Build a Simple URL Shortener With Flask and MySQL

Introduction

This project guides you through creating a simple URL shortener service using Flask and MySQL. You'll learn to set up a database, design a web interface, and implement functionality to shorten URLs, search for URLs by tags, and view analytics. The project is beginner-friendly and offers a comprehensive insight into web development with Python and database management.

The project is based on https://github.com/highoncarbs/shorty, which is originally licensed under the MIT license.

👀 Preview

Convert the URL with/without custom suffix, Search URLs by tag, Access the link:

View information about the operating system and platform used to access the link:

🎯 Tasks

In this project, you will learn:

• How to connect a Flask application to a MySQL database
• How to create and manage a MySQL database schema for storing URL information
• How to implement frontend web pages using HTML and CSS to interact with the backend
• How to handle form data and requests in Flask to create short URLs
• How to develop functionality to redirect users from a short URL to the original URL
• How to create a simple analytics feature to track URL usage, including click counts and basic browser/platform information
• How to design user-friendly error handling and custom 404 pages for better user experience

🏆 Achievements

After completing this project, you will be able to:

• Perform basic operations with MySQL, including database and table creation, data insertion, and querying
• Understand the fundamentals of Flask, including routing, request handling, and template rendering
• Work with HTML forms and process data in a Flask application
• Apply basic frontend design principles and use CSS to create a visually appealing web interface
• Implement simple analytics to gather and display data about URL usage
• Implement best practices for error handling in web applications to improve reliability and user experience