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Over the last 14 years I've been making and sharing a lot of content online across a lot of different platforms such as YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and more. I have a lot of different social media accounts and I wanted to make it easier for people to find me online. I decided to create custom subdomain redirects for my social media profiles using Nginx on my VPS. I figure if I am interested in doing this, then maybe others are too so I thought I would share how I did it.

What is a Vanity URL?

A vanity URL is a custom URL that is easy to remember and type. It usually contains your name or brand and redirects to a longer, more complex URL. For example, instead of using a long URL like https://www.example.com/user/123456789, you could use https://twitter.example.com to redirect to your Twitter profile. This makes it easier for you to tell people where to find you online and makes it easier for them to remember your social media profiles. Also in my opinion it is another way to flex your skills as a tech professional. It demonstrates that you have knowledge about:

• Acquiring a domain name
• Managing DNS records
• Setting up a VPS
• Installing and configuring Nginx
• Using SSL certificates
• Using a reverse proxy

In my case my goal was to create custom subdomains for each of the platforms I want to be able to easily refer people to. For example, linkedin.stevanfreeborn.com would redirect to my LinkedIn profile. I also wanted to make sure that the redirects were secure and used HTTPS.

How I Did It

The good news is that this is a pretty simple process. I am going to walk you through the steps I took to set up my own custom subdomain redirects using Nginx on my VPS. The process is pretty straightforward and can be done in a few minutes.

• Setup Domain
• Initial Server Setup
• Install Nginx

Create DNS Records

• Log in to your domain registrar's control panel.
• Go to the DNS management section.
• Create a new CNAME record for each subdomain you want to create. For example, if you want to create a subdomain for your LinkedIn profile, create a CNAME record for linkedin.your_domain.com and point it to your_domain.com.
• Make sure to set the TTL (Time to Live) to a low value (like 300 seconds) so that changes propagate quickly.
• Save the changes and wait for the DNS records to propagate. This can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours, depending on your domain registrar.
• You can check if the DNS records have propagated by using a tool like WhatsMyDNS or by running the following command in your terminal:

nslookup linkedin.your_domain.com

Configure Nginx

• SSH into your VPS.
• Open the Nginx configuration file for your site. This is usually located at /etc/nginx/sites-available/default or /etc/nginx/sites-available/your_domain.conf.
• Add the following server block for each subdomain you want to create:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name subdomain.your_domain.com;

    location / {
        return 301 https://www.example.com;
    }
}

• Save the file and exit the editor.
• Create a symbolic link to the configuration file in the sites-enabled directory if it doesn't already exist:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/your_domain.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/your_domain.conf

• Test the Nginx configuration to make sure there are no syntax errors:

sudo nginx -t

• If there are no errors, reload Nginx to apply the changes:

sudo nginx -s reload

Install SSL Certificate

• To secure your redirects with HTTPS, you will need to install an SSL certificate. The easiest way to do this is to use Certbot, which is a free and open-source tool for obtaining and renewing SSL certificates.
• Install Certbot on your VPS by following the instructions for your operating system on the Certbot website.
• Once Certbot is installed, run the following command to obtain an SSL certificate for your subdomain:

sudo certbot --nginx -d subdomain.your_domain.com

• Follow the prompts to complete the installation. Certbot will automatically configure Nginx to use the SSL certificate and redirect HTTP traffic to HTTPS.
• Test the Nginx configuration to make sure there are no syntax errors:

sudo nginx -t

• If there are no errors, reload Nginx to apply the changes:

sudo nginx -s reload

Test the Redirects

With everything set up, you can now test your redirects. Open a web browser and enter the subdomain URL (e.g., https://linkedin.your_domain.com). You should be redirected to the corresponding social media profile (e.g., https://www.linkedin.com/in/your_profile). Make sure to test all the subdomains you created to ensure they are working correctly.

Conclusion

Setting up custom subdomain redirects for your social media profiles using Nginx on your VPS is a simple and effective way to manage your online presence. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can create easy-to-remember URLs that redirect to your social media profiles while ensuring that the connections are secure with HTTPS. If you have any questions or run into any issues, feel free to reach out for help. You can find me on Bluesky at @stevanfreeborn.com.