Get Your Own Short URL (and Use It!)

Got a blog? Want to make yourself a bit more noticeable around the interwebs? What better way to do it than your own short URL (a la bit.ly, j.mp, goo.gl, etc.).

** Note: If you’re not familiar with domain purchasing, hosting, and nameservers, this might get over your head. So read up on that first.

First things first: find one. I used domai.nr to search and find one that I liked and wasn’t outrageously expensive. Ended up going for bc3te.ch :) not bad, right? Once you find one, just use the buttons & links on domai.nr’s website to purchase it.

After you’re done there, head over to bit.ly and create an account or log in to your current one.

Head to the ‘Settings’ area, go to the ‘Advanced’ tab and you’ll see this:

Now, this is what it looks like after you’re all said and done. Before this, under the “Branded Short Domain” will be options to add your own custom domain. Clicking that link provides instructions on how to set up your newly-purchased domain’s NameServers to point to bit.ly. That propagation can take minutes to hours, so be patient and continue to click the ‘Verify’ button on that page after you’ve updated your domain’s nameserver entries.

Once you get verified, set your default short domain to your new one and you’re done! Now when you create a bit.ly link at bit.ly, it’ll automagically use your new custom domain!

You can get to this post with my new short URL (http://bc3te.ch/YUtXVt) now. :)