In this post, I'll show you how to set up a private name on Blogger step by step. I know what you're thinking, This looks scary, but it's not so bad once you know how it works. I'll go through every step and try to make it as clear and detailed as possible. There are some steps, so allow yourself plenty of time.
What You'll Need
You can buy a domain name from various locations, so do your homework and choose a reputable one. If you bought a name from 1&1, follow these steps instead of the ones below. You don't have to buy space because Blogger will still run your blog. Just putting in a private name. You might want to buy whois or privacy security so your information doesn't appear online.
What's The Advantage Of Having My Url?
When you buy your domain name, it is yours; you can bring it wherever you go. You own it and can move it if you switch blog platforms, go self-hosted, or set up a basic website.
All links and SEO work stay the same when you move it, so your score doesn't drop. Blogger uses 301 redirects to send people from the subdomain (www.domain-name.blogspot.com) to the customized domain (www.domain-name.com).
A custom name looks more professional and is easier to remember and share. You can set up an email address with your domain (contact@domain-name.com) to keep everything the same.
How To Create A Custom Domain On Blogger
Retrieve Your Data
1. Go To Settings > Publishing > Blog Address After Logging In To Blogger. Click "add A Custom Domain Name."
2. Click "add Custom Domain Name," Type In "www.domain-name.com" For Your New Domain Name, And Click "save."
3. Now, you should see a mistake. This gives you the information you need to set up your new name correctly, so keep this page open to move on to the next step. Everyone has the same first CNAME. The second is a CNAME for your blog that is unique.
4. Open the Settings Tips in a new tab so that you can look at them again later. Here, you can see how a top-level or subdomain is set up. For this lesson, I'll use www.domain-name.com as the top-level domain.
5. If your details don't show up, go to this page on Google Webmaster and click Verification Details next to your name. Click the drop-down menu next to Details at the top of the page to view your Host and Points To information.
Create Cname Records
6. Open a new tab, log in to where you bought your name, and look for settings. Click on DNS settings or records. This could also be named Name Server Management. Put together a new CNAME record.
7. Type www or domain-name in the Name/Host/Label box based on where you got the domain. Put ghs.google.com in the box that says "Destination/Target/Points To." Everyone has the same experience.
8. The second CNAME will be made up of letters and numbers. Enter the information from Blogger that looks like 00aa0aaaaaa in the Name/Host/Label field. Put the information from Blogger that looks like aa-a0aaaa0aaaaa.dv.googlehosted.com in the Destination/Target/Points field.
Below are instructions for both Blacknight and GoDaddy. If you can't find the right choices, look out this page for more information or contact your domain name provider.
Using The Blacknight
Sign in to your account as well as go to websites. Click on your domain name, then click on DNS, then click on DNS Records. Change the type of the new record to CNAME. Enter www for the domain, add ghs.google.com for the official name, and click "Save." You might have to turn off your other records for this to work.
Add another record for your unique CNAME. In the name field, put the information from Blogger that looks like 00aa0aaaaaa. Enter the Blogger information that looks like aa-a0aaaa0aaaaa.dv.googlehosted.com. For every of the A (Host) IP addresses listed above, add a new record as shown above.
Read Also: How To Enable HTTPs In Blogger Blog
Using Godaddy
Sign in to your account on GoDaddy. Click Launch beside Domains > DNS Zone File. There will be a table with different titles. Find where it says "CNAME" and click "quick add." In the Host field, type www. Type ghs.google.com for Points To. Again, add your unique CNAME for Host and enter the information from Blogger that looks like 00aa0aaaaaaaa. For Points To enter the details from Blogger that examines like aa-a0aaaa0aaaaaa.dv.googlehosted.com
Make A-records.
Now you can add your A-Records so that your naked domain (domain-name.com) will be moved to your full domain (www.domain-name.com). If you don't do this, people who click on your naked domain will see an error.
10. Enter a list of Google's IP addresses. For each of the 4 IP addresses, you will need to add a new record. Find the A (Host) heading and table. Enter the values that follow where Host is @ and the following number.
216.239.32.21
216.239.34.21
216.239.36.21
216.239.38.21
Now You Can Remove Old Records You No Longer Need And Click "save."
11. Make Sure Your Settings Are On Before Moving On. It Might Take Up To An Hour To Do This.
The Last Step
12. Go back to Blogger, click Settings, click Publishing, click Blog Address, type in your domain name, and click Save. There shouldn't be a mistake this time. Make sure that the choice to transfer from domain-name.com to www.domain-name.com is checked.
13. If A Reader Clicks On Your Old-domain-name.blogspot.com Url, They Should Instantly Be Sent To Your New Custom Domain, Domain-name.com.
14. It can take up to 48 hours for these changes and sets to take effect, so don't worry if it doesn't work immediately. If it's still not working after 48 hours, repeat the procedure and ensure you did everything right.
15. Finally, check out this tutorial to ensure you've changed everything else so you don't lose users or followers.
