COMPUTER TRICKS

You may realize it's time to take things seriously and upgrade to your owncustom domain (eg:yourblog.com). This post will hopefully help clarify the benefits of getting your own web domain and where to start. Just like always, you are more than welcome to ask me any questions and I am happy to help you through the process.

Why Choose a Custom Domain?

1. It's Permanent.  You get to keep this domain name forever.  Services such as Blogger can deactivate your blog at any given time without notice.
2. Promote your own brand.  If your site is a subdomain (such as .blogspot.com) you're promoting Google Blogger. Get your own domain and you'll be promoting your own unique brand. It gives you credibility and more people will trust you and what you have to offer.
3. More Traffic.  Search engines prefer custom web domains over subdomains.
4. Name Recognition.  It's much easier to remember and locate a domain name such as NinjaMan.com than NinjaMan.blogspot.com.
5. Custom Email.  You can get your own custom email (eg: John@YourBlog.com). It looks very professional.
6. Selling Rights.  Subdomain blogs, such as Blogspot, do not allow you to sell your blog. With your own custom domain you have the right to sell your website if you choose to do so one day.
7. It's Cheap.  Give up one Starbucks drink a month and you can afford your own (.com, .net, .org, etc.) domain! It's only $3.96 a month with HostGator.

Choosing the Right Web Host

HostGator

If you are searching for a web hosting company that has reliable and fast servers, try HostGator. My friend James and I use them to host several sites, and I have been a customer for over one year without any issues. Our high traffic site TheBlogTemplates.com has been running very smoothly since September of 2009 and HostGator can handle it well.

Option 1 : Setup Your Custom Domain with Blogger

1. Assuming you have your own hosting plan with Hostgator or another web host, contact your web hosting company about registering a domain. Tell them that you want to register a new domain name such as YourDomain.com.  Once the domain is registered ask them to create a CNAME record for your domain with the DNS directing to: ghs.google.com.  Please note that it may take a few hours to a day for your DNS settings to update correctly.
2. Now we need to update your Blogger Settings at Blogger.com.  Go to Settings and then click on the Publishing tab. 
   
   1. If you are publishing on Blogspot, you will see a link near the top offering to switch you to a custom domain. Go ahead and click on "custom domain".
      
   2. Now click "Switch to Advanced Settings".
      
   3. Fill in the name of your domain. I typed in YourDomain.com as an example.  Once you've done this enter the word verification at the bottom of the page and click "Save Settings".
      
   4. That's it! Your files should now be hosted at your new domain if your DNS settings have been updated yet.

Option 2 : Set up Your Custom Domain by Migrating from Blogger to WordPress

Wordpress is a free professional blogging platform which most people prefer over Blogger. Assuming once again that you have a web hosting account with one such as Hostgator, go to your cPanel.

1. Watch this tutorial on how to Install WordPress from Fantastico.
2. Then in your WordPress Admin area (domain.com/wp-admin), go to Manage → Import → Blogger and follow the directions to complete the import.
3. Your blog posts should now be imported to Wordpress and should show up on your website!