Branded short links: what a custom domain changes

People decide whether to click a link by reading it. A short link on a domain they have never seen asks for trust; a link on your own domain borrows the trust you already have. That is the whole argument for a custom domain, and for anything customer-facing it is usually enough.

Choosing the domain

You have two realistic options, and both work with Lnki.

• A subdomain of your main site, such as go.yourbrand.com or link.yourbrand.com. It costs nothing, it is obviously yours, and it leaves the main site untouched. This is the right choice for most teams.
• A separate short domain, such as yourbr.nd. It is shorter on a poster or in a text message, but you have to buy it, renew it, and teach people that it is you.

Whichever you choose, keep it short and unambiguous. If you have to spell it out on a phone call, pick another.

What the setup involves

1. Open Domains in the sidebar and choose Add Domain. Enter the domain and leave Force HTTPS on unless you have a specific reason not to.
2. Lnki registers the domain in your workspace and shows you the exact DNS record to create.
3. Add that one record at your DNS provider, then come back and verify. DNS changes can take up to 24 hours to reach everyone, though it is often much faster.
4. Once the record is verified, the SSL certificate is issued automatically and the domain is ready for links.

The custom domain tutorial shows each screen.

Using it day to day

When a workspace has a domain, the create forms offer it in the domain picker, both for short links and for QR codes. Each domain also has its own settings page, so one domain can behave differently from another.

The same back-half can exist on two domains without clashing, because a link is identified by its domain and back-half together. go.yourbrand.com/sale and lnki.io/sale are two separate links.

How many domains you can add

The Starter plan includes up to three custom domains. Pro and Business do not cap them. If you run several brands or regional sites from one workspace, that limit is the number to look at when you choose a plan.