In editing a monthly newsletter for a large healthcare organization, I noticed that many of the contributing writers were making the same mistake in how they grabbed URLs for hyperlinks.

Most of them would copy and paste straight from their browser’s address window, not realizing that these long URLs often include session information (data noted on your individual visit to that particular webpage, in that particular moment).

This makes these URLs more susceptible to error in two ways: the long string of code at the end of the URL would be vulnerable to typos and other errors in future relays, and the session information might not be compatible with a future user’s visit to the website.

One of my colleagues on the Digital team taught me this nifty trick for grabbing a nice, short, reliable URL for a hyperlink. When I saw the newsletter writers were in need, I was happy for an opportunity to pass the information along.