Troubleshoot vanity URL issues

Oct 14, 2026
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Article updated: September 21, 2026

Troubleshoot vanity URL issues

If your vanity URL isn't working as expected, there are a number of things you can check to resolve the issue. Use the following table to find the symptom you're seeing and the recommended action to fix it.

Remember, the first things you need when setting up a vanity URL are:

A purchased domain name from an accredited web host
An organization set up in your Hootsuite account
To learn more, see Set up a vanity URL.

Vanity URL issues and solutions
Symptom	Issue	Solution
Vanity URL opens to a blank window.	The vanity URL domain is inactive.	Vanity URLs can take up to 24 hours to be verified after creation. If it's still not live after 24 hours, contact your domain host to confirm the URL has been activated.
503 Error/Page not found/General error page	The vanity URL domain is inactive, or Ow‌.ly does not recognize the URL.	Contact your domain host to confirm the URL has been activated.
Redirected to a homepage or an Ow‌.ly page.	The DNS A record is not pointing to the correct IP address.	Sign in to your domain host, and ensure your DNS A-record is pointing to one of the following IP addresses: 54.241.242.72 54.241.242.79
Link works when pasted directly into a browser, but times out or hangs when selected from a post on X	X rewrites http:// links to https:// before shortening them. Hootsuite's vanity URL redirect only accepts HTTP connections, so the rewritten https:// link has nothing to connect to on port 443	Contact your domain host or IT team to make sure your vanity URL domain accepts HTTPS connections. This issue occurs as a result of a change in how X processes links running into a domain that's HTTP-only.

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Troubleshoot vanity URL issues

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Troubleshoot vanity URL issues

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Troubleshoot vanity URL issues