Skip to main content

Alternate Way of Creating a Custom Shortened URL

Benji Bizzell
Updated

Overview

This article provides a step-by-step guide on how to create a custom shortened URL by using a CNAME record and performing a 301 redirect on your server. It emphasizes the need for IT expertise during the process and warns about the potential for redirect failure if server issues occur.

 

Information

Learn an alternative method to create a custom shortened URL using CNAME. You can find detailed explanations of shortened URLs/CNAMEs in this article. This article will showcase an alternate way of creating custom shortened URLs.

 

Steps:

  1. Determine the name of your custom shortened URL. For the sake of this example, we will use media.company.com.
  2. In your DNS records, create an A record pointing to the server that will perform the URL redirect. For example, we show creating such a record in AWS Route 53 below. Your DNS management console may differ.

 

Note: This is best completed by someone from your IT team. Please ensure to have someone present and/or available for completing the below process.

  • Go to Route 53.
  • Select Hosted Zones.
  • Select the desired Domain Name (e.g., company.com).
  • Choose "Create Record Set".
  • Fill in the details for the A record as shown below (in the Value field enter your redirect server's IP address).

 

 

3. On your server, perform a 301 redirect from your domain e.g., media.company.com/XYZ to share.postbeyond.com/XYZ (in the below example we are using Kinsta to perform the redirect. If you are using Apache as a proxy then you will need to modify the .htaccess).

 

Performing the above step will redirect media.company.com/STRING to share.postbeyond.com/STRING.

 

NOTE: If you are using this method, please note that any failures on your server will cause the redirect to fail.

 

Helpful Resources

Explore the following articles to learn more about customizing your experience:

 

FAQ

What is a CNAME and how is it used in creating custom shortened URLs?

A CNAME, or Canonical Name record, is a type of DNS record that maps an alias name to a true or canonical domain name. In the context of custom shortened URLs, a CNAME is used to map a short domain (like media.company.com) to the domain of the URL shortening service (like share.postbeyond.com), which then handles the redirection.

What is a 301 redirect and why is it necessary for creating a custom shortened URL?

A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect from one URL to another. It is necessary in the process of creating a custom shortened URL to ensure that when someone visits your custom domain (e.g., media.company.com/XYZ), they are seamlessly redirected to the actual content location (e.g., share.postbeyond.com/XYZ).

Who should perform the process of creating a custom shortened URL?

The process should ideally be completed by someone from your IT team, as it involves technical steps such as modifying server settings and implementing redirects.

What should I do if I encounter issues while setting up my custom shortened URL?

If you encounter any issues or have questions during the setup process, you should reach out to the support team at support@postbeyond.com for assistance.

Related articles

Powered by Zendesk