Will pointing a domain at a link shortener break my email?

Not if you use a subdomain. A CNAME on something like go.yourbrand.com affects only that subdomain. Your MX records live on the root domain and are untouched, so email keeps arriving exactly as before. This is the most common reason people hesitate, and it is unfounded as long as you do not repoint the root itself.

What happens to my branded links if I leave?

They keep working, because you own the domain. You point it at another provider and recreate the aliases, and every link already printed or shared stays valid. A link on a provider-owned domain cannot be moved, which is the real argument for a branded domain rather than appearance.

Do I need an SSL certificate for my short domain?

Yes, and it is issued for you once the domain resolves. The certificate cannot be issued before DNS points at the service, so the order matters: add the record first, confirm it resolves, then the certificate follows.

Branded short links on a domain you own

A short link on your own domain says who it belongs to before anyone clicks it. It also stays yours, which is the part that matters if you ever move provider.

What changes

Same redirect, same analytics. What differs is whose name is on it.

A generic short link	`plck.to/x7Ka9p`
The same link on your domain	`go.yourbrand.com/spring-sale`

The second one can be read aloud, printed, and recognised. The first cannot.

Connecting your domain

One DNS record, then a wait for it to propagate. The order matters because the certificate depends on the record.

Pick the hostname your links will use. A subdomain such as go.yourbrand.com or link.yourbrand.com is the usual choice.
Add the domain in your account, which is where the exact record to create is shown.
Create that record in whatever manages your DNS: your registrar, or a provider such as Cloudflare or Route 53.
Wait for it to resolve. Rather than guessing, check it from a terminal:

dig +short go.yourbrand.com

Once that returns an answer, the certificate is issued and the domain starts serving your links over HTTPS.

Your email is not affected

This is what stops most people, and it should not. A record on a subdomain changes that subdomain only.

Mail is routed by the MX records on your root domain. Adding go.yourbrand.com does not read, move or override them, and mail carries on arriving exactly as it did before.

The certificate comes after the DNS

A certificate can only be issued for a hostname that already points here, so it cannot be prepared in advance.

If the browser warns that the connection is not private, the usual cause is that the record has not finished propagating rather than anything being misconfigured.

What you can do once the domain is yours

Readable aliases you choose, such as /spring-sale, rather than generated characters.
QR codes on the same domain, with the destination editable after printing.
Expiry by date, by click count, or to a fallback URL.

Password protection on any link.
Click analytics by country, city, device, platform and referrer.
Domains created and managed through the API.

If you ever move provider

This is the argument that most comparisons of link shorteners leave out, and it is the one with money attached.

A link on a provider's own domain belongs to that provider. It resolves while your account does, it cannot be transferred, and anything already printed with it is tied to them for as long as it exists.

A link on a domain you own belongs to you. Changing provider is a DNS change plus recreating the aliases, and the URLs your audience already has keep working throughout. That is worth more than how the link looks.

The same point, applied to migrating from Bitly

Which plans include a domain of your own

Custom domains are available on: Professional, Agency.

Read from the live plan records, so this cannot drift from what is on sale.
Plan	Price	Custom domains
Free	Free	None on this plan
Starter	USD 5.00	None on this plan
Professional	USD 15.00	2
Agency	USD 99.00	10

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