URL Shortener with Custom Domain: Brand Every Link You Share

A short link like urlw.fr/abc123 gets the job done, but a link like go.yourbrand.com/summer-sale does something more: it reinforces your brand at every touchpoint, builds trust with recipients, and makes your links instantly recognizable as yours. Custom domain URL shortening is one of the highest-ROI features available for marketing teams and businesses that share links at scale.

Why Custom Domains Matter for Your Links

Generic short domains (bit.ly, tinyurl.com, t.co) carry no brand signal. Worse, some email clients and security tools flag links from shared shortener domains as potentially suspicious — because the same domain is used by millions of users, some of whom do send spam or phishing links. When you use your own domain, your recipients see a trusted, familiar name before they click.

Custom domains also give you full control over your link infrastructure. If you ever switch shortener providers, you own the domain — you can redirect it to a new service without breaking any links you have distributed. With a shared domain like bit.ly, you have no such control.

Setting Up Your Custom Domain on URLW

Custom domains are available on URLW Pro and higher plans. The setup process takes about five minutes and requires access to your domain's DNS management panel. Here is the complete process:

1. Choose your subdomain: Select a subdomain for your short links. Common choices include go., l., lnk., or links. followed by your main domain. For example, if your company domain is acme.fr, you might use go.acme.fr.
2. Add the domain in URLW: In your URLW dashboard, navigate to Settings → Custom Domains → Add Domain. Enter your chosen subdomain and click Save. URLW will display a CNAME target value — copy this.
3. Create the CNAME record: Log into your DNS provider (OVH, Gandi, Cloudflare, etc.) and add a CNAME record: Name = go (just the subdomain part), Type = CNAME, Value = the target URLW provided. TTL = 3600 or lower for faster propagation.
4. Wait for DNS propagation: DNS changes typically propagate within 5–30 minutes, though it can take up to 24 hours in rare cases. You can check propagation status using tools like dig go.acme.fr CNAME or online DNS lookup tools.
5. Verify in URLW: Return to your URLW dashboard and click Verify on your custom domain. URLW will check the CNAME record. Once verified, your domain is active and you can start creating links on it immediately.

SSL/HTTPS: Automatic and Free

URLW automatically provisions and renews SSL certificates for your custom domain using Let's Encrypt. You do not need to purchase or configure a certificate manually. All links on your custom domain will serve over HTTPS, which is essential for user trust and required by most email clients and browsers that now flag HTTP links as insecure.

Managing Multiple Custom Domains

On URLW Business plans, you can add multiple custom domains — useful for agencies managing links for multiple clients, or companies with several brands. Each custom domain can have its own set of links, analytics, and team access permissions. This makes it possible to run truly separate link namespaces for different projects or clients from a single URLW account.

Custom Slugs on Your Domain

Custom domains become even more powerful when combined with custom slugs. Instead of go.acme.fr/k3f9x, create go.acme.fr/summer-sale-2024 or go.acme.fr/download-whitepaper. These links are memorable enough to include in presentations, print materials, and spoken in podcasts or videos. People can type them directly rather than scanning a QR code.

Start Using Your Own Domain

Upgrade to a Pro plan or start a free trial at /en/#pricing to unlock custom domain support. If you have questions about DNS setup or run into propagation issues, our French-speaking support team is available to help. Create your account at /en/register and brand every link you share.