The Real Blogger Status

Some blog owners are confused about how domain ownership verification works - or should work. The domain ownership verification process involves two challenges. Both accessing the registrars zone editor, and parsing the displayed content, is a challenge - for anybody but the domain owner. Or sometimes, including the domain owner. Blogger uses an intriguing technique, to verify that the blog owner, submitting a blog for domain publishing, is also the domain owner. They give the blog owner a token to add, to the domain - then verify that the token was added, before publishing the blog to the domain.

Both the historically infamous "Another blog ..", and the currently infamous "Error 12", are part of the custom domain publishing process. Similar to the mysterious "bX" codes being an enhanced version of "We're sorry, but we were unable to complete your request.", "Error 12" (and variants) is an enhanced version of the monolithic "Another blog or Google Site is already using this address.". "Another blog" (which was generally seen during use of the Blogger Publishing wizard) is complemented by the equally annoying "Not found" (which is generally seen after Publishing is used).

Along with access to your Blogger dashboard, access to your domain dashboard is a sensitive issue. The domain dashboard, also known as the "zone editor", provides control of the domain, as the Blogger dashboard provides control of the blog. The EPP Code, which allows domain ownership transfer, is generally retrieved using the zone editor. And, there are other zone editor features that you, the blog and domain owner, do not want being misused by another person. We tell blog owners to never give someone else use of your Blogger account - and this same advice is equally essential for your domain account. This is part of your relationship with your registrar - and it is your property, alone.

Not all blog owners, publishing a blog to a custom domain, will be required to verify domain ownership. Originally, this was not the case. When ownership verification was added to custom domain publishing , in 2012, every use of the Publishing wizard - even for domains previously purchased using "Buy a domain" - would require a new "CNAME". Since many registrars limit the number of address entries / domain, the new "CNAME" meant half the maximum number of hosts / domain. Of course, most blog owners patience ran out long before the magical maximum - but there was always that spectre hanging over every custom domain.

We're seeing a new source of confusion, in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I? , with blog owners trying to publish to a custom domain URL. How do I get my second "CNAME"? The Publishing wizard does not, always, provide instructions for ownership verification - and some owners don't understand that ownership verification is only necessary when it's demanded. When ownership verification was first introduced, whenever a blog owner would use the Publishing wizard, to publish or re publish to any non BlogSpot URL, every use of the wizard would involve creating a new ownership verification "CNAME" . The ownership verification "certificate" is unique to both the URL being published, and the time the publishing takes place. If the owner waited too long between publishing attempts, a new "CNAME" would be again demanded . If multiple hosts were published in a domain, multiple "CNAME"s were required. In some cases, each domain address ...

The Custom Domain Ownership Verification requirement has been with us for over a year - and we still see confusion, and easily corrected mistakes . One of the most frustrating mistakes involves mistyping of the details. I keep getting an "Error 12". My registrar insists that the DNS addresses are right. But, the registrar must be wrong, since the blog just can't be published! When you type the base domain DNS addresses, into the registrar's zone editor, eyeballing what you type is somewhat obvious. Either you get it right - or you don't. Typing the domain ownership verification details, on the other hand, is not so simple.

We're seeing a few problem reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken , from blog owners who started with bogus DNS addresses - and who can't retrieve the required verification address from the custom domain Publishing wizard. What is my second "CNAME"? or The domain isn't working, and the Publishing wizard isn't helping! These blog owners have domains with bogus DNS addresses, don't understand their mistakes - and are not being given the required advice from the Publishing wizard, how to fix their problems.

Sometimes, you have to step outside the box, to complete a Blogger blog task. The task of adding domain ownership verification, to a custom domain purchased using "Buy a domain", is one example of stepping outside the box. I advise people that tweaking DNS settings, in general, is a task best undertaken by someone with "Advanced" experience with Blogger custom domain publishing. Unfortunately, domains purchased using "Buy a domain" are occasionally subject to incomplete setup - and correction of an incomplete setup involves republishing the domain . And republishing the domain requires verification of domain ownership .

To Blogger blog owners who want their new non BlogSpot URLs to display their blogs, this conflicting bit of advice provides only confusion and doubt. If you bought your domain name from Blogger, you won't need to create a CNAME record. That advice was written to advise the use of the Blogger " Buy a domain " wizard, which provides non BlogSpot URLs for Blogger blogs, through a simple 15 minute purchase process . In September 2012, that simple process changed, slightly.

Now that the new required custom domain publishing ownership verification feature has been out for several months, we are seeing it used in domains with multiple virtual hosts. A few blog owners are even publishing their blogs to non root virtual hosts - and here we are seeing a new reason for a persistent Error 12 / 32, which just can't be solved. I have followed all of the instructions, and I am still seeing Error 12. Help! The "Advanced settings" Error 12 instructions - now provided on screen instead of requiring the blog owner to open an external "Settings instructions" document - require careful examination.

