How to set up a branded domain or subdomain on OpenMyLink

Associate your own domain (or a subdomain) with your OpenMyLink account using either an A record or a CNAME, so your short links carry your brand instead of openmy.link.

Our branded domains feature lets you associate a custom domain — or, more commonly, a subdomain — with your OpenMyLink account. Once that record propagates through DNS, every short link, QR code and bio page you generate can use your domain instead of the default openmy.link. Branded links typically lift click-through rate by 30–40% over generic ones, and look much more trustworthy in ads, email and print.

Don't use your main domain

You can use a subdomain like links.yourdomain.com, or any other subdomain you wish. If your main domain is already pointing to a website, do not repoint the apex (yourdomain.com) at OpenMyLink — that would break your existing site. Use a subdomain, or use a separate domain you don't have a website on.

You may add as many subdomains or custom domains as your plan allows.

How to set up a custom domain

If you have a domain you want to use with OpenMyLink, the setup is a two-step process:

1. Create a DNS record at your registrar that points the domain (or subdomain) to OpenMyLink.
2. Add that domain in your OpenMyLink dashboard so we know to accept traffic for it.

Once added, OpenMyLink sets it as the default domain for new URLs you create on that account.

DNS changes can take up to 36 hours to propagate, though most updates are live within a few minutes. If you want SSL on your domain (which you do — modern browsers warn on plain HTTP), we recommend using Cloudflare as your DNS provider; their free tier covers everything you need.

Method 1 — Adding an A record

This works for any domain or subdomain, on any DNS provider. The only requirement is that the host doesn't already point at another service (a website, an app, etc.) — you don't want to take that down by repointing it.

Create an A record with the following value:

Save the record. Wait a few minutes (or up to 36 hours, worst case) for DNS to propagate. You can check propagation with any "DNS checker" online — when the new A record is visible from multiple geographies, you're done with this step.

A-record setup on other registrars

If you don't use Cloudflare, here are the official guides from the most common registrars. The value to enter (49.12.158.139) is always the same; only the dashboard UI changes.

• GoDaddy — Add an A record
• Namecheap — Video: how to add an A record
• Bluehost — How to add, edit, or delete DNS entries
• Dreamhost — Adding custom DNS records
• SiteGround — How to add an A record

CloudFlare: adding an A record

If your domain's DNS is managed by Cloudflare, the steps are:

1. Open the Cloudflare dashboard and pick the domain you want to use.
2. Go to DNS  ›  Records and click Add record.
3. Choose type A.
4. Set Name to your subdomain label (e.g. links, short, go, goto) — or @ if you really do want to use the apex (uncommon).
5. Set IPv4 address to 49.12.158.139.
6. Leave Proxy status as you wish. (Cloudflare's orange-cloud proxy is fine — we work behind it.)
7. Save.

OpenMyLink dashboard fields

After the DNS record is saved, go to your OpenMyLink dashboard and add the same domain there. Three fields:

• Domain(required) — the domain or subdomain you just configured in DNS (e.g. links.yourdomain.com).
• Domain root(optional) — where to send visitors if someone types just the bare domain into a browser. Typically your main website's homepage.
• Domain 404(optional) — where to send visitors if they hit a non-existent short link on your branded domain. A friendly "page not found" on your main site, or a campaign landing page.

Method 2 — CNAME record (CloudFlare)

If your domain is on Cloudflare and you want to use a subdomain of an existing domain you own, a CNAME is usually cleaner than an A record. (CNAMEs cannot be used at the apex, so the subdomain restriction is hard.)

Example: you own mydomain.com and want links.mydomain.com as your branded short-link domain.

Step-by-step in CloudFlare

1. Open the Cloudflare dashboard and pick the parent domain.
2. Go to DNS  ›  Records and click Add record.
3. Select CNAME from the Type dropdown.
4. For Name, enter your preferred subdomain label — links, short, goto, go are just a few examples.
5. For Target, enter our server hostname: anchor.openmy.link
   (You cannot use an IP address here — CNAMEs only accept hostnames. Use Method 1 if you need to set this on an apex.)
6. Save.

If you now type the subdomain into a browser, it should resolve to one of our test pages (a placeholder until OpenMyLink finishes provisioning — see below). If you want to skip the placeholder once provisioning is done, set Domain root and Domain 404 in the OpenMyLink dashboard.

What OpenMyLink does on its side

When you add a branded domain in your dashboard, our backend does the following automatically:

1. Availability check — we verify the domain or subdomain isn't already in use by another account. If it is, we tell you so you can pick another.
2. Server configuration — we add the new hostname to our web servers so they recognise it and serve your links.
3. Enterprise reCAPTCHA — we extend our enterprise reCAPTCHA solution to your domain. If you put forms on bio pages under that domain, spam bots get filtered out.
4. Let's Encrypt SSL — we generate a free Let's Encrypt certificate for your domain or subdomain. That means every short link works over HTTPS, with a green-padlock cert that's accepted by every modern browser, email client, and social-media platform.

Please allow up to 8 hours for these steps to complete. Most domains finish in under an hour, but the SSL issuance step can occasionally take longer if Let's Encrypt is under load.

Troubleshooting

Stop condition: if your DNS does not point at 49.12.158.139 (A record) or anchor.openmy.link (CNAME), nothing else will work. Confirm those values with a public DNS lookup tool first; deeper troubleshooting only helps after the record itself is correct.

• "Domain not verified" in the dashboard — your DNS hasn't propagated yet. Wait, or use a DNS checker to confirm the A/CNAME record is visible globally before retrying.
• The browser shows an SSL warning — OpenMyLink's Let's Encrypt step hasn't finished yet. This step can take up to 8 hours after the domain is verified.
• The browser shows a generic OpenMyLink placeholder page — DNS is correct and SSL is provisioned, but you haven't set Domain root in the dashboard. Add a value there to redirect bare-domain visits to your main site.
• I get a "domain already in use" error — that domain or subdomain is attached to a different OpenMyLink account. Remove it there first, or pick a different subdomain.
• CNAME flattening at the apex — not all DNS providers support CNAME at the apex. If you can't use a subdomain, fall back to Method 1 (A record) at the apex.