The Real Blogger Status

Very few registrars allow multiple "CNAME" addresses, for a single DNS host. When I diagnose DNS address problems, I generally recommend Add the addresses highlighted in green . Remove the addresses highlighted in red . I find that it helps to have the old address visible, while the new address is being composed. This does not always produce the desired result, unfortunately.

Some blog owners buy domains, for publishing a Blogger blog, and ask about how to address the domain. What address do I use for "Points to"? Other owners may ask a similar question, referencing "Destination" or maybe "Target". There is no real difference, between all 3 labels. "Destination", "Target", and "Points to" all refer to the same DNS address value. To compound the confusion, 4 different addresses are required , when addressing a Blogger custom domain root.

Custom domain setups continue to confuse blog owners - and lead sometimes to frustration, expressed in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue . When I am trying to set up a custom domain for my new blog, I'm not getting the 2nd CNAME Record, but the settings get saved. In some cases, the domain may be operational - and other times, the domain will be broken, and no corrective instruction is provided.

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.

One of the biggest strengths of Blogger custom domain publishing is its ability to work with (almost) any registrar in the world. The biggest strength is also its biggest weakness. The weakness involves language and syntax , as used by each different registrar. There are no absolute terms used, when diagnosing DNS addressing problems. That is one of the challenges, that I face daily, when telling people why their domains do not work.

Sometimes, we see the frustration, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue , about custom domain setup. I try to publish my blog to my domain, and I get We have not been able to verify your authority to this domain. Error 14. even when I know I have added the necessary DNS addresses. Why does Blogger ignore my addresses? When we check, using multiple tools - such as DigWebInterface , or Kloth , or WhoIs , we see no addresses. Even, in some cases, when the blog owner is thoughtful enough to include well displayed copy of the zone editor display.

After too many years of Blogger blog owners struggling with setting up their custom domains, Google is now selling domains - though right now, in a select number of countries . Having ended "Buy a domain", and its problems - and now dealing with blog owners setting up domains purchased through numerous registrars, and those problems - Blogger / Google has cleaned up the domain purchase and setup process . This year, we see Google Domains - where Google actually registers domains , and can control the DNS hosting. And, they have developed a clean and lean dashboard / zone editor, for maintaining their domains.

We periodically see signs of naivete, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue , about registrar dashboard access. How do I add addresses to my domain? or How do I move my domain, to Square Space (Tumblr, WordPress)? or How do I terminate my automatic yearly domain registration? Too many blog owners treat their registrar accounts as other blog owners treat their Blogger accounts . When it becomes time to access the registrar's dashboard (or zone editor) too many blog owners are unprepared. Having not bothered to access the zone editor previously, they have no idea how to start - and since they now have a real need to change registration options, change DNS, migrate the domain, ... they panic. And after panicking, they blame Blogger for not telling them, long ago, to setup and maintain the registrar dashboard access account. In some cases, neither Blogger or Google had anything to do with a domain purchase. Identifying domains purchased directly from a registrar, some tim...

Periodically, when reviewing the many problem reports about Google Custom Domains, and especially those reporting the ubiquitous "Another blog ..." error message , we'll look at the DNS configuration and see a partial DNS setup www.mydomain.com. 900 IN CNAME ghs.google.com. yet the blogger reporting the problem states I setup my domain with both the root, and the "www" alias, defined. This is what I setup! Whatever can the problem be?

When you setup a Google Custom Domain for your blog, the essential first step is to setup one or more Address referrals . An Address referral will be entered as either an "A" ("Host") or "CNAME" ("Alias") record, and will consist of 2 essential components. A "from" address. A "to" address. How you enter the "from" and "to" records is an essential issue - and is not universal in nature. Please note that the terms "from" and "to" are not well defined . If you find this confusing, my apologies.