Why do URLs use slugs instead of titles?

Titles contain spaces, punctuation and encodable characters that make URLs long and brittle. A slug is one safe token that still reads — better for users, sharing and SEO than an opaque ID.

What happens to accented characters?

They are transliterated to their base form (é to e, ü to u) so the slug stays ASCII-safe. If you need to preserve accents in URLs, modern browsers can display them — but ASCII slugs are the portable choice.

Can two different titles produce the same slug?

Yes — "Café!" and "cafe" both become "cafe". That is why systems append IDs or dates when uniqueness matters; the slug guarantees safety and readability, not uniqueness.

Slugify string — Guide

Make a string url, filename and id safe.

What it is and when to use it

Turn any string into a URL-, filename- and ID-safe slug: accents transliterated, spaces and symbols replaced, lowercase throughout. Slugs keep URLs readable and stable, and this tool shows exactly what your title becomes before it hits routing or a filesystem.

Turns a title or filename into a slug containing only lowercase letters, digits and hyphens, for URLs and file naming.

How to use it

Enter the original string
Read the generated slug
Copy and use it

A worked example

Fill in sample text

Hello World! 你好 2026

Copy this into the tool, or open Slugify string

Things that trip people up

Input longer than 100,000 characters is rejected outright — slug generation is skipped rather than blocking the page
Non-ASCII text is transliterated or handled by rule; English words make the best slugs

Questions people ask

Why do URLs use slugs instead of titles?: Titles contain spaces, punctuation and encodable characters that make URLs long and brittle. A slug is one safe token that still reads — better for users, sharing and SEO than an opaque ID.
What happens to accented characters?: They are transliterated to their base form (é to e, ü to u) so the slug stays ASCII-safe. If you need to preserve accents in URLs, modern browsers can display them — but ASCII slugs are the portable choice.
Can two different titles produce the same slug?: Yes — "Café!" and "cafe" both become "cafe". That is why systems append IDs or dates when uniqueness matters; the slug guarantees safety and readability, not uniqueness.

Next steps

Open the Slugify string tool

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