How to shorten links?

[Mercedes]

Sorry I?m incredibly stupid, I?ve been on this forum for almost 7 years now and I still don?t know how to shorten a link
For instant someone would leave ?here are my refs X? and you click x for the link. Sorry I?m also terrible at explaining.

 

[seliph]

you can either type this:

[url=URL HERE]TEXT HERE[/url]

or click the little globe button (after the emoji button, before the envelope), input your link, and put whatever text between the url tags so that it matches the code above