug is short, descriptive, and human‑readable. It helps users understand a page at a glance and helps search engines index content more accurately.

Why Slugs Matter for SEO

• Clarity: Clear slugs improve click‑through rate from search and social.
• Relevance: Descriptive keywords in the slug reinforce topical relevance.
• Consistency: Uniform style across your site reduces errors and duplicate content.
• Shareability: Short, readable links are more likely to be shared and remembered.

How to Use This Slug Generator

• Enter a title or phrase (e.g., a blog post headline).
• Choose a separator (hyphen recommended) and enable lowercase.
• Optionally remove stopwords (like “and”, “the”) for tighter slugs.
• Enable transliteration to convert accents (e.g., “Crème brûlée” → “creme-brulee”).
• Set a max length (aim for ≲60 characters).
• Copy the result or switch to Batch mode for multiple titles.

Everything runs in your browser—no uploads, no tracking. Use Single mode for one‑off posts and Batch mode to prepare content at scale.

Recommended Settings

• Lowercase: Keep slugs lowercase for consistency across servers and platforms.
• Separator: Use hyphens ( - ). Search engines and users parse them more easily than underscores.
• Trim duplicate separators: Prevent “--” from punctuation or extra spaces.
• Remove stopwords: Shorten while keeping meaning. Great for long headlines.
• Transliteration: Normalize non‑Latin characters for universal compatibility.
• Max length: Keep slugs concise (≈50–60 characters).

Before & After Examples

• “Summer Recipes 2024: 15 Easy, Fresh Ideas!” → “summer-recipes-2024-15-easy-fresh-ideas”
• “Crème brûlée at Home — A No‑Stress Guide” → “creme-brulee-at-home-a-no-stress-guide”
• “Fish & Chips: Best in Town (Review)” → “fish-chips-best-in-town-review”

Tip: If you want evergreen URLs, remove years and version numbers to avoid frequent redirects later.

Best Practices

• Aim for ≲60 characters when possible.
• Use primary keywords naturally; avoid stuffing.
• Prefer hyphens; avoid spaces, underscores, or special symbols.
• Keep one style guide for the entire site and stick to it.
• If you must change a slug later, set up a 301 redirect to preserve equity.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Overusing keywords (looks spammy and hurts UX).
• Including stopwords that bloat length without adding meaning.
• Mixing separators (e.g., sometimes “-”, sometimes “_”).
• Leaving uppercase letters or accents that break consistency.
• Publishing slugs with typos—double‑check before going live.

International Text & Transliteration

If your titles use accents or non‑Latin scripts, enable transliteration to convert them to their closest Latin equivalents. This keeps slugs compatible with older systems and easier to share. If you need native scripts for meaning or branding, you can disable transliteration and rely on minimal cleanup.

Batch Mode for Content Teams

Paste one title per line to generate slugs in bulk. Copy rows individually or “Copy All” for quick CMS import. You can also export a CSV to store alongside drafts, maintain a single source of truth, and drive redirect updates when titles change.

FAQs

Hyphen or underscore?

Use hyphens. They’re easier to read and widely preferred by search engines and users.

What’s an ideal slug length?

Keep it concise—usually under 60 characters. Shorter slugs are more scannable and less likely to be truncated.

Should I include the year?

Only if time‑sensitive. For evergreen content, removing years avoids future redirects and keeps URLs timeless.

Will changing a slug hurt my SEO?

It can if you don’t redirect. Always set a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one to preserve rankings and backlinks.