You need no Netlify account, no hosting account and no project anywhere. Everything on our side is done for you — you create a couple of records at whoever manages your DNS, and we connect the domain.
Use whichever domain you want the links to sit on: example.com, or something like links.example.com if you would rather leave your own website where it is. Both work the same way; the dashboard works out which records that particular domain needs and shows you those.
- Under Domains, type the domain you control into the Domain field.
- The records appear beside the field as soon as the domain is complete — you can also press Show DNS records. They come filled in with your own values, including a one-off verification code that proves the domain is yours, and every value has a Copy button.
- Create them at your DNS provider (Cloudflare, Namecheap, GoDaddy, IONOS, your registrar) exactly as shown. Each name is written out in full, which every provider accepts; if yours instead wants only the part in front of the domain you manage, pick that domain from the list beside the records and the names shorten to match it. Where a name of
@is not accepted, leaving the field blank means the same thing. - Come back and press I've added the records — connect. The domain appears in your list only after our server has confirmed it, so a failed check has cost you nothing — wait a while and press again if DNS has not caught up. The HTTPS certificate is issued automatically afterwards, and you can then set the domain as the default or pick it per link.
Custom domains are part of the Agency plan. If an account drops below Agency the domain is withdrawn from the links and they fall back to plugwith.me — nothing is deleted, and re-upgrading restores it.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use example.com itself, not links.example.com?
Yes. It just needs a different routing record, and the dashboard shows you which one — if your provider offers an <code>ALIAS</code>, <code>ANAME</code> or flattened <code>CNAME</code> (Cloudflare, DNSimple and others do), you point <code>@</code> at <code>apex-loadbalancer.netlify.com</code>; if it offers none of those, you create an <code>A</code> record on <code>@</code> pointing at <code>75.2.60.5</code>. One or the other, never both. The <code>TXT</code> ownership record is the same either way. Bear in mind that whatever the domain currently serves — a website, a shop — stops being served there once the links take it over, so pick a domain you are not already using.
Do I need a Netlify account?
No. The <code>CNAME</code> target happens to be a netlify.app hostname because that is where plugwith.me is served from, but you never sign up for anything there — we connect the domain for you from our side.
The connect button says it could not verify the domain.
The records are usually not visible yet. Check the <code>TXT</code> record is named exactly as the dashboard shows it — <code>netlify-challenge.</code> in front of your full domain — and carries the exact code shown next to it, then wait a while and press connect again. Nothing was added in the meantime.
What happens to links already in the wild?
Nothing. The old URL keeps resolving; the domain choice only affects the URL we show you for copying.