Anand Rathnas

Posted on Feb 1 • Originally published at jo4.io

Getting Started with Jo4: Your Modern URL Shortener

#gettingstarted #tutorial #urlshortening

This article was originally published on Jo4 Blog.

Welcome to Jo4! This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to get started with our modern URL shortening service.

What is Jo4?

Jo4 is a powerful URL shortening service designed for developers and marketers who need more than just short links. With Jo4, you get:

Custom short URLs - Create memorable, branded links
Detailed analytics - Track clicks, devices, locations, and referrers
QR code generation - Instantly create scannable codes for your links
Bio pages - Build a link-in-bio page to share all your links in one place
API access - Integrate Jo4 into your applications

Creating Your First Short Link

Getting started is simple:

Visit jo4.io
Paste your long URL into the input field
Optionally customize your short URL slug
Click "Shorten"

That's it! Your short link is ready to share.

Using Custom Slugs

Instead of random characters, you can create memorable URLs like jo4.io/my-launch. Custom slugs are great for:

Marketing campaigns
Product launches
Social media bios
Business cards

Tracking Your Links

Every link you create comes with built-in analytics. You can see:

Total clicks over time
Geographic distribution of visitors
Device and browser breakdown
Top referral sources

Access your dashboard at jo4.io to view detailed statistics.

Creating a Bio Page

Bio pages let you share multiple links from a single URL - perfect for social media profiles. Create yours at /bio and customize:

Your display name and avatar
Link titles and order
Theme and styling

API Integration

For developers, Jo4 offers a REST API. Here's a quick example:

curl -X POST "https://jo4-api.jo4.io/api/v1/protected/urls" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-api-key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"longUrl": "https://example.com", "title": "My Link"}'

Check our API documentation for more details.

What's Next?

Now that you know the basics, here are some ideas to explore:

Set up your bio page
Create custom branded links for your next campaign
Integrate Jo4 into your workflow with our API

Have questions? Reach out to us on Twitter @anandrathnas.

Happy shortening!

DEV Community