5 Cool and Simple URL Hacks

URLs are an overlooked feature of a webpage. We enter them, complain about how long and confusing they are, and forget about them.

But those words, slashes, question mark, and ~ things (what are those called, anyway?) actually mean a lot: They tell your browser exactly where to go, and what to do when it gets there.

A few neat tricks have developed around URLs, most often called “URL hacks".

Here are five awesome URL hacks (out of hopefully many more to come):

Download a YouTube Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ycs2z59Wk7E —->http://www.pwnyoutube.com/watch?v=Ycs2z59Wk7E

At the beginning of any YouTube link, before the word “you”, add three letters: “pwn”, without the quotes. That will take you to a page letting you download any YouTube video, in a variety of formats.

Take a Screenshot

http://www.google.com —-> Aviary.com/http://www.google.com

Just adding “Aviary.com” to the very beginning of any URL takes a screenshot of that URL, and then opens it in the Aviary editing interface – one of the best online image editors out there.

Search by Image Color

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=monkeys&btn —->  http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=monkeys&btnG&imgcolor=red

In Google Images, adding the phrase “&imgcolor=whatevercoloryouwant” filters the Google results to images only of that particular color – and does it impressively well.

Jump to a Point in a Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nesQa4U8Y1w —-> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nesQa4U8Y1w#t=1m1s

To jump to a specific moment in a given YouTube video, just add this to the end of the URL: “#t=*m*s” with the * signs meaning minutes and seconds, respectively. The video will then jump to and begin from the exact point you want. In Google Video, add #*m*s to the end for the same result.

Filter Results by Date

http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&=&q=flashdance&btn —-> http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&=&q=flashdance&btn&as_qdr=d

In a Google search, adding “@as_qdr=d” to the end of the URL will sort your results by date, only showing you the new stuff. Great for reviews or news, and for getting rid of all the static pages that tend to float to the top of Google results.

I’m sure these aren’t the only cool things you can do just by editing the URL a bit – what else is out there?