Short links on your own domain
Every ClikSo plan includes at least one custom domain — including Free, which is rare. Setup is a single CNAME record, with no TXT record to publish and an SSL certificate issued and renewed for you.
On every plan, including Free · No credit card required
Quick answer
What is a custom domain URL shortener?
A custom domain URL shortener creates short links on a domain you own — links.yourbrand.com/spring instead of a generic shortener address. ClikSo includes one custom domain on its free plan, verifies it with a single CNAME record rather than a TXT record, and issues a free SSL certificate that renews automatically.
- Custom domains included on the Free plan, not a paid add-on
- 1 freeCustom domains included on the Free plan, not a paid add-on
- The only DNS record you publish — there is no TXT record
- One CNAMEThe only DNS record you publish — there is no TXT record
- Ready-made clik.is domains that don’t count against your limit
- 8Ready-made clik.is domains that don’t count against your limit
- Bitly’s cheapest plan that allows a custom domain at all
- $29/moBitly’s cheapest plan that allows a custom domain at all
- One custom domain on Free, two on Starter, five on Pro, twelve on Business
- Setup is one CNAME — ClikSo verifies over HTTP, so there is no TXT record to publish
- Free DV SSL certificate, issued through Cloudflare for SaaS and renewed automatically
- Eight ready-made clik.is domains are free on every plan and don’t count against the limit
- Subdomains such as links.yourbrand.com — a bare root domain is not supported
How to use your own domain for short links
Four steps, one DNS record, and nothing to install on your website.
Pick a subdomain of a domain you already own
Something short in front of your main domain — links.yourbrand.com, go.yourbrand.com, try.yourbrand.com. Using a subdomain means your website, your email and your DNS root are all untouched; you are only adding one record alongside them.
Add the domain in ClikSo
Open Domains in the dashboard, choose Add Domain, and type the hostname. ClikSo registers it with Cloudflare for SaaS and immediately shows you the DNS record it needs.
Publish one CNAME record
ClikSo shows you one row — a CNAME — and you copy it into your DNS provider. Because ClikSo verifies ownership over HTTP rather than DNS, there is no TXT record to publish alongside it.
Wait for the certificate, then pick the domain when you create a link
The certificate is a free DV certificate and renews automatically. Once it is live, the domain appears in the dropdown next to the Short Link field on every new link.
One record, and that is the whole change
What you add at your DNS provider — and what you do not.
| Type | Name | Value | TTL |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNAME | links | the target shown in ClikSo | Auto |
| TXT | — | Not required — ClikSo verifies over HTTP | — |
The domain goes active once the certificate is live and a fresh DNS lookup still finds the record pointing at ClikSo.
Some providers label the Name column “Host” and want just links; others want the full links.yourbrand.com. ClikSo prints the exact value to copy when you add the domain.
Who puts links on their own domain
Anywhere the URL itself is doing some of the persuading.
Agencies running links for clients
Give each client links on their own domain rather than on yours. Business includes twelve custom domains, so a dozen brands can live in one workspace without any of them seeing a competitor’s name in the URL.
Print, packaging and out-of-home
A URL on a box, a poster or a business card is read by a person, not a browser. links.yourbrand.com/setup is something somebody can retype from memory; a random shortener domain is not.
Newsletters and lifecycle email
Campaign emails are full of links. Sending them on a domain that matches the sender means the URL in the status bar says the same thing as the From line.
Social bios and creator links
One short domain used across every platform bio, so the same handful of characters shows up wherever you post — and you can re-point any of those links later without editing a single profile.
Events and conferences
A dedicated subdomain for one event — go.yourbrand.com/summit — printed on badges, signage and slides, with the destination still editable on the morning of the keynote.
Anyone who wants the domain to be the proof
The domain is one you already control, so the short link carries your name rather than a shortener’s. Nothing about the link tells the person clicking it which tool produced it.
