Everybody says that a blog should have its own custom domain for it reflects the sincerity of the blogger to maintain his/her blog. I don't usually agree with that. I had blogged for six years already and it was only today that I purchased a custom domain. My reasoning was always, what for if my blog can be published for free, people don't usually look in their URL bars to check if it is a .com, .net or a .blogspot.com address. What they are after is your site's contents, right? Old bloggers also talk about custom domain as status of credibility. I also don't agree. First of all, as long as you can provide your readers with a satisfactory content, they will be coming for more! Additionally, if you are not much of a web developer and have very little knowledge on hosting and tweaking things in the cloud, you won't put a finger to an advanced level as long as your page is seen in the web and people are enjoying about it.
But as the saying goes, curiosity kills the cat; I purchased a .com domain for just 50 cents for a year in Network Solutions (you can use the promo code NCDISC0041 for this). I tried it to see how it will affect my website goers. Regarding hosting, I still don't have the guts to try it, I am still at ease with Blogger. I will be guiding you in redirecting your Blogger blog to a custom domain via Network Solutions.
Difficulty: Very Easy
Requirements:
Paypal or Visa or MasterCard Cards for Payment
Blogger Account
Network Solutions account
Procedures:
1. Go to Network Solutions and purchase a domain using your Paypal, Visa Card or MasterCard. It is better to look for domain coupons in Google first before purchasing (you can use the promo code NCDISC0041 for 50 cent domain registration).You will have to input your personal info but you can fake it if you will not purchase a WhoisGuard which costs additional $9.99 per year. Make sure that you enter a valid email address as you will have to use it in case you have forgotten your passwords and for receipt of your purchases as well as confirmation of your ownership of the site.
2. After purchase, log in to your Network Solutions account and click MANAGE ACCOUNT button.
3. Click EDIT DNS under MY DOMAIN NAMES. In the new page click "Edit" as shown in the picture:
5. Now, go to your Blogger account and open SETTINGS and click BASIC in the dropdown menu.
Click "Add a Custom Domain" and input the custom domain that you purchased in Network Solutions then hit SAVE. Copy the values in the second line that will appear in the error. Paste these values in the EDIT CNAME RECORDS of your Network Solutions account. Under ALIAS: the value from the Name, Label, or Host field and for OTHER HOST: the value from the Destination, Target or Points to field of Blogger. Check picture for the process. Click "Continue" and then "Save".
6. You are done! Welcome your new .com blog!
Note: If Blogger will ask for the verification of your address to make sure that you are the owner of the custom domain, just click the link to Blogger verification and follow the steps they provided. You will need to Edit TXT Records in your custom domain account. Also, you need to confirm your email address in Network Solutions.
If you encounter problems, just post in the comment for assistance.
Thank you very much for this tutorial this is really helpful and thank you for coupon..
ReplyDelete