# Short links & branded domain

Instasent shortens the links in your messages so they fit and so clicks can be tracked. This page covers the default short-link domain, using your own branded domain, the two setup modes, the DNS records to create, verification, the default redirect, and why short links matter for click tracking.

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When you add a link to a message, Instasent shortens it. Short links save characters — which matters most in SMS — and they're what lets us track who clicked, so your campaign and conversion stats know which links drove results. Every project comes with a shared default short-link domain, and you can add your own branded domain so the links carry your name instead.

You'll find this under **Settings → Tools → Short links**.

## The default short-link domain

Out of the box, your shortened links use a shared Instasent domain assigned to your organization, with nothing to configure. If you don't add a domain of your own, this is what your links use, and the panel shows it on the **Short links** screen.

**The default domain is fully functional.** Your links are shortened, they resolve, and clicks are tracked exactly as they would be on a branded domain. Adding a branded domain changes what the recipient reads in the URL, and nothing else: it is not a prerequisite for click tracking, for [click attribution](/platform/en/project-settings/conversions-attribution), or for any other feature. A project with no domain of its own measures clicks just like a project with one.

{/* Editors: the production defaults are `klic.to` (short links) and `nosms.to`
    (unsubscribe links), taken from the production ConfigMaps, consistent across api, dr
    and process, and corroborated by the shipped panel build. Deliberately NOT named in
    prose: those values are confirmed as configured, but liveness could not be proven
    independently (no ingress rule, TLS certificate manifest or managed external DNS in
    the Infra repo). Publish the literal here once that is confirmed. `develop.inst.to`
    and `devnosms.inst.to` are develop values and are never authoritative for customers. */}

## Adding your own domain

When you add a link domain, you pick one of two types:

- **Subdomain** — a subdomain of Instasent's default tracking domain (3–20 characters, letters, numbers and hyphens). It's configured automatically, with no DNS to set up: your shortened links use this subdomain right away.
- **Branded domain / subdomain** — a domain you own, such as `sms.myshop.com`. It must be a domain or subdomain you own and that isn't already in use. This is the one that needs DNS records, below.

## Setting up a branded domain

A branded domain has two setup modes:

- **Automatically** (recommended) — Instasent manages the SSL certificate for you and renews it automatically. You only create the DNS records.
- **Self-Managed** (advanced) — you run your own vhost that redirects to our link tracker, and you handle the SSL certificate yourself. This needs an IT team.

### DNS records (Automatically mode)

In the **Automatically** mode you create a DNS record pointing your domain at Instasent. The panel shows the exact values to use; the shape is:

| Record type         | Hostname                                                     | Points to                            |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------ |
| **CNAME**           | `@` for an apex domain, or the subdomain prefix (e.g. `sms`) | The CNAME target Instasent gives you |
| **A** (alternative) | The apex domain                                              | The IP address Instasent gives you   |

- Use the **CNAME** record by default.
- Use the **A** record only if your DNS provider doesn't support CNAME flattening at the apex.
- If you also want the `www.` subdomain to work, add it as another domain so both are available.

{/* VERIFY: the exact CNAME target and A-record IP in production (the dev `.env` values are not authoritative). */}

![The branded domain setup screen showing the DNS records to create](/platform/en/project-settings/images/short-links--1.png)
*The branded domain setup: the DNS records to create at your provider.*

### Verifying the domain

Once the records are in place, click **Check domain**. DNS changes take a few hours to propagate — up to 24 — and Instasent re-checks automatically every few minutes until the domain verifies. When it's done, the domain's status shows its DNS, hosting and SSL certificate, with the certificate auto-renewed.

> **Note**: **Keep in mind:** if you previously had conflicting DNS records on the same hostname, remove them first — they can stop the new ones from resolving.

## Default redirect

Each link domain has a **Default redirect URL** — your business's main webpage. If someone reaches the domain without a specific short link, they're forwarded here by default.

## Short links and SMS

To save characters in SMS messages, Instasent doesn't add the `http://` scheme to short links. For uncommon top-level domains where the link might not be recognised without it — `.me`, `.gg`, `.club`, `.online` and similar — you can force the scheme to be included.

> **Note**: The shortener doesn't add UTM parameters by itself. UTMs are set in the message editor, at the campaign level — not in the domain settings.

## Why short links matter for tracking

Shortening is what makes a click measurable. When Instasent shortens a link, the click is registered as the recipient is forwarded to your page, and that is what feeds the click figures in [campaign analytics](/platform/en/campaigns/campaign-analytics), what the **Click on link or button** [attribution window](/platform/en/project-settings/conversions-attribution) is counted from, and what ties a [conversion](/platform/en/insights/conversions) back to the message.

What decides whether a click is measured is **shortened or not**, never which domain does the shortening:

- A **shortened link** is measured, on the default domain and on a branded domain alike.
- A **plain, untracked URL pasted as text** is sent exactly as written, and its clicks are not measured.

> **Note**: Adding a branded domain does not switch click tracking on, and not having one does not switch it off. Tracking comes from shortening, which is already active on every project.

## Limits

The number of subdomains and branded domains you can add depends on your plan. When you reach the limit, the panel shows a notice with an upgrade option. Adding, setting a default, archiving and changing the mode all require the project-write permission.

Archiving a domain doesn't delete it: it's no longer used for new short links, but links already sent keep working.

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