Troubleshooting Custom Domain Issues

If you are trying to make your custom domain published blog work, see my guide Troubleshooting Your Custom Domain Problems.

If you want to know how to setup a custom domain properly, from the beginning - and avoid the need for Troubleshooting - read Setting Up A Custom Domain. Avoid the most basic mistakes made - read The Simplicity Of A Custom Domain Setup.

If you just setup your custom domain - and want to minimise the effects of the URL change upon your search engine relationships - read Managing The Migration.

If you're just browsing, then read on - but get a good cup of coffee first. And welcome, to Nitecruzr Dot Net.

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New Custom Domains Purchased From A Registrar, And Lacking The Transition Period For New Domains

We've known about the Transition period, which has applied to domains purchased through Blogger, for a few years.

Under Transition, domains purchased using "Buy a Domain" were only partially published, immediately after the domain purchase - with the publishing process completed, several days later. The Transition period allowed for the domain, newly setup by "Buy a Domain", to become fully visible on the Internet, before blogs subject to Transition were re published.

The Transition period was originally applied to blogs re published using "Buy a Domain", to delay redirection of the BlogSpot URL to the domain URL, until after a new domain was fully visible, to all Internet DNS servers.

Transition was designed to apply to new domains, purchased using "Buy a Domain", with the hope that domains purchased outside "Buy a Domain" would not need Transition.

When "Buy a Domain" was active, most blogs being published to domains not just purchased using "Buy a Domain" did not require Transition.

• Blogs published to domains, purchased directly from a registrar, would be owned by people with experience setting up domains. People with experience would be able to cope better with the DNS Latency, and inherent instability, involved with new domains.
• Some blogs would be published to mature domains, which would not need Transition at all.

With the ending of the "Buy a Domain" feature, we now have every new domain owner, experienced and not, purchasing domains directly from registrars.

In many cases, Transition is not needed for newly purchased domains, when the owner is not experienced. Inexperienced domain owners make mistakes, when setting up their domains. The domain setup process creates its own limited length "Transition" period, for inexperienced domain owners.

Recently, some domain owners have reported a new symptom, when using the Publishing wizard, to publish their blogs to their newly purchased domains.

This operation failed. Try again later. If the problem persist, please file a post on the help forum.

This new symptom may be replacing the long dreaded "Another blog or Google Site is already using this address.".

Most domain owners, seeing "This operation failed.", have domains with bad DNS addresses. They are generally instructed

You need to correct your DNS addresses.

Those not instructed to correct their DNS addresses should probably be advised

Your DNS addresses are righteous. You now need to wait 24 to 48 hours, for the newly purchased domain to be visible, everywhere on the Internet.

The latter advice will be necessary, simply because the domain was properly setup, immediately - even with the domain not fully visible across the entire Internet.

What happens with gadgets, which need updating, is yet to be observed.

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Custom Domains Purchase - "Buy a domain" Lacks The "Check Availability" Option

We're seeing a few reports from confused blog owners, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, who want a non BlogSpot URL for their blog.

I have tried to follow the guide, but my page does not say the same as the guide.

Several blog owners, in trying to use "Add a custom domain" to buy a domain, are observing that there is no "Check Availability" sequence.

Right now, the "Add a custom domain" link in the Publishing wizard simply goes straight to the "Advanced settings" option. This conflicts with Blogger supplied instructions.

In Blogger, locate the Publishing area under the Settings tab. Settings to Publishing.

Then, click the link to add a custom domain name, enter the domain name you'd like, and click Check Availability.

Clicking on "Add a custom domain", we are immediately presented with "Advanced settings".

Right now, we're getting very terse advice from Blogger Support.

Blogger still supports custom domain hosting, though no longer offer an option to purchase domains within the product. To purchase a custom domain, please visit a third party registrar such as GoDaddy or eNom.

Until we hear more, I'll suggest use of eNom or GoDaddy, as advised. If you choose GoDaddy, you may be able to use the Blogger / GoDaddy DNS Setup wizard, to approximate the convenience of "Buy a domain". If you can't use the GoDaddy wizard, please note that the normal rules remain in full effect.

