Goodbye, Question Mark: I Banned Query Strings from URLs

When was the last time you looked at a URL and felt a twinge of annoyance at the long tail of parameters? One developer went all in: he banned query strings from his projects. Yes, like grandma's Wi-Fi – turned off and forgotten.

Of course, not all query strings are evil. But if you've ever tried to share a link like https://example.com/page?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=spring_sale_2024, you know it looks like a grocery list after three coffees. The author suggests alternatives: path-based parameters, hashes, or dropping parameters altogether where possible.

Now the big question: what about analytics? Marketers are probably stocking up on valerian root. But the author insists it can all be handled via referrer or server logs. Don't multiply entities unnecessarily, he says.

Personally, this feels like trying to ban var in JavaScript – noble but not always practical. For static sites or well-structured APIs, though, why not? Just don't accidentally break pagination or search along the way.

METABYTE studio comment: If your URLs read like a Tolstoy novel, maybe it's time to declutter – but don't forget users with their bookmarks. We're all for clean code, but without the fanaticism.