Complete Tutorial for setting up custom domain on Blogger 2014

If you like, you can follow our video tutorial as well. )

Are you a blogger with blogger.com? If you are hoping to give a real value to your blogger site, then setting up a custom domain for your blogger site (example.blogspot.com) would take your site to the next level. Visitors will love it too. In this tutorial I'm going to show you how to setup your newly purchased domain name(.com) with  your blogger. In other words How to host your own domain on Blogger. 

I tried to explain about this custom domain setup using a simple illustration. Take a look.

So, lets do it. 

I'll simply this process to few major steps, so you can follow easily.

1. Step 1 : Intial setting changes at blogger.com with entering new domain details. 
2. Step 2 : Collect necessary domain ownership details, DNS settings from blogger.
3. Step 3 : Apply DNS changes on your domain registrar's control panel. (etc. godaddy account)
4. Step 4 : Verify and finalize domain name ownership at Blogger account.
5. Step 5 : Test the site.

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Step 1 : Intial setting changes at blogger.com with entering new domain details. 

1. At this point, I assume that you've a blogspot/blogger site (eg: www.example.blogspot.com) created and ready to proceed. So, Go to http://www.blogger.com and log on to blogger dashboard. 

2. Select you blog, and Go to "Settings --> Basic ". 

3. Under the "Publishing" section , Click "Add custom domain" .

4. Next window appears, in "Advanced Settings" box, type your new domain URL. 
important : Here you need to type your domain with "www" . 

5. Now Click "Save" button.  Then blogger will display a error message. 
"We have not been able to verify your authority to this domain. Error 32"

6. If you can see above same error message on your page, then so far so goo. We can go for the next step. 
additionally you can click "Settings instructions" link and check more details.

Step 2 : Collect necessary domain ownership details, DNS settings from blogger. 

1. If you've stopped at last step, and if you looked closely at the error/warning message, then you'll see two CNAMEs parameters. 

2. You need to note down these two lines. Because next step, we'll need these details where we entering those details at domain control panel. 

www	ghs.google.com
2n6dkfw7pte5	gv-x2tabaxjtdqsps.dv.googlehosted.com

Please note that second line is unique for each site. So yours will be different.

additionally you'll need these four IP address as well. 

216.239.32.21
216.239.34.21
216.239.36.21
216.239.38.21

So we are ready to go for the next step. 

Step 3 : Apply DNS changes on your domain registrar's control panel. (etc. godaddy account) 

1. Now you need to login to your domain registrar account. In this tutorial I'm using godaddy account. If you've purchased your domain from different domain seller, don't panic,  for any other domain registrar, the process will be almost same.  Here is a google support page for this. 

https://support.google.com/blogger/answer/58317

2. Once you logged to the godaddy account, Click on "My Account" at top right corner. 

3. Then it will load all of your domains, products page.  Find your domain name on the domain list and  Click on "Launch" button, which is front of Domain's title. 

4. Then domain's setting page will load. Click on the DNS Zone file tab.  and then click on "Edit" button. Then it will open a new window with "Zone File Editor".

5. Navigate to CNAME(Alias) section. Check for current existing record with host "www". If it is there, then click on the Pencil icon at "Points to" column. Then you will be able to edit it and enter new value. 

This is where we are adding the details which we obtained from earlier step. 

www	ghs.google.com

so go ahead and add/edit the first record.  If you don't see "www", then click on the "Add Record" and enter those values. TTL can be 1 hour. 

6. Now click on "Quick Add" or "Add record" button, enter the second CNAME  parameter. 

2n6dkfw7pte5

gv-x2tabaxjtdqsps.dv.googlehosted.com

  these above values are for my site. Yours will be different, Use your. 

and click on Save Zone File button.  It will refresh the page. 

7. Now we need to add A(Address records.  We have to add 4 separate A records. 

     216.239.32.21
     216.239.34.21
     216.239.36.21
     216.239.38.21

Now go to A(Host) section, and Click on Add Record button or "Quick Add" , and enter those four IP addresses. 

Then click on Save Zone file button.  Now the page will refresh and wait for few minutes to update all your domain settings.

8. Now there is a another important thing to do. 

Now you need to map your naked domain (example.com) to point to your blogger site as well. If you didn't do this step, you'll liked get a godaddy parking page, if you typed your naked domain to web browser. 

You can do this by doing these steps. 

1. Log into your account
2. Select the "Domain Manager" option
3. Select the domain you wish to forward
4. Click on the "Manage" at Forwarding. Click the "Domain is not forwarded" link (located in the center of the screen, 
   
5. Check the "Enable Forwarding" box
6. Enter the URL to forward the domain to.  In this example, you should enter http://www.example.com
   
7. Select the "301 Redirect" option
8. Click OK, so then godaddy will forward example.com to www.example.com.

Step 4 : Verify and finalize domain name ownership at Blogger account.

1.  Now go back to Blogger dashboard, Select your domain, and go to "Settings > Basic > Publishing". You may already have open the same page. 

Now click on the Save Button. 

Then page will be successfully saved. If it gives still error, you may need to wait for few hours untill DNS settings update. 

2. Then again click "Edit"link which is front of your domain, and put a tick mark to "redirect ......" option and save again. 

Now it's all good. You should be ready to test the site. You may need to wait few minutes before to do that. 

Step 5 : Test the site.

1. Now open your favorite browser. 

2. Type your full domain name and press enter. (www.example.com.) it should go to your blogger site, and URL will remain as www.example.com

3. Type your naked domain and press enter. (example.com ), it should go to your blogger site, and URL will remain as www.example.com

4. Now enter your blogger url to browser as well, (www.example.blogspot.com), and it should redirect to www.example.com

.........

If you have any questions or faced any problems let me know. Ask them at comment section.