# Custom short domains

> Put your short links on go.yourdomain.com, a go subdomain of your own site. Step by step for Cloudflare and any other DNS host, plus a Meta tip.

Source: https://datacenter.so/docs/custom-short-domains
Section: Short links

Your short links can live on your own domain: `go.yourdomain.com/spring` instead of `go.datacenter.so/spring`. We suggest a `go` subdomain of the site you already have.

Why it helps:

- People trust a link more when they know the name.
- Links on your own domain are trusted more by Meta, Instagram and email filters. A shared short domain carries everyone's reputation.
- Your links stay apart from everyone else's.

`go.datacenter.so` works the moment you sign up, on every plan. Add your own domain when you are ready. Solo includes 1 custom short domain, Studio includes 5 and Agency includes 20. Free uses `go.datacenter.so` only.

## Before you start

- Pick `go.yourdomain.com`, where `yourdomain.com` is your own site. The `go` subdomain is used only for redirects. It cannot also show a website.
- Use a subdomain, not your main domain. Most DNS hosts cannot point a main domain like `yourdomain.com` this way.
- You need to sign in where your domain's DNS is managed. That is often where you bought the domain, or Cloudflare.

## Step 1: add the domain in Datacenter

1. Open **Settings** and find **Custom short domains**.
2. Enter `go.yourdomain.com` and choose **Add domain**. If you have a site in Datacenter, the box starts with `go.` and that site's domain.
3. Datacenter shows the record to add. Keep the page open.

## Step 2: add one CNAME record

Every DNS host asks for the same three things:

| Type | Name | Target |
|---|---|---|
| CNAME | `go` | `go.datacenter.so` |

Some DNS hosts want the full name, `go.yourdomain.com`, instead of `go`. Some call the target **Value**, **Points to** or **Content**.

### On Cloudflare

1. Open your domain in the Cloudflare dashboard, then **DNS** and **Records**.
2. Choose **Add record**.
3. Set **Type** to `CNAME`, **Name** to `go` and **Target** to `go.datacenter.so`.
4. Set **Proxy status** to **DNS only**, the gray cloud.
5. Choose **Save**.

DNS only lets the request reach Datacenter directly, so Datacenter can check the domain and get its certificate.

### On any other DNS host

1. Sign in where you manage your domain's DNS. Look for **DNS**, **DNS records** or **Advanced DNS**.
2. Add a new record of type `CNAME`.
3. Enter `go` as the name or host, and `go.datacenter.so` as the target or value.
4. Leave the TTL as it is, or pick the shortest one.
5. Save.

If there is already a record for `go`, remove it first. A name can have only one CNAME record.

## Step 3: wait for Active

Back in **Settings**, the domain shows **Setting up** with a live check of its record. Opening the page checks it, and so does **Check now**. We also check every 15 minutes. The check says one of:

- **Record not found yet.** Add the record, or wait. DNS can take up to an hour.
- **Found, pointing to** something else. Change the record to the target shown. On Cloudflare, an address here usually means the proxy is on: set the record to **DNS only**.
- **Found and correct.** We get the HTTPS certificate next. It usually takes a few minutes.

Settings also names your DNS host when it can tell (Cloudflare, GoDaddy, Namecheap, Squarespace and others), with that host's own steps and a link to its DNS page.

Once it shows **Active**, the HTTPS certificate is issued and the domain is ready. You do not need to set up a certificate yourself.

## More than one domain

Add as many as your plan has room for, on any subdomain you like: `go.`, `links.`, `l.` and so on. Each one gets its own row, its own record and its own check. Once a domain is Active its row folds to one line.

## Use it

New links start on your default domain. Choose **Make default** next to any Active domain, or next to `go.datacenter.so`. Until you choose, new links start on your first Active domain. You can still pick another in the **Domain** list on each new link. The links list shows your domains at the top, with how many links each one has.

## Tip: verify your domain with Meta

If you run Meta ads, verify `yourdomain.com` in Meta Business Settings, under **Brand safety** and **Domains**. Meta then knows the domain is yours. You verify the main domain, and Meta counts its subdomains, like `go`, as part of it. Verifying is done in Meta, not in Datacenter, and it is free.

## What the domain serves

A short domain only does redirects:

- `/your-link` sends people to the link's page.
- A link that was turned off answers with a short error.
- The bare domain, like `go.yoursite.com/`, sends people to your site (`yoursite.com`) when you track it in Datacenter, and to datacenter.so when you do not.
- Anything else answers "Not found".

It never shows a page, a sign in form or a file. That keeps it hard to misuse.

## Remove it

Archive the links that use the domain, then choose **Remove** next to it in **Settings**. Then delete the CNAME record. Links on that domain stop working once it is removed.