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URL Availability Competition, During "Buy a Domain", Is Similar To "Create a Blog"

Some Blogger blog owners, trying to setup a new blog, discover the hard way that other people are trying to do the same thing.

When I try to use "Create a blog", I keep seeing

This name is not available.

or

Blogger is saying it's available - but as I begin to register, it says that it has already received a request for this name.

Other blog owners discover that the competition between Blogger blog owners, when using "Create a blog", also applies to "Buy a domain". And worse yet, "Buy a domain" involves competition with would be website owners outside Blogger / Google.

Besides the competition with other buyers, there's a problem that the domain purchase process takes time - and during the purchase process, someone else can be purchasing the same domain also.

The longer the purchase process takes you, the greater the possibility that someone else may "steal" the domain from you. You, and the unseen other person, may start the purchase at the same time - but the person who gets the money to their registrar first gets the domain.

Let's use "Create a blog" as a simple example of an address selection process.

1. You type the blog name, of your choice.
2. With every character you type, Blogger checks for availability.
3. Initially, with not enough characters typed, you see bad news.

   Sorry, this blog address is not available.

4. When you have typed enough characters so you are now requesting a unique name, you see good news.

   This blog address is available.

5. Since you have, hopefully, already entered a Title and selected a Template, you now hit the "Create blog!" button.
6. Hoping that you were fast enough, the address which was available half a second previously is available as you hit the button - and the blog name of your preference becomes your new blog name.
7. If you were not fast enough, someone else might have snuck in front of you. Instead of seeing your new blog, you now see the bad news.

   Sorry, this blog address is not available.

The "Create a blog" wizard is simple.

1. You see good news.
2. You hit "Create blog!".
3. You are done.

Even with a "Create a blog" selection period of 1 second - and if your reflexes are not that good, it could take you longer - you could lose out. What if the selection process was longer - instead of 1 second, say 5 minutes? The "Buy a domain" process is a bit more complicated, than "Create a blog".

1. You enter an available domain URL.
2. You hopefully see the good news.
3. Now, you pay for the purchase.
4. You enter all of the details, about your bank account.
5. Google charges your bank a token amount, to verify that you actually entered a valid bank account number.
6. You hopefully see more good news.
7. Now, Google passes the purchase to the registrar.
8. The registrar sends the actual purchase to your bank.
9. Your bank credits the account of the registrar.
10. The registrar then registers the domain, in your name.
11. Google can then setup the addresses in the domain.
12. Blogger can then publish the blog, to the domain.
13. And hopefully, the blog is now live (and In Transition) with the domain URL.

The "Buy a domain" wizard is not simple.

1. You enter an available domain URL.
2. ...
3. The registrar registers the domain, in your behalf.
4. You are done.

Unfortunately, during the amount of time that it takes your bank to pay your registrar, somebody else could be buying the same domain, from another registrar. The longer that it takes your registrar to get paid, the greater the chance that someone else may register the domain, which you have supposedly paid for, before your purchase is complete.

Unfair? Certainly. But, based on the worldwide Internet based domain registry system, it can happen. What's worse, the symptoms of an unsuccessful domain purchase are similar to an attempted purchase restart.

And that leaves you with the uncertainty, when you post in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

Blogger is saying it's available - but as I begin to register, it says that it has already received a request for this name.

And sometimes, after you wait the legendary 2 to 3 days, you find that someone else bought the domain, while you were waiting.

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Confusion About Advice "If you bought your domain name from Blogger, you won't need to create a CNAME record."

To Blogger blog owners who want their new non BlogSpot URLs to display their blogs, this conflicting bit of advice provides only confusion and doubt.

If you bought your domain name from Blogger, you won't need to create a CNAME record.

That advice was written to advise the use of the Blogger "Buy a domain" wizard, which provides non BlogSpot URLs for Blogger blogs, through a simple 15 minute purchase process. In September 2012, that simple process changed, slightly.

If you are trying to re publish your blog to a non BlogSpot URL - and you are seeing an "Error 12" / "Error 32", or similar message in the Publishing wizard display - you need to add a second "CNAME" address to your domain.

The new "CNAME", added in September 2012, allows you to verify ownership of the domain to the Publishing wizard. Any time you re publish your blog to a non BlogSpot URL, you have to verify ownership. This prevents people who are not you from deviously publishing their Blogger blog to your domain.

