Onboarding a custom QR or short-link domain

Overview

By default, SiteDetour serves your short URLs on the shared qr.sitedetour.com hostname. Onboarding a custom domain lets you serve them on your own branded hostname — go.yourbrand.com, links.yourbrand.com, scan.yourbrand.com. Every Smart Link and Landing Page you assign to the new domain is served from it.

Prerequisites

• A subdomain you control on a domain you own.
• Ability to add CNAME records at your DNS provider.
• An active SiteDetour plan with custom-domain support.

Use a subdomain rather than an apex. Apex domains are reserved for redirects (Creating a Redirect); Smart Link / landing-page hosting uses CNAME-friendly subdomains.

Add the domain in SiteDetour

Navigate to Custom Domains and click Onboard Domain. Enter:

• Domain — the subdomain you want to use (e.g. go.yourbrand.com).
• Enable Reverse Proxy Support — toggle on if you'll be running traffic through Cloudflare or a similar reverse proxy. See Using SiteDetour behind Cloudflare.

Click Add Custom Domain to save.

Configure DNS

After creation, SiteDetour displays the CNAME target for your subdomain. Add a CNAME record at your DNS provider pointing go.yourbrand.com at that target.

If you're using Cloudflare and intend to proxy (orange cloud): leave proxy on and ensure Reverse Proxy Support is enabled in the domain settings. Otherwise, use DNS-only (grey cloud) for the cleanest setup.

SSL certificate

Once DNS propagates, SiteDetour automatically issues an SSL certificate for the new domain. No manual action is required; the domain becomes HTTPS-ready within a few minutes of DNS flipping.

Certificates auto-renew well before expiration. If renewal fails (usually due to DNS changes), the domain row shows a warning; re-verify DNS and retry.

Assigning resources to the domain

Once onboarded, the domain appears in the Link Domain dropdown when creating or editing a Smart Link or Landing Page. Switch any existing resource over by editing it and changing the dropdown.

Moving a Smart Link between domains is safe — the path remains, but the full URL changes. QR code images re-render. If print assets already have the old URL encoded, they stop working after the move.

Limits

Custom-domain caps are plan-specific. See Billing for your allotment.

Next steps

• SSL certificates on SiteDetour
• Using SiteDetour behind Cloudflare