Shorty: A Simple URL Shortener with Analytics 🌐

Welcome to Shorty, a user-friendly URL shortener that not only shortens links but also provides powerful analytics and heatmap visualizations. Built with Laravel and React, Shorty offers a seamless experience for tracking and managing your links.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Installation
• Usage
• Contributing
• License
• Contact
• Releases

Features ✨

• URL Shortening: Quickly shorten long URLs for easy sharing.
• Analytics Dashboard: Gain insights into link performance, including click counts and user demographics.
• Heatmap Visualization: Visualize user interactions with your links on a map.
• User-Friendly Interface: Designed for ease of use, both for developers and end-users.
• Open Source: Contribute to the project and make it your own!

Installation ⚙️

To get started with Shorty, follow these steps:

1. Clone the Repository:

   git clone https://github.com/CodeFormerCodeFormer/shorty.git
   cd shorty

2. Install Dependencies:

   • For Laravel:

     composer install

   • For React:

     npm install

3. Set Up Environment Variables: Copy the .env.example file to .env and configure your database and other settings.

4. Run Migrations:

   php artisan migrate

5. Start the Server:

   • For Laravel:

     php artisan serve

   • For React:

     npm start

Usage 🚀

Once you have Shorty running, you can start shortening links. Here’s how:

1. Access the Dashboard: Navigate to http://localhost:8000 in your browser.
2. Shorten a URL: Enter your long URL in the input field and click "Shorten".
3. View Analytics: Click on the shortened link to view its performance metrics.
4. Explore the Heatmap: Check the heatmap visualization to see where your clicks are coming from.

Contributing 🤝

We welcome contributions! Here’s how you can help:

1. Fork the Repository: Click the "Fork" button on the top right of this page.
2. Create a New Branch:

   git checkout -b feature/YourFeatureName

3. Make Your Changes: Implement your feature or fix a bug.
4. Commit Your Changes:

   git commit -m "Add your message here"

5. Push to the Branch:

   git push origin feature/YourFeatureName

6. Open a Pull Request: Go to the original repository and click on "New Pull Request".

License 📜

Shorty is open-source software licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

Contact 📫

For questions or feedback, feel free to reach out:

• Email: support@shorty.com
• GitHub Issues: Open an issue

Releases 📦

To download the latest version of Shorty, visit our Releases section. Make sure to download the appropriate file and execute it as per the instructions.

For any updates or changes, check the Releases section.

Conclusion 🌟

Thank you for your interest in Shorty! We hope you find it useful for managing and tracking your URLs. Happy shortening!