Short URLs (Vanity URLs)

Overview

Custom URLs are web addresses that can be used to promote university websites in online promotions, printed materials, or conversations. These addresses allow for a page with a long “official” URL such as “https://www.unomaha.edu/financial-support-and-scholarships” to be referenced in a more conversational style such as “financialaid.unomaha.edu.”

Assigning URLs

Vanity or “short” URLs must be determined with the larger spectrum of websites in mind. There are words, phrases, or acronyms that may be valuable to more than one unit on campus so UNO must have a policy to ensure custom URLs are assigned fairly.

Reserved Short/Vanity URLs

These URLs are already in use or reserved for university use:

College Vanity URLs

• cas.unomaha.edu
• cba.unomaha.edu
• cfam.unomaha.edu
• cist.unomaha.edu
• cpacs.unomaha.edu
• cehhs.unomaha.edu

The web leads in each of these units can have access to create and manage their URLs specific to the unit. For pages in each of these areas, newly requested short URLs should use an existing short URL, i.e.: cehhs.unomaha.edu/hper vs. hper.unomaha.edu.

If you have questions or would like to request a new top-level short URL, submit your request through Start Your Project.

Top-level Vanity URLs in use

• about.unomaha.edu
• academics.unomaha.edu
• admissions.unomaha.edu
• research.unomaha.edu
• studentlife.unomaha.edu
• engagement.unomaha.edu
• athletics.unomaha.edu
• alumni.unomaha.edu

URLs Reserved for Strategic Purposes but not in use

• docresearch.unomaha.edu
• earlychildhood.unomaha.edu
• globalengagement.unomaha.edu
• stem.unomaha.edu
• sustainability.unomaha.edu
• urban.unomaha.edu
• metropolitan.unomaha.edu

URLs Reserved that are exceptions

Due to institutional marketing or specific legacy projects, UNO community members may see additional URLs used from time to time or in historical print pieces. Some include:

• beamav.com
• kvno.org
• maha.uno
• mavs.nu
• unobands.com
• unotheatre.com

These URLs are not being actively promoted and any future changes to the current format (shorturl.unomaha.edu) will need to be requested through MarComm and the Digital Communications Executive Committee.

Guidelines

Custom URLs are established in this format [name].unomaha.edu. They are to be used only for official university sites that are in compliance with current online standards and reside on unomaha.edu.

They will be established in conjunction with the guidelines and conventions described below.

Limit one subdomain per site

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions has one website so would be limited to “admissions.unomaha.edu.” However, they could add “/transfer” or “/undergraduate” to the end of the URL to specify or link to a specific page within their site.

If your request includes is within a site that has a subdomain already, MarComm will recommend that subdomain be used for your request.

There are legacy short URLs associated with subsites of colleges or top-level pages. These are kept by the Digital Communications team.

If you have questions or requests related to using these, please contact MarComm.

Custom URLs must prevent confusion with other subdomains.

Example: If Student Services and the Department of Biology within the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) both requested cas.unomaha.edu/counseling we might suggest “cas.unomaha.edu/academic-counseling” for Student Services and “cas.unomaha.edu/counseling-degree” for the Department of Counseling. Limit custom URLs to two levels.

• Example: marcomm.unomaha.edu/branding (marcomm = one level; and /branding = second level)

URLs must reflect a legitimate business need of a recognized university school, department, division, institute, center, program, project, group, or unit and have a clear connection to the identity or information of the site.

When possible, avoid the use of acronyms or ambiguous sets of characters, unless it’s an already recognizable part of your identity.

Choosing a Short URL

When you are thinking about potential words for your website’s custom URL consider the following:

• Is there a thematic differentiation about what your unit will do for its intended audience?
• What words are descriptive of how you wish people to perceive your unit?
• Will it be easy to communicate over the phone or in a conversation?
• Is it easy to type?

URL Naming Convention

Must be at least two letters in length and cannot contain any symbols or spaces.

• Example: You could not use “i.unomaha.edu” or “unomaha.edu/i”
• Example: “http://www.unomaha.edu/admissions/undergraduate” cannot use “admissions.unomaha.edu/und#rgraduat#”

Must not begin or end with “uno” or “www.”

• Example: “http://www.unomaha.edu/admissions/financial-aid” could not use “admissions.unomaha.edu/uno-financial-aid” or “admissions.unomaha.edu/financial-aid-uno”

Must consist of only lowercase letters, numbers, and the hyphen (-) character for spaces.

• Example: “http://www.unomaha.edu/admissions/financial-aid” cannot use “admissions.unomaha.edu/Financial Aid”

Must begin and end with a letter or a number.

• Example: The Office of Undergraduate Admissions could not use “admissions.unomaha.edu/financial-aid!”

How to Request a Short URL

The Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications can assist you with establishing a custom URL. Note: MarComm reserves the right to deny or recommend a different URL for strategic purposes.

Request a custom URL via the Start Your Project form. Once the request is received we will contact the requester via email to obtain the following information:

• Are you the web manager for your website?
• What is your department, office, or unit name?
• What is your requested custom URL (__________.unomaha.edu/__________)?
• Where will this URL direct users? (https://www.unomaha.edu/____________________)?
• What is the use for this custom or short URL and deadlines as well as the content of ads or marketing? i.e.: This is for a print piece sent to 20,000 undergrads being sent in August. Recruitment focused.

MarComm approves the request or suggests an alternative, then generates the URL. Approvals and setup of URLs generally take 5 business days.

Short URL Tool - redirects.unomaha.edu

Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications (MarComm) along with Information Technology Services (ITS) has created a web link shortener tool to assist organizations with creating short URLs for marketing purposes. Identified web leads have been given access to their corresponding department's custom URL.

Contact MarComm for more information and additional access to this tool.

Technical Notes

Custom URLs are targeted at a directory on the web server, not to an individual file. A custom URL by itself is equivalent to accessing the index.html file in the target directory.

Please note that custom URL aliases are immediately redirected to the underlying “official” address using what is called a 301 Redirect (permanent redirect). That is what the site the visitor will see as their web location. If they bookmark the page, the official (or “long”) address is what will be bookmarked.