diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 85af92c..a4372fd 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
   handling for `cast/2` and `send_frame/2`.
 - Add access to response headers during `handle_connect/2` via `Conn.resp_headers`.
 - Add `Conn.parse_url/1` to handle url to URI conversion.
+- Allow `Conn.new/2` to use a url string instead of a `URI` struct.
 - Automatically add a "/" path to a pathless url.
   - The HTTP request will break without a valid path!
 
diff --git a/lib/websockex/conn.ex b/lib/websockex/conn.ex
index 37328be..0658bf1 100644
--- a/lib/websockex/conn.ex
+++ b/lib/websockex/conn.ex
@@ -69,8 +69,10 @@ defmodule WebSockex.Conn do
   @doc """
   Returns a new `WebSockex.Conn` struct from a uri and options.
   """
-  @spec new(URI.t, [connection_option]) :: __MODULE__.t
-  def new(uri, opts \\ []) do
+  @spec new(url :: String.t | URI.t, [connection_option]) ::
+    __MODULE__.t | {:error, %WebSockex.URLError{}}
+  def new(url, opts \\ [])
+  def new(%URI{} = uri, opts) do
     mod = conn_module(uri.scheme)
 
     %WebSockex.Conn{host: uri.host,
@@ -85,6 +87,12 @@ defmodule WebSockex.Conn do
                     socket_connect_timeout: Keyword.get(opts, :socket_connect_timeout, @socket_connect_timeout_default),
                     socket_recv_timeout: Keyword.get(opts, :socket_recv_timeout, @socket_recv_timeout_default)}
   end
+  def new(url, opts) do
+    case parse_url(url) do
+      {:ok, %URI{} = uri} -> new(uri, opts)
+      {:error, _} = error -> error
+    end
+  end
 
   @doc """
   Parses a url string for a valid URI
diff --git a/test/websockex/conn_test.exs b/test/websockex/conn_test.exs
index 1d3eb7d..bc005fd 100644
--- a/test/websockex/conn_test.exs
+++ b/test/websockex/conn_test.exs
@@ -40,26 +40,37 @@ defmodule WebSockex.ConnTest do
       socket_connect_timeout: 6000,
       socket_recv_timeout: 5000}
 
-    regular_uri = URI.parse("ws://localhost/ws")
-    assert WebSockex.Conn.new(regular_uri,
-                              extra_headers: [{"Pineapple", "Cake"}],
-                              socket_connect_timeout: 123,
-                              socket_recv_timeout: 456) ==
-      %{tcp_conn | socket_connect_timeout: 123, socket_recv_timeout: 456}
+    regular_url = "ws://localhost/ws"
+    regular_uri = URI.parse(regular_url)
+    regular_opts = [
+      extra_headers: [{"Pineapple", "Cake"}],
+      socket_connect_timeout: 123,
+      socket_recv_timeout: 456\
+    ]
 
-    ssl_uri = URI.parse("wss://localhost/ws")
-    assert WebSockex.Conn.new(ssl_uri, extra_headers: [{"Pineapple", "Cake"}]) == ssl_conn
+    assert WebSockex.Conn.new(regular_uri, regular_opts) == %{tcp_conn | socket_connect_timeout: 123, socket_recv_timeout: 456}
+    assert WebSockex.Conn.new(regular_url, regular_opts) == WebSockex.Conn.new(regular_uri, regular_opts)
 
-    http_uri = URI.parse("http://localhost/ws")
-    assert WebSockex.Conn.new(http_uri, extra_headers: [{"Pineapple", "Cake"}]) == tcp_conn
+    conn_opts = [extra_headers: [{"Pineapple", "Cake"}]]
 
+    ssl_url = "wss://localhost/ws"
+    ssl_uri = URI.parse(ssl_url)
+    assert WebSockex.Conn.new(ssl_uri, conn_opts) == ssl_conn
+    assert WebSockex.Conn.new(ssl_url, conn_opts) == WebSockex.Conn.new(ssl_uri, conn_opts)
 
-    https_uri = URI.parse("https://localhost/ws")
-    assert WebSockex.Conn.new(https_uri, extra_headers: [{"Pineapple", "Cake"}]) == ssl_conn
+    http_url = "http://localhost/ws"
+    http_uri = URI.parse(http_url)
+    assert WebSockex.Conn.new(http_uri, conn_opts) == tcp_conn
+    assert WebSockex.Conn.new(http_url, conn_opts) == WebSockex.Conn.new(http_uri, conn_opts)
 
+    https_url = "https://localhost/ws"
+    https_uri = URI.parse(https_url)
+    assert WebSockex.Conn.new(https_uri, conn_opts) == ssl_conn
+    assert WebSockex.Conn.new(https_url, conn_opts) == WebSockex.Conn.new(https_uri, conn_opts)
 
-    llama = URI.parse("llama://localhost/ws")
-    assert WebSockex.Conn.new(llama, extra_headers: [{"Pineapple", "Cake"}]) ==
+    llama_url = "llama://localhost/ws"
+    llama_conn = URI.parse(llama_url)
+    assert WebSockex.Conn.new(llama_conn, conn_opts) ==
       %WebSockex.Conn{host: "localhost",
                       port: nil,
                       path: "/ws",
@@ -70,6 +81,7 @@ defmodule WebSockex.ConnTest do
                       socket: nil,
                       socket_connect_timeout: 6000,
                       socket_recv_timeout: 5000}
+    assert {:error, %WebSockex.URLError{}} = WebSockex.Conn.new(llama_url, conn_opts)
   end
 
   test "parse_url" do