This blog is still powered and hosted by Google’s Blogger. But I decided it was time to get my own domain name. Unfortunately BradLinder.com was taken, so I settled on BradLinder.net.
Having never purchased a domain before, I spent some time checking out a number of sites. I was about to use GoDaddy, which promised to register the domain for $7.99 per year. Not bad. But just before I checked out, I was informed that it would cost about twice that if I wanted to keep my information private. Not that I mind terribly much if the public has my phone number or email address, but I’d rather not get added to spam lists.
So I dug around a little bit more, and found a handy post on domain registration at the Time To Budget blog. I decided to check out iPowerWeb and found out that I could get my domain for $6.50 per year and free privacy services were included. Today I managed to get Blogger to associate my blog with my new domain.
If you’re using blogger though, there’s one thing to keep in mind. Google’s instructions tell you to create a CNAME record for your domain associating it with ghs.google.com. While this looks like a simple thing to do with iPowerWeb’s tools, it’s not. I needed to email customer support and have them add the CNAME record for me.
It takes a few days before the new domain is active, but once it is you can go into Blogger’s settings panel, click Publishing, and then click the link that lets you switch to a custom domain. Now all you have to do is enter your new domain name instead of something.blogspot.com and you’re all set.
After following the news about RegisterFly, I’d be scared to use any services other than the bigbees.
The one privacy service I looked at about a year ago basically said they could/would reveal my info if quizzed. ICANN should provide that service by default.
PS There are always GoDaddy coupon codes floating around the net.
I use Bluehost and have been pretty satisfied with their service. One of the nice things about Bluehost is that if you aren’t using all your bandwidth, they will host four other sites as well at no extra charge. This is great if you want to run more then just one site, but don’t get a lot of traffic.
Yeah, at some point I might look into switching the blog over to WordPress and getting another host. But I’ve been pretty happy with Blogger and all its limitations for the time being, and I don’t really have time to learn the ins and outs of WordPress.
Or at least that’s what I tell myself when I’m justifying my choice to use Blogger. 🙂
Anyway, I’ve almost made back the $6.50 I’m spending on domain registration for this year with AdSense revenue I’ve generated in the last two months.
.info is on “sale” at go daddy for 99 cents (total $US1.21)
nothing is “private’ only means that the general public doesn’t have easy access but hundreds (or thousands) of humans have access.
In other words, just provide info that you don’t mind if the world knows. (Because “private” doesn’t mean what it used to mean anymore.)
all the best, nia.
p.s. bluehost…$97/year–$6.95/month–and you can have as many domains hosted there as you like. (used to be 5 total, then 6 total, not the sky’s the limit!)
p.p.s. As a subdomain of blogspot.com you enjoyed higher ranking…now I’m not sure of the advantages of staying with blogger…except of course the conveninece of familiarity. That’s important. Comfort is important. Whenever you are ready start a free blog, hosted for free at wordpress.com. you will have a subdomain of wordpress.com and it doesn’t have to be related to the title of your blog. don’t tell anybody about it. don’t try to build traffic. post and erase or whatever…just learn the ropes, the tools. its very fun. I do not recommend moving a WP blog from WP host to another host…but if you find you also like WP then in the future you might START a WP blog at another host.
I use Bluehost and have been pretty satisfied with their service. One of the nice things about Bluehost is that if you aren't using all your bandwidth, they will host four other sites as well at no extra charge. This is great if you want to run more then just one site, but don't get a lot of traffic.
.info is on "sale" at go daddy for 99 cents (total $US1.21)
nothing is "private' only means that the general public doesn't have easy access but hundreds (or thousands) of humans have access.
In other words, just provide info that you don't mind if the world knows. (Because "private" doesn't mean what it used to mean anymore.)
all the best, nia.
p.s. bluehost…$97/year–$6.95/month–and you can have as many domains hosted there as you like. (used to be 5 total, then 6 total, not the sky's the limit!)
p.p.s. As a subdomain of blogspot.com you enjoyed higher ranking…now I'm not sure of the advantages of staying with blogger…except of course the conveninece of familiarity. That's important. Comfort is important. Whenever you are ready start a free blog, hosted for free at wordpress.com. you will have a subdomain of wordpress.com and it doesn't have to be related to the title of your blog. don't tell anybody about it. don't try to build traffic. post and erase or whatever…just learn the ropes, the tools. its very fun. I do not recommend moving a WP blog from WP host to another host…but if you find you also like WP then in the future you might START a WP blog at another host.