Most developers are doing URL slugs wrong (and it hurts SEO)

When I started building websites, I didn’t think much about URL slugs.

Something like:
/page?id=123

or even:
/this-is-a-very-long-url-slug-with-too-many-keywords

seemed fine.

Turns out… it’s not.

After testing multiple pages and tools, I realized that bad slugs quietly hurt both SEO and user experience.

Here’s what actually works 👇

🚫 Common mistakes

Most developers:

• Use dynamic URLs with IDs
• Stuff keywords into slugs
• Make them too long
• Ignore readability

Example:

❌ /best-seo-url-guide-for-beginners-2026

❌ /page?id=928374

❌ /how-to-create-the-best-url-slug-for-seo-ranking-fast

✅ What works better

From what I’ve tested, high-performing slugs usually follow these rules:

• 3–5 words max
• Lowercase only
• Use hyphens (-), not underscores
• Include ONE main keyword
• Remove filler words (like "the", "and", "for")

Example:

✅ /seo-url-guide

✅ /slug-generator

✅ /password-generator

⚡ Why this matters

Short, clean URLs:

• Are easier to read
• Get better click-through rates
• Are easier to share
• Help search engines understand your page

🛠️ What I built

While working on multiple projects, I got tired of manually creating slugs.

So I built a simple tool to generate clean, SEO-friendly slugs instantly.

👉 https://codetooly.com/tools/slug-generator.html

💡 Final takeaway

If you’re ignoring your URL structure, you’re leaving easy SEO wins on the table.

Keep it simple.
Keep it short.
Make it readable.

Curious — how do you generate your slugs?