Moving a branded domain from Bitly, Rebrandly, TinyURL, Cutt.ly or Short.io is mostly a DNS change plus a CSV import. The order matters, because the goal is that no existing printed or shared link ever 404s.
Step 1: export and import your links
Export from the old provider and upload the CSV under Bulk, then CSV import. Templates are recognised for Bitly, Rebrandly, TinyURL, Cutt.ly, Short.io and a generic layout, and headers are mapped automatically — Bitlink, slashtag, alias, keyword, back-half and custom back-half all map onto the slug, and destination, long URL and original URL onto the target.
Preview the file first. The preview shows the detected headers, the field each maps to, the row count and the first twenty rows, and lets you correct any mapping before anything is written. Imports are capped at 10,000 rows per file.
Step 2: point DNS at ShortFreeURL
Change the A record for the branded domain to the redirect IP shown in the dashboard, and the www CNAME to the CNAME target. Leave the domain attached at the old provider for now.
Step 3: fallback resolution covers the gap
While the Bitly migration is enabled, any slug that ShortFreeURL does not recognise is looked up against your old domain, redirected, and cached. Links created after your export — or links that failed to import — keep working during the switch instead of returning 404.
Step 4: finish the move
Watch the click stream for requests still being served by fallback. Once that drops to zero, usually after about thirty days, turn fallback off and remove the domain from the old provider.
What does not come across
Historical click data stays with the old provider; nothing about the export format carries it. Export their analytics separately if you need it. QR codes that encode the old short URL keep working as long as the domain points here — that is the whole point of moving the domain rather than the links.
Find this in your dashboard
- Sign in and select the workspace and domain you want to manage.
- Open Branded Links. Review the article’s steps and your plan’s available controls.
- Save your changes, reopen the record and verify the saved result. For routing changes, check the short link with a test visit.
