Url masking free

URL masking is a technique used to hide the original URL behind the masked one. As a result, the URL in the address bar isn’t the actual URL of a webpage. For example, if you visit www.abcd.com, abcd.com is the URL of the website. Now, if you visit the “About Us” page, you probably expect to see the www.abcd.com/aboutus address. However, in the case of a masked URL, you get redirected to the “About Us” page, but the URL address remains the same as the original one. Hence, the “About Us” page will still show the URL as www.abcd.com. But, URL masking is not always considered to be a good option. Let’s see now when it is useful and when it is not. When is URL masking a good option? There are a few scenarios when masking a website URL is a good choice. Some of these situations include: 1. Affiliate marketing URL masking is a good choice if you are associated with affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is a digital marketing strategy wherein the affiliate earns a commission for directing a user to buy a product from a retailer or an advertiser. URL masking is useful in affiliate marketing to hide the affiliate links. Users are less likely to click if they find the affiliate earns a commission from their purchase. Therefore, masking the link to hide the original domain address is helpful in affiliate marketing. 2. Simplifying the link Another valid reason to use URL masking is to shorten the URL. Long URLs are difficult to remember and aren’t considered SEO-friendly. As per a survey, short URLs actually have an upper hand in ranking higher than long URLs. Thus, link shortening is a fair strategy. There are various ways to shorten the link, like using the URL schema or changing the domain name. However, some website users resort to URL masking to shorten their links. 3. When using free web hosting URLs You need the help of a web hosting service to host your website on a server. The website owner pays a monthly fee for the service. This service allows you to use your own domain name. However, if you’re using a free web hosting service, you host your website on the web hosting company’s subdomain. Thus, URL masking can be used by such website owners to make their URL address look like their website has its own

Domain. 4. Branding purposes Website owners also use URL masking to create a custom URL that reflects their brand and business name more accurately than the original address. When is URL masking not a good option? There are also various legitimate reasons not to opt for URL masking. Here are situations when it is not a good option: 1. When SEO is compromised URL masking may contribute to poor SEO performance and poor search rankings. How? Search engines do not index websites with masked URLs. Also, using them is an indicator of duplicate content. Content relevance is compromised when using URL masking. This makes your website unoptimized for SEO and results in poor search engine rankings. 2. When URL masking impacts your website’s speed URL masking can slow down website loading speeds. Redirecting from the original link to the masked link can add unnecessary steps that hamper the content’s loading speed. Slow content loading means poor user experience and higher bounce rates. Thus, make sure URL masking isn’t slowing down your website’s loading speed before using it. 3. Gives way to malicious activities Using URL masking by website owners makes it difficult for users to differentiate malicious sites from safe ones. Unethical hackers also use URL masking to deceive users into entering confidential information on websites that appear safe but are unsafe. It not only encourages such malicious activities but also makes it difficult for a user to trust any ethical website. Users find it suspicious when the link they click opens to a different one. Thus, URL masking should be adopted only when necessary. Tips on how to mask URLs There is no harm in URL masking as long as it is done properly. Here are some tips on how URL masking can be done so that it causes no harm: 1. Choose the right masking tool Many third-party companies provide URL masking services. Research well before choosing a good link masking provider. 2. Use permanent URL redirects There are two types of URL redirects: 301 and 302. The 301 redirects are permanent, and the only legitimate redirects website owners should prefer. The 302 redirects refer to temporary redirects. A permanent redirect ensures that the URL address is shifted permanently and not temporarily for deceiving purposes. Thus, it is a better indicator of transparency. 3. A masked URL should be checked for cross-browser compatibility It is essential to ensure

URL masking, a technique used to make links appear more user-friendly or to achieve specific marketing goals, has become increasingly popular over the years. While a generally accepted practice, masking URLs can come with potential risks. Today we'll explore these risks as well as some of the legitimate reasons to use URL masking and share a few alternatives that you may want to consider. What is URL Masking?URL masking, also known as link cloaking or URL rewriting, is a technique used to present a different URL to users than the one that actually leads to the destination. In simpler terms, it involves concealing the true web address of a link, replacing it with a customized one.Why Mask URLs? Before delving into the potential pitfalls of URL masking, it's worth exploring why one would be drawn to this technique. Several motivations drive the decision to mask URLs, and understanding when to use URL masking judiciously is crucial for leveraging its benefits without falling victim to potential downsides.Enhancing Aesthetics and User ExperienceOne of the primary reasons for URL masking is to create aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly links. Long, complex URLs can be off-putting to users, and businesses often seek to present cleaner, more digestible links for marketing campaigns or on their websites.Affiliate Marketing and TrackingIn the realm of affiliate marketing, businesses frequently use URL masking to hide complex affiliate links. This not only makes the link more visually appealing but can also serve to cloak the underlying affiliate structure. Additionally, masked URLs

Forwarding” option.Set the subdomain (e.g., blog.yourdomain.com) to forward to your chosen URL (e.g., www.yourbrand.com/blog).Enable the “Masking” option to ensure that users see the forwarded URL and not the original subdomain.Note: Not all hosting providers support domain masking by default. You may need to manually configure redirection or masking in some cases.3. Using Plugins to Mask URLsIf you prefer not to manually code, you can use plugins to mask subdomain URLs in WordPress. Many WordPress plugins offer redirection and URL masking functionalities.Here are a few popular options:Pretty Links: Often used for affiliate links, this plugin allows you to create clean, masked URLs, making it ideal for subdomain masking as well.Redirection: A popular plugin for managing 301 and 302 redirects, Redirection can also be used to mask URLs if configured appropriately.WP Hide & Security Enhancer: This plugin goes beyond URL masking by hiding technical details from visitors, enhancing overall site security.To use any of these plugins:Go to your WordPress dashboard.Navigate to Plugins → Add New.Search for the plugin (e.g., Pretty Links).Install and activate the plugin.After activation, follow the plugin’s instructions to create a masked URL for your subdomain (e.g., mask blog.yourdomain.com with www.yourbrand.com/blog).4. Manual URL Masking Using .htaccessFor those comfortable with a bit of coding, manually masking a URL using the .htaccess file offers more control over the redirect process.Here’s how to mask a subdomain with .htaccess:Log in to your hosting control panel (e.g., cPanel).Go to the root directory of your subdomain (e.g., public_html/blog).Open or create the .htaccess file in this directory.Add