How to configure a Custom Domain for shortening?
By default, Terminus uses its own domain, ter.li, to shorten any UTM tracking URLs. But you can also use your own domain instead. This has two major advantages
- It helps you maintain brand recognition when sharing short URLs
- It allows you to migrate your short URLs to another service in the future if you choose to do so.
Here are the steps to configure a custom domain:
1. Go to the Custom Domains page
From the top navigation, click on Custom Domains in the dropdown.
2. Add a new Custom domain
3. Configure custom domain
- Specify the custom domain name, say ex.mp
- Specify the Default URL where a visitor will be redirected if a valid short URL is not found or if your custom domain is visited directly.
- Click Save
4. Configure DNS settings
For your short URLs to work, you will need to point your custom domain to our servers. You can do that using one of these methods:
- Set DNS A-record to 52.6.84.124 if you are using the base domain, say ex. mp
- Set CNAME record to shortener.terminusapp.com if you are using a subdomain, say go.ex.mp
Based on your DNS provider, it might take up to an hour for the changes to propagate. You can verify it by looking for a checkmark next to your custom domain in Terminus.
5. Request SSL/HTTPS for your custom domain (Optional)
If your plan supports it, you can optionally request to have SSL/HTTPS enabled for your custom domain. This will allow you to share the HTTPS version of your short URLs, e.g. https://ex.mp/promotion. This provides additional privacy and security to your website visitors.
Once you request it, we’ll provision SSL certificates for your custom domain (provided your DNS settings are verified) and enable HTTPS for this domain. This process can take 2-3 business days.
After the initial setup, all the certificate renewals are handled for you provided the custom domain is still pointing to Terminus servers.
6. Configure your project to use the custom domain
While in your project, navigate to Settings > Shorteners. Select your recently added custom domain in the dropdown.
Any new URLs you create in your project will now use your own custom domain for shortening.