If you are reading this, and you are the owner of any website which provides advice on how easy it is to purchase a non BlogSpot URL for a Blogger blog - and part of your advice mentions

If you bought your domain name from Blogger, you won't need to create a CNAME record.

Please, edit your instructions to reflect the reality of domain ownership verification.

If you are reading this, and you know of a blog or website which provides the confusing advice

If you bought your domain name from Blogger, you won't need to create a CNAME record.

let us know, below.

Try and reduce the confusion, when people have to re publish their blog, after using the Blogger Publishing wizard - or possibly after buying directly from a registrar. Help us, to help you.

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After Using "Buy a domain", Blog Owners Are Seeing "Server error" From Google Apps

Ever since Google ended its free Google Apps accounts, we've been seeing reports in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, about problems encountered when setting up a new Google Apps account, to administer a newly purchased custom domain.

Every time I try to login to Google Apps, using instructions in the email message, I get

Server Error: We could not process your request at this time, please try again later.

The limited function free Google Apps accounts, which can be only used for domain maintenance, do not work with the Google Apps account setup wizard, which is generally used after using "Buy a domain". When you see "Invalid request" or "Server error", you need to reset the password for the "bloggeradmin" account, for your domain.

Start by accessing the Google Apps administrative account reset wizard, for your domain. If you use GMail for your email, or other Google products, try to use a different browser for Google Apps. Alternately, use an "Incognito" window, in Chrome - or a "Private" window, in Firefox. Or, clear cache, cookies, and sessions - then restart the browser, when possible.

For this domain, "nitecruzr.net", I would access the account reset wizard as

http://google.com/a/cpanel/nitecruzr.net/ResetAdminPassword

or possibly

http://google.com/a/nitecruzr.net/ResetAdminPassword

You simply change "nitecruzr.net", to your domain URL, to reset the administrative password for your domain.

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(Update 2013/11/03): This process should be slightly simplified, with Google Apps now using the new integrated Google login screen.

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Having solved the CAPTCHA in the reset screen, Google will send a password reset email message, for the "bloggeradmin" account for your domain, to the email address used by your Blogger account. Once again, this is a bad time to be using Blogger anonymously.

Open your email, then open and execute the email message, to reset the bloggeradmin Google Apps account. Be sure to enter the complete Google Apps account name, in the Google account reset screen.

Once the password is reset, login to Google Apps. Then retrieve the login tokens, from the Google Apps desktop, to access eNom or GoDaddy.

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Google Apps Ends Availability Of Their Free Edition

Last week, Google dropped a bombshell on many small client developers.

Starting on December 6, 2012, Google will no longer offer new accounts for the free edition of Google Apps. Google Apps free edition is sometimes referred to as "Standard Edition."

This announcement will bring changes to Blogger, and to custom domain publishing. Many owners of Blogger blogs published using the Google Custom Domain feature have learned to use various Google Apps wizards, to setup and to maintain their domains.

Blogger blog owners have learned (some unwillingly) to use Google Apps for various tasks.

1. Access the registrar's Domain Manager wizard, after using "Buy a domain".
2. Deactivate service redirects, such as the Sites service.
3. Maintain domain "auto renew" settings.
4. Reset the ever painful "Another blog ..." symptom of database corruption.
5. Set the option to "Redirect mydomain.com to www.mydomain.com".
6. Setup email delivery for the domain.

Each of these tasks will have to be performed in different ways, for blog owners who purchased their domains after last week. Previously setup Apps accounts, for the immediate future, are safe.

If you already have the free edition, you can continue to use it for free. This change has no impact on existing users of the free edition.

So far, we've seen some new domain owners use the Trial version of Google Apps, to recycle domain settings, when dealing with "Another blog ...". We hope that this technique will allow temporary access to the domain root redirect, and to service redirect, settings also. We are also seeing a limited functionality free version, which requires some effort to setup, in some cases.

I'm still wondering where Google will hand out Registrar login instructions, and let us maintain domain renewal settings. The popular option to have custom email addresses, based on the domain URL, is most likely gone.

I'll update this article, as details are provided.

