How to set up a custom domain on Blogger

In this post I’m going to show you step by step how to set up a custom domain on Blogger. I know what you’re thinking, this looks scary but it really isn’t too bad once you understand the process so I’ll go through each step and try to be as clear and as detailed as I can.

There are a few steps involved so make sure you give yourself plenty of time. Check out the FAQ at the end of the post if you’re having any problems.

What you need

There are lots of places to purchase a domain name so do your research and pick somewhere reliable.

Related: Domains 101 – everything you need to know

If you’ve ordered a domain from 1&1, you’ll need to follow the specific instructions here instead of those mentioned below.

You don’t need to purchase hosting because your blog will still be hosted by Blogger, we’re just adding a custom domain. You may want to purchase whois or privacy protection to hide your details from appearing to the public.

What is the benefit of having my own URL?

Purchasing your own domain name means that you own it, it is yours and you can take it with you wherever you go. What I mean by that is if you decide to move blog platforms, go self hosted or set up a static website it is yours and you can move it also.

Another benefit is when you move it, all links and SEO work are kept the same so you don’t lose ranking. Blogger uses 301 redirects to forward users from the subdomain (www.domain-name.blogspot.com) to the custom domain (www.domain-name.com).

A custom domain also looks more professional, it’s easier to share and remember. You can also set up an email address using your domain (contact@domain-name.com) to keep everything the same.

How to set up custom domain on Blogger

Retrieve your details

1. Login to Blogger, go to Settings > Publishing > Blog Address. Click on Add a Custom Domain Name.

2. Add Custom Domain Name, add in your new domain name www.domain-name.com and click save.

3. You should now see an error. This gives you the details you need to properly set up your new domain so keep this page open for the next step. The first CNAME is the same for everyone. The second is a specific CNAME for your blog.

4. Open the Settings Instructions in a new tab to refer back to later. Here you can see the settings for a top-level or sub domain. For this tutorial, I’ll be using top-level domain – www.domain-name.com.

5. If your details aren’t coming up, visit this page on Google Webmaster and click Verification Details beside your domain. At the top, click the drop-down Details and you will see your Host and Points To information there.

Set up CNAME Records

6. Open a new tab and login to where you registered your domain and find settings. Click on DNS (Domain Name System) settings or records, it could also be called Name Server Management. Create a new CNAME record.

7. Under the Name/Host/Label field, enter www or domain-name depending on where you bought the domain. Under Destination/Target/Points To, enter ghs.google.com. This is the same for everyone.

8. Your second CNAME will consist of numbers and letters. Under the Name/Host/Label field, enter the details from Blogger that look like 00aa0aaaaaa. Under Destination/Target/Points to field, enter the details from Blogger that look like aa-a0aaaa0aaaaaa.dv.googlehosted.com.

There are specific intructions for Blacknight and GoDaddy below. If you can’t find the right settings, check out this page for further instructions or check with your domain name provider.

• Using Blacknight

   

  Note: This is steps 6-8 in more detail for Blacknight users.

   

  Login to your account and go to websites. Click on your domain name > DNS > DNS Records. Add a new record and change the type to CNAME. For domain enter www then for canonical name add ghs.google.com. and save. You may have to deactivate one of your other records for this to save. Add another record for your specific CNAME – for the domain field, enter the details from Blogger that look like 00aa0aaaaaa. For canonical name enter the details from Blogger that look like aa-a0aaaa0aaaaaa.dv.googlehosted.com. Add another new record for each of the A (Host) IP addresses as stated above.

  

  

• Using GoDaddy

   

  Note: This is steps 6-8 in more detail for GoDaddy users.

   

  Login to your GoDaddy account. Click Launch beside Domains > DNS Zone File. You’ll see a table with different headings. Find the CNAME heading and click quick add. For the Host enter www. For Points To, enter ghs.google.com. Again, add your specific CNAME – for Host enter the details from Blogger that look like 00aa0aaaaaa. For Points To enter the details from Blogger that look like aa-a0aaaa0aaaaaa.dv.googlehosted.com

  

  

  

Set up A-Records

9. Now you can add your A-Records so that your naked domain (domain-name.com) will be redirected to your full domain (www.domain-name.com) otherwise visitors who click on your naked domain will see an error.

10. Enter the following list of Googles IP addresses, you will need to enter a new record for each of the 4 IP addresses. Find the A (Host) heading and table and enter the following where Host is @ and the value is the following

• 216.239.32.21
• 216.239.34.21
• 216.239.36.21
• 216.239.38.21

You can now delete old entries that aren’t needed anymore and click save.

11. Ensure that your settings are active before proceeding. This could take up to an hour.

The final steps

12. Go back onto Blogger > Settings > Publishing > Blog Address and enter your domain name and hit save. This time there shouldn’t be an error. Make sure to tick the option of redirecting from domain-name.com to www.domain-name.com.

13. Readers who click on your old-domain-name.blogspot.com URL should be redirected to your new custom domain domain-name.com automatically.

14. These changes and settings can take up to 48 hours so don’t panic if it’s not working straight away. If it still isn’t working after 48hours, go back through the steps and make sure that everything is correct.

15. Finally, check out this guide to make sure you’ve changed everything else over so you don’t lose readers or followers.

Frequently asked questions and issues

Adsense stopped working?

If you are using Adsense on your blog, you will have to update the URL to your new custom domain.

Will I lose traffic?

Blogger uses 301 redirects to forward users from the subdomain (www.domain-name.blogspot.com) to the custom domain (www.domain-name.com) so you won’t lose ranking. Check out this guide to make sure you’ve changed everything else over so you don’t lose readers or followers.

It won’t work with/without www?

Make sure to set up your A-Records and the redirect in Bloggers Settings the final steps.

My blog won’t load, work, etc?

It can take up to 48 hours for everything to be configured properly so double check that you have done everything right and give it a couple of hours.

My blog is showing a “do you want to be redirected” page?

That’s normal, it will show until your settings have all been configured and synced. Timing will depend on what provider you are with, it could be instant or could take a couple of hours. After that time it will automatically redirect without the message showing.

Blog posts don’t show up on reading list, Bloglovin, etc

If your newly published posts are missing from Bloggers Reading List on the Dashboard, Bloglovin, your RSS Feed, Feedly, etc then check out this post on how to fix it.