slug

URL slug

A short, URL-safe version of a name or title — lowercase, hyphens for spaces, no punctuation. Used to turn a page title into a stable, readable web address.

When you'd see it: Any time a CMS, blog, or static site turns a title into a URL — "My First Post" becomes "my-first-post". Visible in URL bars when reading articles, viewing products on e-commerce sites, or referencing entries in reference sites.

Why it matters: Slugs make URLs human-readable and stable across renames. They're the bridge between a piece of content's name and the address that points to it. Without slugs, URLs become opaque ID numbers and links break whenever a title is edited.

Common mistakes: Generating slugs without handling special characters consistently — accented letters, ampersands, or math symbols can produce collisions where two distinct entries try to share the same slug. The fix is a documented slug rule and a collision-resolution pass.

Related URL, CMS