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To Republish A Custom Domain, You Do Have To Add A Second "CNAME"

One of the challenges of using Blogger involves following the instructions.

Blogger / Google personnel provide Help instructions which are not always updated - sometimes they simply write a new Help instructions document, leaving the old Help instructions in place.

The policy of leaving old Help instructions in place - and sometimes conflicting with new displays and procedures - occasionally causes confusion. One scenario where this causes a problem is in publishing or re publishing a blog to a custom domain.

I've seen instructions that when you buy a domain from Blogger / Google, using "Buy a domain", you won't need to create a CNAME record.

One of the advantages of using "Buy a domain" is the ease of setup. If you use "Buy a domain", you don't have to bother with any of the details. This is generally - but not always - true.

Sometimes, even using the "Buy a domain" wizard can later present a problem.

One of the known problems with "Buy a domain" results in a partially setup domain - and with a partially setup domain, you may have to re publish the blog to the domain, to get the new domain to work completely.

To re publish the blog, you have to verify your ownership of the domain - even if you previously used "Buy a domain". And the additional step of adding a second "CNAME" overrides the old Blogger Help instruction

If you bought your domain name from Blogger, you won't need to create a CNAME record.

When you are instructed to re publish the blog using "Advanced settings", that 's what you must do. And, when "Advanced settings" contains instruction to add a second "CNAME", then please - add a second "CNAME".

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Accessing The Registrar's Domain Manager, After Using "Buy a domain"

Setting up a custom domain, and publishing a blog to a non BlogSpot URL, is a simple enough task - when we are able to use the "Buy a domain for your blog" wizard. Sometimes, after using "Buy a domain ...", we may still have to access the registrar's Domain Manager wizard.

When we use "Buy a domain", along with setting up the domain for us, the Blogger / Google wizard sets up a new eNom or GoDaddy domain owner account. To let us later login to eNom or GoDaddy, the "Buy a domain" wizard saves the login information, for our new account - in a Google Apps desktop wizard. Here is yet one more reason why we absolutely must setup the provided Google Apps account, after receiving the Google Apps email.

The process of managing a domain, when setup using "Buy a domain", is not too complicated.

1. Setup a new Google Apps account. Since free Google Apps accounts are no longer offered, you'll have to setup a Trial - or limited function - account.
2. Login to Google Apps.
3. Retrieve the Google Apps registrar login information, from "Advanced DNS settings".
4. Login to the registrar (eNom or GoDaddy).

The domain owner registrar login information is right there, in "Advanced DNS settings".


The domain owner login information is in the Google Apps desktop.

1. Go to "Domain settings" - "Domain names" - "Advanced DNS settings".
2. Open a new browser tab or window, clicking on "Sign in to DNS console".
3. Copy the Sign-in name, and the Password, to the appropriate boxes on the sign-in dialogue, and click "Login".
4. This will put you into the Domain Manager wizard, for the new domain.

If you already had an eNom or GoDaddy account, that will be a separate account - but with this new account maintained for you, by Google. Just keep your new Google Apps account accessible and active, keep the domain registration up to date - and you'll have no problem accessing the Domain Manager wizard, and managing the domain, whenever you need.

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Custom Domain Purchase - Getting By Without "Buy a domain"

Now that custom domain publishing is once again available, though without the option to buy a domain through Blogger, too many anxious Blogger blog owners are asking the obvious question

How do I buy a domain?

Not a lot of blog owners want to be told

Contact the registrar of your choice.

The backup to "Buy a domain" would be to buy a domain directly from a registrar - however, this presents too many challenges to the casual blog owner.

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(Update 2012/10/09): "Buy a domain for your blog" is once again part of the Publishing wizard.

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Fortunately, there is a substitute to "Buy a domain", available through Google. Google Apps - which is the support organisation for "Buy a domain" itself - provides the option to buy a domain, along with the Google Apps Dashboard. Google Apps does not use easy to remember URLs, unfortunately.

To use the Google Apps equivalent of "Buy a domain", you start from the "Home Page" for Google Apps.

http://google.com/a/domain

This currently redirects to

https://www.google.com/a/cpanel/standard/new3

which is titled

Get started with Google Apps for free

From here, you find the all important advice

Don't have a domain yet?
No Problem. You can register a new domain starting from $8 a year.

accompanied by the button "Find domain".