One of the challenges of using Blogger involves following the instructions. Blogger / Google personnel provide Help instructions which are not always updated - sometimes they simply write a new Help instructions document, leaving the old Help instructions in place. The policy of leaving old Help instructions in place - and sometimes conflicting with new displays and procedures - occasionally causes confusion. One scenario where this causes a problem is in publishing or re publishing a blog to a custom domain . I've seen instructions that when you buy a domain from Blogger / Google, using "Buy a domain", you won't need to create a CNAME record. One of the advantages of using "Buy a domain" is the ease of setup. If you use "Buy a domain", you don't have to bother with any of the details. This is generally - but not always - true. (Update 2013/09): The second "CNAME" won't be required, in all cases. If you don't see i...

We're seeing a small but steady flood of reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken , from blog owners attempting to publish their blogs using a custom domain URL. I am not able to redirect my blog from blogspot to my own domain! Blogger is giving me the error We have not been able to verify your authority to this domain. Error 14. This specific problem has been observed numerous times in the past, ever since Blogger added the domain ownership verification process to the custom domain publishing feature. Problem reports require careful diagnosis, involving examination of the basic DNS addresses setup with the registrar, to verify the "Error 14" as the primary problem.

One of the more frustrating steps involved in setting up a custom domain comes with entry of the DNS addresses , into the domain host or registrar's DNS dashboard aka zone editor. Whether you are setting up a new domain , just purchased directly from a registrar - or re publishing an existing domain , purchased using "Buy a domain" - the addition of the proper DNS addresses is essential to successful custom domain publishing.

Not all registrars are able to support the new Blogger domain ownership verification requirement. Some registrars won't allow a second "CNAME" in the same subdomain - and others can't handle the excessively long target address. Ever since Blogger added domain ownership verification, we've been seeing complaints from some blog owners, who have purchased domains directly from registrars who can't provide the required DNS addresses on their servers. Even though not all registrars have DNS servers that will provide the right DNS address entries, most registrars will allow us to use third party DNS servers. The use of publicly available DNS servers, which can provide the required DNS addresses, will eliminate the need to transfer domain registration - when the registrar is unable to provide the right DNS addresses , using their own servers.

Since Blogger restored Custom Domain Publishing last month, with the new domain ownership verification requirement , there have been a few complaints from customers of some registrars who just can't provide the required DNS address record for ownership verification. My registrar says that I can't have two "CNAME" records in the same subdomain. and My registrar's domain manager wizard displays an error saying "Address too long.", when I try to add the "CNAME". Blog owners contacting the registrar, and asking for help, are generally told That's Blogger's problem! (Update 2012/11): Blogger Engineering has provided a workaround for this problem, with any uncooperative registrar, such as 1And1 - use of a (free) third party DNS host .

With the recently restored custom domain publishing feature, and the new domain ownership verification requirement, comes various queries from blog owners unable to verify domain ownership , and to publish their blog to their custom domain. Can I use a "TXT" file, instead of a "CNAME"? My registrar suggests this as an alternative. and Why do I need this? My domain was working, just fine, before I had to re publish the blog! Not all blog owners understand the historical need for verifying domain ownership .

We're seeing evidence of confusion, in Blogger Help Forums, from blog owners who read the out of date instructions, about using "Buy a domain". We see considerable confusion, where people using that feature insist that they don't have to add a "CNAME" . In other cases, people using the Blogger / GoDaddy DNS Configuration wizard will think that the second "CNAME" is being added for them. (Update 2013/09): The second "CNAME" won't be required, in all cases. If you don't see instructions for adding a second "CNAME", focus your efforts on getting the domain working, with righteous base DNS addresses ,

One oddity, observed by a few blog owners, is that even after adding the "CNAME" to verify domain ownership, not every blog owner is able to see theirs successfully verified. I added both "CNAME"s - and I'm still getting "Error 12" when I try to publish. There are several "common sense" rules , that not everybody observes. The new "CNAME" can't use the example values. The new "CNAME" has to be a "CNAME". Don't let your registrar add a "TXT" instead. The new "CNAME" has to be specific to the URL in question. Enter your published URL precisely, into "Advanced settings". The new "CNAME" has to be added with attention to domain manager address entry convention . Even with these rules observed, there are still a small handful of unsuccessful blog owners, seeing "Error 12" - or "Error 32". One of the possible reasons for these last few hold outs, I...

Ever since Blogger finally restored the custom domain publishing feature , blog owners have been asking about the addition to the domain setup process - the new "CNAME". Do I really need this? My old blogs don't have it, and they are fine. and My registrar won't let me add a second "CNAME" - they allow one "CNAME" / domain (my "www"). and My registrar won't allow long addresses, such as what you have for "Destination" / "Target" / "Points To". And we are learning that this requirement is going to be a problem for blog owners using some registrars, who can't provide this "CNAME" in their customers domains.

After a very stressful week , Blogger Engineering has restored the custom domain publishing option . Last week we encountered an issue that could affect Blogger users in the process of configuring a custom domain, during the verification of ownership of domains between the provider and Blogger. Blogs with previously configured custom domains were not affected. With the reason for disabling custom domain publishing being security, Blogger Engineering has added a step in the publishing process , to add a random token as a "CNAME", and verify your right to publish to your domain, from Blogger. You get the random token from the "settings instructions" document, " How do I use a custom domain name for my blog? ".