Skip to main content

The "Create a new blog" Wizard Is Not Prescient

We're seeing some odd problem reports in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, about blog creation.
I entered just the first letter of the name which I wanted, and I immediately saw
Sorry, this blog address is not available.
How am I supposed to create a blog, if all the names are taken?

What intrigues me here is not that people see
Sorry, this blog address is not available.
It's that people don't ask the next question.
How did it know what name I was typing, before I finished?

How do you explain that you have to type the entire name, and have that name checked, before giving up, disappointed?

Maybe the "Create a new blog" wizard is too good, for its own good.

Too much transparency actually makes it harder, for some people, to use it properly. Having the name checked for availability, as typed, one character at a time, may be a bit excessive.

Had I been creating this blog, long ago, as "bloggerstatusforreal.blogspot.com", I would have typed "bloggerstatusforreal" - and the "Create a new blog" would have checked, one by one
  • b
  • bl
  • blo
  • blog
  • blogg
  • blogge
  • blogger
  • bloggers
  • bloggerst
  • bloggersta
  • bloggerstat
  • bloggerstatu
  • bloggerstatus
  • bloggerstatusf
  • bloggerstatusfo
  • bloggerstatusfor
  • bloggerstatusforr
  • bloggerstatusforre
  • bloggerstatusforrea
  • bloggerstatusforreal

And I will bet good money, that I would have seen
Sorry, this blog address is not available.
during much of the typing.
  • b Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • bl Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • blo Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • blog Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • blogg Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • blogge Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • blogger Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • bloggers Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • bloggerst Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • bloggersta Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • bloggerstat Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • bloggerstatu Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • bloggerstatus Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • bloggerstatusf
  • bloggerstatusfo
  • bloggerstatusfor
  • bloggerstatusforr
  • bloggerstatusforre
  • bloggerstatusforrea
  • bloggerstatusforreal
Since I created this blog, long ago, as an imitation of "bloggerstatus.blogspot.com", obviously "bloggerstatus" was taken. Most likely, the shorter names were likewise taken.

Then again, even if "bloggerstatus" was taken, that does not say, for sure, that "bloggerstatu" was. Or "bloggerstat".
  • b Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • bl Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • blo Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • blog Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • blogg Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • blogge Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • blogger Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • bloggers Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • bloggerst Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • bloggersta Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • bloggerstat Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • bloggerstatu This blog address is available.
  • bloggerstatus Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • bloggerstatusf This blog address is available.
  • bloggerstatusfo This blog address is available.
  • bloggerstatusfor This blog address is available.
  • bloggerstatusforr This blog address is available.
  • bloggerstatusforre This blog address is available.
  • bloggerstatusforrea Sorry, this blog address is not available.
  • bloggerstatusforreal Sorry, this blog address is not available.
Yes, I actually checked, one character at a time - and that's what I saw.

The bottom line here is that you have to type - and check - availability, one character at a time. And, you have to be persistent.

What would have happened, if I had given up, immediately.
  • b Sorry, this blog address is not available.
Dammit, all the names are taken!!

Well, you would not be reading "bloggerstatusforreal.blogspot.com" now, would you?

>> Top

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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.

Jump Break Is Visible Only In An Index Page

Some blog owners are unsure what a Jump Break looks like, when applied to their blogs. Occasionally, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue , we see the confusion. Where's the Jump Break? or I added a Jump Break to several posts, but it never shows up! When asked for a screen print of what they're seeing, they may provide a image of the post, in the Post Editor Preview window - or possibly, the published post, but in post page view.

Leave Comments Here

Like any blogger, I appreciate polite comments, when they are relevant to the blog, and posted to the relevant article in the right blog . If you want to ask me a question thats relevant to blogging, but you can't find the right post to start with (I haven't written about everything blogger related, yet, nor the way things are going I don't expect to either), ask your questions here, or leave an entry in my guestbook . As noted above, please note my commenting policy . If you post a comment to this post , I will probably treat it as a "Contact Me" post . If you have an issue that's relevant to any technical issue in the blog, please leave a comment on the specific post , not here. This post is for general comments, and for non posted contact to me. If the form below does not work for you, check your third party cookies setting! For actual technical issues, note that peer support in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken , or Nitecruzr Dot Net - Bloggin...