Hitting the "Find domain" button, you get a display that's similar in functionality to "Buy a domain" - except the pulldown list of available Top Level Domains is currently a bit different from the selections offered by "Buy a domain".

To get a better selection of Top Level Domains, you'll have to go to

https://www.google.com/a/signup/?hl=en&source=gafb-globalnav-en

Here you will have to fill out the "You and your business" form, and hit "Next". The next display will start with "Check Availability" - and will provide a much longer TLD selection list.

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Custom Domain Setup Now Lacks The "Buy a Domain" Wizard

As we sift through the wreckage of the blogs damaged by the recent Blogger custom domain security issue, we note a significant omission. The "Buy a Domain For Your Blog" wizard is conspicuous in its absence.

When I click on the Settings - Publishing options, I don't even have the option to check availability or purchase a domain name. Where is the "Buy a domain" display?

Right now, it appears that "Buy a domain" was sacrificed, so that the general custom domain publishing feature could be restored more promptly (though not promptly enough, for many blog owners). There are several tasks that must be completed by "Buy a domain", which are complex - and the necessary coding simply could not be completed by Tuesday of this week. I saw one message of hope.

We will be restoring the ability to purchase a custom domain from Blogger soon.

We'll simply have to have faith, that they are working on this feature as we lament its current absence - and that its absence is brief..

In the mean time, some wanta be domain owners have found a domain purchase wizard provided by Google Apps - though that's not "Buy a domain". Google Apps has two different wizards providing domain purchase options, each with a widely different address and Top Level Domain menus.

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(Update 2012/10/09): "Buy a domain for your blog" is once again part of the Publishing wizard.

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The Old "Another blog ..." Problem - The Domain Settings In Google Apps

The use of Google Apps, for resetting the domain settings, frequently requires much repetition - yet seldom produces consistent results. Some blog owners are able to disable a single service to get their domain working, others must recycle the service settings repeatedly - and still others must spend time anxiously recycling one service after another, then looking for more, unnamed services to recycle.

Some blog owners look for shortcuts in the recommended process - such as deleting the Apps account, which simply wastes time. Unfortunately, very few shortcuts, when identified, are consistently effective for other blog owners later. This lack of consistency leads to various comments mentioning lack of useful advice, in the forum discussions.

There are basically 4 levels of complexity involved, in the process of resolving "Another blog ...".

• Disable one named service.
• Recycle one named service.
• Disable multiple services, one by one.
• Recycle multiple services, one by one.

When the blog owner is able to describe a Sites page display - or we can use an HTTP trace to identify a Sites redirect, we can with some confidence advise the owner to simply disable the Sites service. If simply disabling Sites (or whatever named service - AdServices, Start Page, what have you) is not effective, we then advise recycle the settings, against the named service.

The most basic domain problem report starts with a simple

I keep seeing

Another blog or Google Site is already using this address.

when I try to publish my blog.

Problem reports submitted with this lack of detail, on the other hand, will, most likely, require the owner to recycle multiple service, one by one.

Besides the confusion resulting from the multiple levels of complexity, not all blog owners setup a Google Apps desktop account to administer the domain - even when they purchased the domain using "Buy a domain", and got the "Welcome to Google Apps" email upon purchasing. A blog owner who used "Buy a domain", and neglected to setup the provided Apps account, will be unable to use Apps - and will be unable to access the eNom or GoDaddy Domain Manager, when necessary.

When the domain is purchased directly from a registrar, the blog owner is still less likely to proactively setup the Google Apps account. Fortunately, with the domain purchased directly from the registrar, and having just setup the DNS addresses to publish the blog to the domain, the blog owner will have immediate access to the registrar's Domain Manager wizard.

Another source of frustration, involving the service recycling, is that recycling may require first repairing bogus DNS addresses. Having learned the process of correcting improper DNS addresses, the blog owner must next learn the intricacies of setting up the Apps account, then of recycling multiple service settings, repeatedly.

The solution, recommended by Blogger Support, is to submit a reset request using the "Custom Domain Reset" form. This is not a universally effective solution, unfortunately.

