Blog / Small Business Automation

Branded Short Links on Your Own Domain Without Bitly

By Keyona Meeks, Founder, ReRev Labs · Oct 31, 2026 · 7 min read

The short answer: Bitly's help page says branded links on your own domain are "available with some paid plans." You can get the same short links from a plain text file. Put a _redirects file on a small site at a subdomain you own, such as go.yourdomain.com, with one line per link: the short path, the long address and the status code. Netlify's documentation says the default status is 301, a permanent redirect. You lose Bitly's click reports unless you add your own tracking. Read the limits below before you cancel Bitly.

By the end of this post, you'll be able to:

  • Explain what a branded short link is and what it needs.
  • Set up short links with one redirect file.
  • Tag the destinations so you can see which link brings visitors.
  • Test the links before you cancel Bitly.

A short link like go.yourdomain.com/call is easier to say on a call, easier to print on a card and easier to trust than a random string. Bitly sells this as a custom domain. The idea is simple enough that you can run it yourself. This post follows Netlify's and Bitly's documentation and says where I could not confirm something. It is one of five tools we rebuild for free. See how to replace paid software subscriptions for the others.

Bitly's help page defines it this way: "A custom domain, sometimes called a vanity URL, is a way to create links that include your brand." On plans, it says: "This feature is available with some paid plans." Source: What is a custom domain?, read as an excerpt on October 30, 2026. I do not quote Bitly's prices. Check its pricing page.

Under the hood, a short link is a redirect. Someone opens go.yourdomain.com/call, your server answers "go to this other address," and their browser follows.

What do you need?

  • A domain you own. If you are new to domains, read the DNS crash course for founders and clients.
  • A host that reads a redirect file. This post uses Netlify's format, because I read its documentation.
  • A subdomain pointed at that host, such as go.yourdomain.com. Use a subdomain, not your main address, so your main site is untouched.

If you already put a site on Netlify, how to deploy a Lovable website to your own domain walks through connecting a domain to it. I did not run a setup for this post, and I did not read Netlify's page on adding a custom domain. Follow Netlify's own steps for that part.

How does the redirect file work?

Netlify's documentation says to "Save a plain text file called _redirects without a file extension to the publish directory" of your site. It adds that if you run a build, "the _redirects file should end up in the folder you're deploying." Source: Redirects and rewrites, read as an excerpt on October 30, 2026.

Each line has three parts: where from, where to, and a status code. Netlify's page on redirect options says "If left unspecified, the default is 301." It describes 301 as a permanent redirect and 302 as a temporary one. Source: Redirect options, same date.

A starter file looks like this:

# short path    destination                                                          status
/call           https://yourdomain.com/book?utm_source=short&utm_medium=card&utm_campaign=call   301
/guide          https://yourdomain.com/blog/what-to-automate-first?utm_source=short&utm_medium=card   301
/menu           https://example.com/menu.pdf                                         302

Two things I could not confirm. The Netlify page shows the three-part form with full addresses in the destination, but its examples use the proxy status 200, not a plain external redirect. I did not find a plain external-redirect example on that page, so test every line. The page's own example uses lines that start with a hash as comments, so the comment line in the starter file should be fine. Remove it if a deploy complains.

Which status code should you use?

Use 301 for a link you mean to keep for good. Netlify's page describes it as telling the client "that the address for this resource has permanently changed." Use 302 for a link whose target you will change, such as a link to this month's offer. Browsers and search engines may remember a permanent redirect longer. I do not have a source on how long, so I would use 302 while a link is new.

What order do the rules run in?

Top to bottom. Netlify's page says: "The redirects engine will process the first matching rule it finds, reading from top to bottom." If two lines share a short path, the second one never runs. Keep one line per path.

The same page states no hard maximum on rules. It recommends wildcards or placeholders if you need 10,000 or more. For a small business, that number is not your problem.

How do you track clicks?

Bitly shows you click counts. A redirect file does not. The simplest substitute is the tags in the starter file: utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign at the end of each destination. If the destination is a page of yours with an analytics tool, the tags show up as the source of the visit. This counts visits on the destination, not clicks on the short link, and it does nothing for links that go to someone else's site. I did not test any analytics tool for this post.

This is the question to answer before you cancel. I could not confirm what happens to existing bit.ly links, or to links on a Bitly custom domain, if you downgrade or close an account. I found nothing on the pages I read. Ask Bitly, or leave the account on its lowest plan until you have replaced every link you printed or posted.

If you have a custom domain on Bitly, you will want to keep the domain itself. If you point it at a new host, Bitly's links on it will stop working. So make a list first: every Bitly link you use, and where it points.

How do you test?

  1. Deploy the file.
  2. Open each short link in a private window. It should land on the right page, with the tags on the end.
  3. Open one on your phone, on mobile data, not your wifi.
  4. Type a short path that does not exist. See what the visitor sees. A redirect-only site shows an error. Add a home page to that subdomain, even a one-line page, so a typo is not a dead end.
  5. Check the padlock on the subdomain.

Where does an LLM fit in this?

An LLM can turn a messy list of old links into the three-column file, and it can suggest short paths. A person should check every line, because one wrong address sends a client to the wrong page. Redirects are plain rules and do the same thing every time. My stance: AI writes the code, plain automation runs it, and an LLM shows up only where the input is messy and a person checks the result.

Where this has limits

  • I did not deploy this. I read three pages as excerpts: one from Bitly, two from Netlify.
  • The external-redirect line is untested. The Netlify page I read did not show a plain external redirect, so test each line.
  • You lose Bitly's reports. UTM tags are a partial substitute.
  • I could not confirm what happens to existing Bitly links when you downgrade or close. Ask first.
  • Lists of links are manual. There is no editor. You edit a text file and redeploy.
  • Docs change. Everything here is as of October 30, 2026.
  • No ReRev prices and no promises about results.

If you would like us to rebuild your short links on your own accounts, see the free rebuild offer on /letstalk. Bring a list of your links and where each one points. Do not send passwords or login details.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, with a redirect file on a subdomain you own. Bitly's help page says its own custom domains are available with some paid plans.

What is a _redirects file?

A plain text file with one rule per line. Netlify's documentation says to save it without a file extension in the folder you deploy.

Should I use a 301 or a 302?

301 for a permanent link. 302 for a temporary one. Netlify's default is 301 if you leave the status out.

Will I see click counts?

Not from the file. Tag the destinations with UTM parameters and read them in an analytics tool on the destination page.

I could not confirm what happens when you downgrade or close the account. Ask Bitly before you cancel.

Do I need a developer?

No, if you can edit a text file and follow a host's steps for a domain. Test every link.