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Hekima Peter
Hekima Peter

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I Built a Real-Time Link Shortener With Analytics Using React, Go, and PostgreSQL

Cut It Short. Track It Deep.

Many link shorteners reduce long URLs.

Few show what happens after someone clicks the link.

I built Cut It to solve this problem.

https://cutit.africa

Cut It shortens links and tracks interaction data in real time.

The platform shows who clicked, where the click came from, which device opened the link, which browser handled the request, and which platform distributed the link.

What Cut It Does

• Shortens long URLs into clean links
• Tracks click count in real time
• Detects visitor country
• Detects device type
• Detects browser used
• Detects platform where the link was shared

Example

A long URL like
**
https://example.com/products/category/2026/new-arrivals/summer-sale**

turns into

https://cutit.africa/HZVFNMHJ

Every click records analytics data and updates the dashboard instantly.

Captured Analytics

Each interaction records structured metadata.

• country
• device type
• browser
• share platform
• timestamp
• link ID

Share platform detection examples

• WhatsApp
• X
• Facebook
• Telegram
• LinkedIn
• Email
• Direct browser

Why This Matters

Many teams send links through SMS, social media, or marketing campaigns.

Long URLs increase SMS cost and provide no analytics.

Cut It solves both problems.

• Reduce SMS cost
• Measure marketing reach
• Understand audience behavior

Tech Stack

Frontend
React with TypeScript. Pure implementation without UI frameworks.

Backend
Go (Golang) for high concurrency and fast redirects.

Database
PostgreSQL for analytics storage and query performance.

Architecture Flow

User submits a long URL

System generates a short unique ID

User shares the short link

Visitor opens the link

Backend records interaction metadata

Visitor redirects to the original URL

Dashboard updates analytics instantly

Try the Platform

https://cutit.africa

Cut It Short. Track It Deep.

Feedback from developers and marketers helps improve the platform.

react

golang

postgresql

opensource

webdev

CutItShort

TrackItDeep

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