Design a URL shortening service like Bitly. Consider functionality such as creating a short URL, redirecting to the original URL, and tracking analytics. Describe your approach to managing these features and which key components would be included in the architecture.

## What to Cover Discuss requirements, establish database structure (e.g., URL mapping), talk about how to implement link shortening and tracking, and discuss the handling of collisions through techniques such as base encoding. ## Strong Answer Framework Start with requirements, move to API design, discuss databases, and finally talk about non-functional requirements (scalability, availability). ## Watch Out For Overcomplicating the design hierarchy; focus on overall simplicity and usability.