Create a Branded URL Shortener in 5 Minutes (One-Click Deploy on Zeabur)

Generic links like bit.ly/3xyz are boring and hide your brand. If you want professional links like link.yourbrand.com/promo, you need a custom URL shortener.

The best open-source tool for this is Shlink. It’s powerful, privacy-focused, and gives you amazing analytics.

Previously, setting this up required messing with Docker, databases, and config files. Not anymore. Today, I’ll show you how to use a Zeabur Template to deploy a complete URL shortener suite (Database + Backend + Dashboard) with just one click.

Prerequisites

1. A Domain Name: (e.g., yourbrand.com) purchased from Namecheap, Spaceship, etc.
2. A MaxMind License Key: (Optional but recommended for location tracking).
   • Sign up for free here.
   • Generate a key and save it.

Step 1: Click the “Deploy” Button

We are going to use Zeabur’s template system. This automatically sets up three services for you:

1. PostgreSQL (The database)
2. Shlink Core (The engine)

Click the button below to start:

1. Log in to Zeabur (or sign up), you can use referral code sk5s to get free credits after your plan upgrade.
2. You will see a prompt to create a project.
3. Important: You might see a prompt asking for GEOLITE_LICENSE_KEY. Paste your MaxMind key here. (If you don’t have one yet, you can leave it blank, but location tracking won’t work).
4. Click Deploy.

Wait about 40-60 seconds while Zeabur spins up all three services for you automatically.

Step 2: Connect Your Domain

Once the services are running (green dots), you need to tell the internet that your domain points to this new service.

1. In your new Zeabur Project, click on the shlink service (the core, not the web-client).
2. Click on the Networking tab.
3. Click “Domain” -> “Custom Domain”.
4. Enter your desired domain or subdomain (e.g., link.yourbrand.com).
5. Zeabur will generate a target address (like tpe1.cname.zeabur-dns.com).
6. Go to your Domain Registrar (where you bought your domain) and add a CNAME Record:
   • Host: link
   • Value: The Zeabur target address.
7. Wait a moment for it to verify. Then restart the shlink project.

Step 3: Get Your Admin API Key

To use the dashboard, you need a secret key.

1. Click on the shlink service again.
2. Get your admin api key from the instructions section of the shlink service.

Step 4: Connect the Dashboard

1. Click on the shlink-web-client service.
2. Go to the Networking tab.
3. Open the link generated there (e.g., web-client.zeabur.app).
4. You will see an “Add Server” screen.
   • Name: My Shortener
   • URL: https://link.yourbrand.com (Your custom domain from Step 2)
   • API Key: The key you copied in Step 4.
5. Click Create Server.

Success!

You are now inside your own private URL shortener dashboard. You can create short links, view click stats, and manage tags—all running on your own infrastructure.

Why this is better than bit.ly?

• 100% You: No “bit.ly” branding.
• Data Ownership: You own the click data, not a third party.
• Cost: Zeabur offers generous free/trial tiers, often making this cheaper than enterprise link shorteners.

Happy shortening!