SEO-Friendly URL Slug Generator

What is a URL slug?

A slug is the readable part of a URL that identifies a page, usually after the last slash. In example.com/blog/winter-plumbing-tips/, the slug is winter-plumbing-tips. Good slugs are short, descriptive and made only of lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens.

Clean URLs help in three ways. Visitors can see what a page is about before clicking. Search engines get a small hint about the topic. And shared links look trustworthy instead of a jumble like ?p=1847&cat=3. Google recommends simple, descriptive URLs in its URL structure guidelines.

What this slug generator does

• Converts text to lowercase
• Turns accented letters into plain ones (é becomes e, ü becomes u)
• Replaces symbols: "&" becomes "and", "%" becomes "percent"
• Removes punctuation and apostrophes
• Joins words with hyphens (or underscores if you prefer)
• Optionally removes stop words like "a", "the" and "for"
• Optionally removes numbers
• Trims the slug to a maximum length without cutting a word in half
• Converts many titles at once, one per line

For example, "10 Best Plumbing Tips for Winter (2026 Guide!)" becomes 10-best-plumbing-tips-for-winter-2026-guide, or best-plumbing-tips-winter-guide with stop words and numbers removed.

How to use it

1. Type or paste a title. For bulk, put one title per line.
2. Choose the separator, maximum length and options.
3. Copy the result and paste it into your CMS permalink field.

Slug best practices

• Use hyphens, not underscores. Google treats hyphens as word separators.
• Keep it short: 3-5 meaningful words is plenty.
• Include the main keyword, but do not repeat it.
• Avoid dates in evergreen content, so the URL stays relevant when you update it.
• Do not change slugs of published pages unless you add a 301 redirect, or you will create broken links. Test any changes with the Redirect Checker.

Preview how the full URL looks in search results with the SERP Preview Tool, fix capitalization in titles with the Case Converter and track campaign links with the UTM Link Builder.

Changing an old URL safely

If you must change the slug of a page that is already live, follow three steps. First, create the new URL. Second, add a 301 redirect from the old address to the new one. Third, update your internal links and your sitemap, which you can rebuild with the XML Sitemap Generator. Then confirm nothing broke with the Broken Link Checker.

Good and bad slugs compared

Good slugs are short, readable, lower case and separated by hyphens. Someone should be able to guess what the page is about from the URL alone.

Why URLs matter for SEO and users

Google says in its URL structure guidelines that simple, descriptive URLs are easier for people and search engines to understand. A clear URL also:

• Appears in search results, often as a breadcrumb, so a readable slug looks more trustworthy.
• Gets shared and pasted in chats and emails, where a clean link is more likely to be clicked.
• Works as anchor text when someone pastes the bare URL as a link.

The slug is a small ranking factor at most, so do not change existing URLs just to add keywords. Get it right when you create the page.

Hyphens, not underscores

Use hyphens (-) to separate words. Google treats hyphens as word separators, but it may read underscores as joining words together, so seo_tools can be seen as one word. This generator always uses hyphens and removes characters that cause problems in URLs, such as spaces, question marks, ampersands and accents.

Slugs in popular platforms

• WordPress: set Settings > Permalinks to "Post name", then edit the slug in the post's URL field before publishing.
• Shopify: edit the "URL and handle" at the bottom of the product or page editor.
• Blogger: choose "Custom permalink" in the post settings.
• Static sites: the folder or file name becomes the slug, so name folders carefully.

When you must change a slug

Sometimes a slug has a typo, an old year or a product name that changed. If the page already has traffic or backlinks:

1. Create the new slug.
2. Add a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one.
3. Update internal links to point straight to the new URL.
4. Check the redirect with the Redirect Checker and update your sitemap with the XML Sitemap Generator.

Write the page title first with the help of the SERP Preview, then paste it here to create a matching slug.

Example: from headline to URL

Your blog post title is "10 Easy Ways to Speed Up Your WordPress Website in 2026!". Pasting it here gives 10-easy-ways-to-speed-up-your-wordpress-website-in-2026. That works, but a shorter slug is better and does not date the post: edit it to speed-up-wordpress-website. It is clear, keeps the main keyword, and you can update the article every year without changing the URL.

Quick slug checklist

• Lower case letters, numbers and hyphens only.
• Three to five meaningful words that describe the page.
• The main keyword included naturally, without repetition.
• No dates, version numbers or "final" unless they are essential.
• No special characters, spaces or accents.
• Decided before publishing, so you do not need redirects later.

Last updated: October 25, 2026