Custom Domain Short Links for Apps: A Practical Guide
Why a link on your own domain is worth it, how to choose the hostname, the setup in three steps, and what happens to the links and QR codes you have already shared.
The one part of a link people read
Nobody reads a whole link. People glance at the domain, decide whether it belongs to someone they know, and either tap or move on. In a text message, an email, a social bio or on a poster, the domain does all the convincing on its own.
A custom domain puts your name in that spot: go.acme.com/spring instead of appy.to/spring. Same link, same routing to the App Store, Google Play or your website, same click numbers. Only the address changes, to one your customers already know.
Custom domains come with the Business and Enterprise plans. Below: why they are worth it, how to choose the hostname, the setup, and what happens to everything you have already shared.
Where your domain does the work
appy.to/springgo.acme.com/spring
Text message
Acme: the spring sale starts today, in the app only. go.acme.com/spring
Email
Your order is on its way. Follow it in the app:
go.acme.com/track
Social bio
Acme · running gear
go.acme.com/appPosters and packaging
Scan or type
go.acme.com/spring
Three reasons it is worth it
People recognize it
A text from Acme with an Acme link adds up. The same text with an unfamiliar short domain asks the reader to trust a name they have never seen, and some will hesitate.
It looks like the rest of your brand
Website, emails, packaging and now links all carry the same name. A short address on your own domain is also easier to read out in a podcast or type from a poster.
The address stays yours
The domain is registered to you, so you decide where it points. What you print on packaging this year is not tied to a domain someone else controls.
Anatomy of a branded short link
Three parts. You choose the first one once; the other two you already have.
go.acme.com/spring
go
Subdomain
Picked once. Short and neutral works best: go, link, get or app.
.acme.com
Your domain
The name people know from your website and your emails.
/spring
Slug
The same slug as on appy.to. Every link in your account works on both.
Choosing the hostname
Good choices
- go.acme.com: two letters, and it reads like an invitation
- link.acme.com: says exactly what it is
- get.acme.com: made for download campaigns
- app.acme.com, as long as nothing else uses it
- Whichever you pick, use it everywhere
Think twice
- acme.com itself: your website lives there, and not every DNS provider can point it to Appy
- A hostname your website or web app already uses
- Long names such as download-the-acme-app.acme.com
- A second domain bought just for links, which nobody recognizes
Why not the root domain? acme.com can only point to another service if your DNS provider supports CNAME flattening or ALIAS records, and not all of them do. Even when it works, your website would have to move off acme.com. A subdomain needs one record and changes nothing else.
The setup, in three steps
Only the second step needs someone with access to your DNS settings, and it takes a few minutes.
- 01
Add the hostname
Domain
go.acme.com
In the dashboard, open Custom domains and enter go.acme.com. Just the name, nothing before or after it.
- 02
Add one DNS record
- Type
- CNAME
- Name
- go
- Value
- cname.appy.to
The dashboard shows the record to add, with step-by-step help for common DNS providers. Add it yourself, or forward it to whoever manages your domain.
- 03
Appy does the rest
- Waiting for DNS
- Issuing certificate
- Live
https://go.acme.com
Appy looks for the record every minute in the first hour, then every 10 minutes for up to 72 hours. Once it is found, the HTTPS certificate is issued and renewed for you.
Who does the DNS part
In most companies the marketing team does not manage DNS, and it does not need to. Forward the record from the dashboard to your IT team or web agency: one CNAME record for one subdomain. It does not touch your website or your email, and for them it is a routine change.
What happens to the links you already shared
Changing the default domain or leaving the plan breaks nothing. Removing a domain does.
appy.to/spring, printed before you added your domain
go.acme.com/spring, after you change the default domain
go.acme.com/spring, after you leave Business or Enterprise
go.acme.com/spring, after you remove the domain
The default domain and your QR codes
Every link in your account works on every active domain and on appy.to at the same time. One domain can be the default: the dashboard copies short links and builds QR codes with it, and links created through the API come back with it. Changing the default changes what you copy next, never what you already shared.
So set the default before a print run, not halfway through one. New QR codes carry the default domain; codes already printed keep the domain they were made with, and that one keeps working too.
When someone types just go.acme.com
Some people will open go.acme.com with nothing after it, or mistype a slug. Give the domain a website address, usually your homepage, and that is where they land. Without one they see a plain not-found page with no Appy branding.
Only your links open on your domain. Links from other Appy accounts never do, so nobody can borrow your name for theirs.
App links on your own domain (Enterprise)
On Enterprise you can assign a domain to your app. Universal Links on iPhone and App Links on Android then open the app straight from go.acme.com, just as they do from your Appy link domain.
go.acme.com/app
Tapped in a text, an email or a bio.
- iPhone with the appThe app opens on the right screen, through Universal Links.
- Android phone with the appThe app opens on the right screen, through App Links.
- Phone without the appApp Store or Google Play, then the right screen on first launch with the SDK.
- ComputerYour website.
Free tools that work with your domain
- Branded QR code generatorYour logo and colors around a go.acme.com link, ready for print.
- UTM builder for app campaignsClean source, medium and campaign names for every link you share.
- Universal Link validatorCheck that go.acme.com is set up to open your app on iPhone and Android.
- UTM Parameters for App Campaigns: A Practical GuideA naming system for every channel, and what the stores do with your tags.
For whoever sets it up
Frequently asked questions
Which plans include custom domains?
Business includes one custom domain and Enterprise up to three. Business costs $39.99 a month or $399 a year; Enterprise is priced for your apps and traffic. Links on Free and Pro use appy.to.
Do I have to recreate my links?
No. As soon as the domain is live, every link in your account works on it, and every link keeps working on appy.to as well.
Will it affect my website or my email?
Not if you use a subdomain that nothing else uses, such as go.acme.com. The DNS record covers that one name and nothing else.
How long does the setup take?
Adding the record takes a few minutes. Appy checks for it every minute during the first hour, and once it is found the HTTPS certificate is usually ready within minutes. Some DNS providers take longer to publish a change.
What happens if I leave the plan or remove the domain?
If you leave Business or Enterprise, your links keep working on appy.to, and as long as the DNS record still points to Appy, anyone who opens a link on your domain, from a printed QR code for example, is sent to the same link on appy.to. Removing a domain stops it right away: links on that hostname no longer open, while the same links keep working on appy.to. So keep any domain that is printed on QR codes or packaging.
Can I use more than one domain?
On Enterprise, yes: up to three, for example one per brand or market. Every link works on all of them, and the default decides which one the dashboard copies and puts in new QR codes. Business includes one domain.
What do people see if they open a link that does not exist?
The website you set for the domain, usually your homepage. If you leave it empty, a plain not-found page without Appy branding. And there are no ads on any plan.
Continue exploring
UTM Parameters for App Campaigns: A Practical Guide
What each UTM tag is for, a naming system that stays clean, values for every app channel, and what really happens to your tags at the App Store and Google Play.
Parameter Forwarding for Deep Links, Universal Links, App Stores, and Web
Learn how to preserve campaign and context parameters across app opens, app-store redirects, Universal Links, and website visits without overwriting destination values.
Universal Links Open Safari? Fix AASA, App Links, Redirects, and Headers
A practical troubleshooting workflow to fix universal links and app links that open the browser instead of your app.
Looking for something else? Browse all topics on the blog.
Put your links on your own domain
Custom domains come with Business and Enterprise: one DNS record, a certificate Appy renews for you, and every link you already have working on the new address. No ads on any plan.