Diagnosing Problems With Custom Domains

Diagnosing Problems With Custom Domains - Case Study #5

In my first 4 custom domain case studies, I presented working, or semi-working domains, each being a case where the domain owner appeared to have tried to setup the domain properly. By action of the DNS host, or maybe of the Blogger wizard, some of the cases didn't exemplify proper setup, but the owner at least tried to do properly.

In some cases, maybe through ignorance, or stubborness, the owner will simply ignore instruction, and do his own thing. Sometimes, the setup will work, but it will still be wrong. Maybe it's a setup recommended by the DNS host technical support staff.

Let's look at one case, again a fictional example "mydomain.com", setup using the "Advanced Settings" wizard.

There are 4 URLs to study here.

The primary domain "mydomain.com".
The "www" alias for the domain "www.mydomain.com".
The primary BlogSpot URL "myblog.blogspot.com".
The "www" alias for the BlogSpot URL "www.myblog.blogspot.com".

First, let's dig the DNS records for the primary domain "mydomain.com".

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;mydomain.com. IN A

;; ANSWER SECTION:
mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 64.202.189.170

Next, the "www" alias "www.mydomain.com".

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;www.mydomain.com. IN A

;; ANSWER SECTION:
www.mydomain.com. 3600 IN CNAME ghs.google.com.
ghs.google.com. 364681 IN CNAME ghs.l.google.com.
ghs.l.google.com. 300 IN A 72.14.207.121

And examine "64.202.189.170".

pwfwd-v01.prod.mesa1.secureserver.net (64.202.189.170)
64.202.160.0 - 64.202.191.255
GoDaddy.com, Inc.

The latter is using URL forwarding, to redirect "mydomain.com" to "myblog.blogspot.com". URL forwarding is preferred by some DNS hosts, who prefer to not to provide "CNAME" referral for the primary domain, but it's wrong when used in a custom domain setup. For Google Custom Domains, it will partially work, for a while, but unreliably at best. Even if it works for a while, it will potentially cause problems, for everybody.

>> Top

Add A Custom Redirect, If You Change A Post URL

When you rename a blog, the most that you can do, to keep the old URL useful, is to setup a stub post , with a clickable link to the new URL. Yo! The blog is now at xxxxxxx.blogspot.com!! Blogger forbids gateway blogs, and similar blog to blog redirections . When you rename a post, you can setup a custom redirect - and automatically redirect your readers to the post, under its new URL. You should take advantage of this option, if you change a post URL.

What's The URL Of My Blog?

We see the plea for help, periodically I need the URL of my blog, so I can give it to my friends. Help! Who's buried in Grant's Tomb, after all? No Chuck, be polite. OK, OK. The title of this blog is "The Real Blogger Status", and the title of this post is "What's The URL Of My Blog?".

Blogger Magic - Adding Label Search URLs

One of the simplest ways to make a blog useful is to add label searches. Adding label searches, in page / post text, is not easy - unless you know how to build the URLs. Here's a label search from this blog. http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/search/label/Blogger%20Magic All that I want, when using that label search, is to add another reference to my "Blogger Magic" post series. " Blogger Magic " emphasises how easy it is, to use Blogger. How easy is it, to remember that syntax - to add a label link? Maybe, a " Blogger Magic " reference, in this post?

The Real Blogger Status

Search This Blog