What is Z.ips.ME?

Z.ips.ME is a free open-source program that allows you to use your website as your very own URL shortening service!

Why Z.ips.ME?

• Create shorter and easier to read links, which are especially useful in print marketing and on Instagram where you cannot hyperlink.
• Only you have access to your data.
• You control how long your links stay in place. Keep them up forever if you want, or redirect them somewhere else.
• You brand your domain instead of bit.ly or tinyurl.com.

Features

• Name your own links with relevant keywords. For example, YourSite.com/BigIdea.
• In depth stats allow you to see what links are clicked most often, when they were clicked, what referring sites users came from, what browsers they're using, and more.
• You control whether a link is a 301 redirect (permanent, search engine friendly) or a 302 redirect (temporary).
• Responsive design makes it easy to use on your desktop, tablet, or phone.

Screenshots

After a successful install you'll be able to log in on the admin page.

Once you log in, you'll be directed to the Admin Home where you can shorten a new link or modify an existing link. Your browser will save your login information in a cookie for up to 1 year. Bookmark this page to make shortening a link just one click away.

You can view real-time stats for each link. You can view the number of clicks, clicks by month, web browsers used, referring domains, and referring links.

Requirements

Z.ips.ME was developed for PHP 5.6+ / MySQL 5.6+, however it may work on earlier versions. You can also download older versions of Z.ips.ME below to use on older software.

Download

How to Install

Installing Z.ips.ME is relatively simple and straight forward, especially if you've installed WordPress.

1. Create a MySQL database and MySQL database user on your web server. Make sure the user has permission to SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, CREATE, INDEX, and ALTER. Make note of the database name, the database user name, and the password.
2. Open the config.php file in a text editor. Edit the database information, site information, and admin username/password as instructed in the file.
3. Upload the entire contents of this folder to the directory on your site that you plan on using as your URL shortener.
4. Run the install.php file in your browser. If your URL shortener is https://www.yoursite.com/zipsme/, the file will be located at https://www.yoursite.com/zipsme/install.php.
5. After the install script has created the database, it will display a link to the admin section (located at https://www.yoursite.com/admin.php). You can now log in with the username/password combination that you entered into the config.php file.

View the readme.txt file for more information on installing or upgrading from a previous version.

Tips

• Since the goal is to get short, relevant URLs, you may want to consider purchasing a new domain name if your current domain name is long. There are plenty of short domain names available, particularly with less popular extensions like .me and .us
• You should also consider installing Z.ips.ME on a subdomain to decrease the length of your URL (i.e. https://z.yoursite.com/ instead of https://www.yoursite.com/zipsme/)

Common Issues

If Z.ips.ME isn't working after installation, it is most likely because of one of the following reasons:

• The .htaccess file isn't uploaded to your server. This file is required for creating your links. If your host doesn't give you permission to upload and modify your .htaccess file, you will not be able to install Z.ips.ME.
• Your database connection isn't correct. Verify that you have filled out the config.php file correctly.

For other issues, try changing the IS_ENV_PRODUCTION variable to false in your config.php file. This will output error messages, which should help narrow down the problem.

Software License

Z.ips.ME is released under the GNU Public License, the same license as WordPress.

Who Started Z.ips.ME?

My name is Adam McFarland. I'm the co-founder of Pure Adapt Inc, an e-commerce company located in Albany, NY. I originally created Z.ips.ME for internal use within our company.

© 2009 - 2023 Z.ips.ME