URL Structure

Format: medium.com/@username/headline-slug-abc123def456

Publication: medium.com/publication-name/headline-slug-abc123

Custom domain: yourdomain.com/headline-slug-abc123

The random suffix prevents duplicate URL conflicts.

Medium creates slug from your headline.

Lowercased, spaces become hyphens.

Stop words often removed (a, the, is).

Long headlines get truncated.

Write your story with the desired headline.

The URL is generated when you first save.

If you change the headline later, URL stays the same.

Plan your headline carefully before first save.

If URL is bad, create a new draft with correct headline.

Copy content to new draft.

Delete old draft (if unpublished) or unlist (if published).

Publish new story with better URL.

Keep headlines concise: Shorter = cleaner URL.

Keywords first: Front-load important terms.

Avoid special characters: Stick to letters and numbers.

No need for dates: Unless the content is time-sensitive.

Cannot remove the random suffix (abc123).

Cannot use custom slugs like WordPress.

Cannot redirect within Medium.

Focus on having keywords in the readable portion.