Custom domains across link shorteners
Two rows matter here: what a custom domain costs, and how many you get. We win the first and lose the second.
| Capability | ClikSo | Bitly | Short.io | Rebrandly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Custom domains on the free plan | 1 | 5 | 1 | |
| Cheapest plan that includes a custom domain | Free — $0 | $29/mo | Free — $0 | Free — $0 |
| Free SSL certificate, issued and renewed for you | ||||
| Root domain (yourbrand.com with nothing in front) | Not published |
Competitor details taken from each provider's own published pricing and documentation, last verified 16 September 2026. “Not published” means the vendor documents no answer either way. Replug and Dub.co each include three free custom domains, which also beats ClikSo on count.
Good to know
- Subdomains only. Point something like links.yourbrand.com at ClikSo — a bare root domain such as yourbrand.com is not supported, because it needs a CNAME at the apex and several common DNS providers reject that outright.
- We do not win on free domain count. Short.io includes five custom domains on its free plan and Replug and Dub.co include three; ClikSo includes one. What ClikSo beats is the price of the first one, against products like Bitly that charge for it.
- The CNAME has to stay where you put it. ClikSo re-checks live DNS as well as the certificate status, so a record that is deleted or re-pointed later will stop the domain verifying.
- DNS is not instant. A new record usually resolves in a few minutes, but slow registrars can take up to 48 hours before the domain goes active.
- The eight clik.is domains are ClikSo-operated and shared with other customers. They make a link shorter and tidier for free, but the name in the URL is clik.is, not yours.
Custom domains by plan
Every plan includes at least one custom domain, and the eight clik.is domains are free on all of them. Once a domain is live, use it with custom short links to choose the rest of the URL too.
Frequently asked questions
A custom domain URL shortener builds short links on a domain you own instead of on the shortener’s own domain. So a campaign link reads links.yourbrand.com/spring rather than a generic address. The shortener still resolves the redirect and records the click; only the hostname changes.
Yes. ClikSo includes one custom domain on the Free plan, while Bitly requires a paid plan starting at $29 a month before you can add one at all. You still have to own the domain and be able to edit its DNS.
One CNAME. ClikSo shows a DNS Records table with the exact Type, Name and Value to copy, and for a subdomain there is a single row in it. Add that record at your DNS provider and nothing else.
No. ClikSo uses HTTP domain control validation, which proves ownership over the connection itself rather than through DNS. That removes the TXT record most shorteners ask for, so the CNAME is the whole setup.
Not on its free plan. Bitly puts custom domains behind a paid plan that starts at $29 a month. ClikSo includes one on its Free plan, so putting your links on a domain you own costs nothing extra.
ClikSo does not quote a number. The click-through uplift figures that shortener vendors publish come from their own studies. What a branded link does is show who sent it before anyone clicks: your domain and a readable path, such as links.yourbrand.com/spring, instead of a third-party name in a URL people are being asked to trust.
A free DV certificate is issued for every verified custom domain and renews automatically. You do not buy, upload or rotate anything. ClikSo only marks the domain active once the certificate is live and a DNS check confirms the record still points at us.
One on Free, two on Starter, five on Pro and twelve on Business; Enterprise is quoted. Separately, eight ClikSo-run clik.is domains are available on every plan and none of them count against that limit.
The eight free clik.is domains
Available on every plan, including Free, and none of them count against your custom-domain limit. Pick one from the domain dropdown when you create a link.
- clik.is
- link.clik.is
- watch.clik.is
- buy.clik.is
- shop.clik.is
- visit.clik.is
- share.clik.is
- ai.clik.is
Related features
Or see everything in the full feature list.
Custom short links
Choose the back-half of every link, group links with / on paid plans, change it later, and let AI suggest one.
On every plan, including FreeCustom link preview
Set the title, description and thumbnail people see when your link is shared — without touching the destination site.
Starter and aboveTeam workspaces
Shared link libraries with admin, editor and viewer roles — so the intern cannot re-point your campaign.
On every plan, including FreeLast reviewed 16 September 2026 against the live product. Competitor details come from each provider's own published pricing. See the full feature list or ClikSo vs Bitly.
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