“Permalinks are the permanent URLs to your individual weblog posts, as well as categories and other lists of weblog postings. A permalink is what another weblogger will use to link to your article (or section), or how you might send a link to your story in an e-mail message. The URL to each post should be permanent, and never change — hence permalink.”
from http://codex.wordpress.org/Using_Permalinks

A “permalink” is the permanent link to your post.  It is made up of your blog address, followed sometimes by the year, month, and day, but always by the post “slug” or “id” (something representing your individual post).

Except, a permalink can be changed, so it’s really not very permanent. WordPress allows you to change the structure of your permalinks. WordPress and Blogger both allow you to change the slug itself, both before and after publishing. And that, of course, can result in broken links!

Blogger Permalink (always includes year/month and ends with .html):

• https://gretchenlouise.com/2013/02/permalinks-and-shortlinks.html

WordPress.com Permalink (always includes year/month/day and ends with slash):

• https://gretchenlouise.com/2013/01/29/permalinks-and-shortlinks/

Variations on WordPress.org Permalinks (the options are limitless—slug only or date included, ending with slash or anything else!):

• https://gretchenlouise.com/2013/01/29/permalinks-and-shortlinks/
• https://gretchenlouise.com/2013/01/29/permalinks-and-shortlinks.html
  
• https://gretchenlouise.com/2013/01/permalinks-and-shortlinks/
• https://gretchenlouise.com/2013/01/permalinks-and-shortlinks.html
• https://gretchenlouise.com/2013/permalinks-and-shortlinks/
• https://gretchenlouise.com/2013/permalinks-and-shortlinks.htm
• https://gretchenlouise.com/permalinks-and-shortlinks/
• https://gretchenlouise.com/permalinks-and-shortlinks.htm.
• https://gretchenlouise.com/?p=8938
  

Slug

By default, the slug is the post title with hyphens in place of spaces between the words. Blogger often excludes English articles like a, an, and the (unless they are at the beginning of the post title) and truncates longer post titles into shorter slugs.

• WordPress Slug: /does-the-slug-look-like-a-creature/
• Blogger Slug: does-slug-look-like-creature.html

Post ID (WordPress)

WordPress uses post ID numbers in addition to slugs.  In fact, the “ugly” permalink with the question mark, equal sign, and post ID number is the default permalink style in WordPress.  You have to choose a prettier permalink style if you want to use one.

• WordPress Post ID Shortlink: https://gretchenlouise.com/?p=8938

Permalink Structure

Blogger and WordPress.com do not allow you to change your permalink structure.  WordPress gives you limitless options.  When it comes to SEO, anything is better than the post ID or “ugly” permalink structure. Some say the permalinks that include only the domain and slug are the very best for SEO, but it’s also a matter of personal preference.

In WordPress, you can change your permalink structure in Settings, Permalinks.  But keep in mind—changing your permalink style will zero out your social media like/share counts in the same way changing your domain address will.  (It may break links elsewhere, too — use Yoast’s Permalink Generator to create the proper redirect codes for your .htaccess file.)  So choose one and stick with it!

Shortlink

A shortlink is a short version of your permalink, most often used for social media posts with limited characters.  Sometimes it’s shortened by an automatic shortener (like ow.ly, bit.ly or Buffer), sometimes it’s shortened by your blogging platform (WordPress.com uses wp.me for automatic shortlinks, and you can get the same functionality on your WordPress.org blog using the JetPack plugin).

• ow.ly: http://ow.ly/haWi3
• bit.ly: http://bit.ly/X64q50
• Buffer: http://buff.ly/X64q4Z

WordPress Shortlinks with Post ID

But in WordPress, the shortlink may be even more permanent than your permalink!  Because the shortlink pulls the actual post ID number and uses it.  So no matter what you name or rename your post, the same shortlink will always direct to it.

• WordPress Post ID Shortlink: https://gretchenlouise.com/?p=8938

Sharing the Permalink

If you need to give someone a post permalink before you publish the post, either use the WordPress Post ID Shortlink (see above) or:

1. Set your post title and slug exactly as you’ll want it when it is published.
2. Schedule the post for the exact date it will publish (because often the month and day are included in the permalink).
3. WordPress: Click the “preview” link then copy that URL (minus ?preview=true).
   Blogger or WordPress: Copy the entire address that appears in the “Permalink” section of your post editor.
4. Remember: don’t change the post title or slug, or it will break the permalink you’ve already shared.

Changing the Slug

Changing your post slug before you publish might be a good idea.  There are lots of tips on how to make your slugs the most SEO friendly, but the basic rule is to make them short and keyword dense!

Whatever you do, don’t change your post slug after you publish—because that will break your permalinks!

Changing the Blogger Slug

• directions from Blogger Help
• “Choose The Permalink For Your Blog Posts” from Spice Up Your Blog

Changing the WordPress Slug

• Click here for directions for WordPress.com
• Click here for directions for WordPress.org

Do you change your post slug before you publish?  What permalink structure do you use?