Vanity / Short URL Guidelines
What is a short URL?
A vanity URL, also referred to as a short URL, is a custom University of Alberta web address used to support offline-to-online marketing and communications campaigns.
External Relations Digital + Creative supports two short URL products:
- uab.ca is used for short URLs that point to approved pages on www.ualberta.ca that are managed in the Cascade content management system (CMS).
- uabgive.ca is used for short URLs that point to approved pages on alumniq.ualberta.ca
Example: uab.ca/ggday to support Green and Gold Day.
Short URLs are intended to make approved university web pages easier to use in print materials, signage, presentations, advertising, event materials and other places where a full web address may be difficult to read, remember or type.
Short URLs align with institutional branding and allow External Relations Digital + Creative to put tracking in place to help measure usage and interaction.
When to use a short URL
A short URL may be appropriate when:
- the destination page is on www.ualberta.ca and managed in Cascade CMS, or is on alumniq.ualberta.ca
- the URL supports a clear call-to-action
- the URL will be used in print, signage, presentations, advertising, event materials or other offline-to-online communications
- the destination page is campaign-specific and not simply a site homepage
- the destination page is mobile and tablet friendly
- the destination page is published, approved and actively maintained
A short URL is most effective when it supports a call-to-action. It should not be treated as the call-to-action by itself.
Google Sites and Other Uses Outside the Short URL Process
Google Sites are outside the scope of the External Relations Digital + Creative short URL process. Site owners using Google Sites should consult with IST if a shorter or more memorable address is needed.
Short URLs are also not intended for:
- websites on other ualberta.ca sub-domains such as coolproject.ualberta.ca or bookstorebear.ualberta.ca
- personal or team convenience links
- draft or unpublished content
- general site homepages
- pages without a clear content owner
Short URL naming guidelines
Short URLs should be:
- easy to use on a mobile device (ie. short)
- short, usually 3 to 8 characters
- easy to read and type
- free of year references, unnecessary numbers and special characters, such as uab.ca/xyz2026 or uab.ca/heh-you
Short URLs should not be overly generic. Examples of short URLs that are too generic include:
How to request a short URL or QR Code
Please review the guidelines above before requesting a new short URL, updating an existing short URL, or requesting a QR code.
For short URLs pointing to www.ualberta.ca we use uab.ca
To request a new uab.ca short URL or QR code, update the destination URL for an existing uab.ca short URL, or request a QR code for an existing uab.ca short URL, submit a request at:
For short URLs pointing to alumniq.ualberta.ca we use uabgive.ca
To request a new short URL or QR code, update the destination URL for an existing uabgive.ca short URL, or request a QR code for an existing uabgive.ca short URL, submit a request at:
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