Sometimes the URL link to your presentation portfolio is just too long, especially if you want to add it to your header information on a resume or CV. Adding an extremely long URL can look unprofessional in an email or cover letter. What can you do?

You have a few options, including using public URL shorteners like bitly or TinyURL. Each of these free services takes a long URL and shortens it to something like http://tinyurl.com/custom_alias or http://bit.ly/(a random alphanumeric 6 digit code).

Another option is to use the University’s URL shortener.

https://www.udel.edu/uLink-request/

When you click on the above link, you will be asked to paste the URL of your presentation portfolio into the box provided. Click submit, and it will return an address (e.g. http://www.udel.edu/##### where “#####” is a randomly generated number).

When deciding which URL shortener to use, one question to ask is whether it is important to see “udel.edu” in the link. If this UD-branded identifier is important to you, then make sure you use the University’s URL shortener. Another possibility would be to create your portfolio using Sites in the University’s Google Apps. This also will have “udel.edu” in its link. Typically the URL for a Google Apps site is: https://sites.google.com/a/udel.edu/a-self-selected-sitename/.

Just remember: no matter which option you choose, be sure to set the sharing permissions so that when someone clicks on the link, they will indeed be able to view your portfolio!