• Like many services provided by Blogger Support, there is no set schedule for actioning Domain Reset requests.
• We are never sure what direct feedback will be provided, to the blog owner, upon completion of a reset request.
• We have been advised by Blogger Support that not all instances of "Another blog" will be consistently resolved by use of the reset request form.

Considering all of these concerns, it's understandable that many blog owners become frustrated, and are occasionally observed stating their intention to return their blogs to BlogSpot hosting.

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You Cannot Buy A Domain From Blogger

One of the odder examples of naivete, seen occasionally in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?, involves the custom domain purchase.

How do I buy a domain from Blogger?

or alternately

How do I have Google host my domain?

The immediate answer, properly stated, is simple.

You cannot buy a domain from Blogger. Neither Blogger, nor Google, is a registrar.

The full answer, however, is a bit more complex.

Blogger / Google provides the "Buy a domain for your blog" wizard, which simplifies the purchase and setup of non BlogSpot URLs, for our Blogger blogs - when we are able to make certain concessions in the purchase process. The "Buy a domain" wizard is simple, with some subtle restrictions.

• The "Buy a domain" wizard should not be interrupted, as it cannot be restarted.
• A major bank issued credit card, in working order, is required.
• Only specific generic Top Level domains are offered.
  • .biz
  • .com
  • .info
  • .net
  • .org
  No country Top Level domains are offered.
• The "Buy a domain" wizard uses partner registrars eNom and GoDaddy, selectable at purchase.
• If you already have an account with eNom or GoDaddy, you will end up with a second account. There is no opportunity to purchase using an existing account.
• "Buy a domain", when used, produces one and only one of the three standard domain models.

If you are able to live with the restrictions - and you are the one asking the original question

How do I buy a domain from Blogger?

chances are that you, Blogger / Google, and your readers will all be better off with you using "Buy a domain". Just please, plan the blog migration, before starting.

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Custom Domain Diagnoses - Identify DNS Address Inconsistencies

One of the more intriguing causes of intermittent custom domain problems starts with inconsistent DNS server configuration. Recently, eNom, one of the "partners" in "Buy a domain", has been serving inconsistent DNS configurations, from time to time - including one very blatant episode the afternoon of 6/18/2012, which was reported by several dozen angry blog owners.

Detecting, and diagnosing, the inconsistencies is typically a complicated process.

1. Identify the domain authority servers, typically using a Who Is lookup.
2. Dig each domain address (typically "naked domain" and "www" aliases), from each of the identified domain authority servers.
3. Extract and aggregate each Dig log.
4. Compare aggregated Dig snippets.

This was not a task for the faint of heart, or tech challenged, blog owner.

Recently, I was given a handy tool which does all of this, in one quick GUI transaction.

The Dig Web Interface, yet another free online tool, provides us the ability to diagnose inconsistent DNS servers - such as the problem eNom seems to have, in a 30 second transaction.

1. Provide the "naked domain" and "www" aliases.
2. Select "A" for "Type" ("A" / "CNAME" / "NS" lookups).
3. Select "Authoritative" for "Nameservers".
4. Hit "Dig".

Finally, just copy the log produced, for examination.

It's not a fancy tool, but it does the job - very well. Here, we see the log for this domain, "nitecruzr.net".

nitecruzr.net@ns11.domaincontrol.com.:
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN A 216.239.36.21
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN A 216.239.32.21
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN A 216.239.34.21
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN A 216.239.38.21
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN NS ns54.domaincontrol.com.
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN NS ns53.domaincontrol.com.
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN NS ns12.domaincontrol.com.
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN NS ns11.domaincontrol.com.


nitecruzr.net@ns12.domaincontrol.com.:
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN A 216.239.36.21
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN A 216.239.32.21
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN A 216.239.34.21
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN A 216.239.38.21
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN NS ns54.domaincontrol.com.
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN NS ns53.domaincontrol.com.
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN NS ns12.domaincontrol.com.
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN NS ns11.domaincontrol.com.


nitecruzr.net@ns53.domaincontrol.com.:
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN A 216.239.36.21
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN A 216.239.34.21
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN A 216.239.38.21
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN A 216.239.32.21
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN NS ns54.domaincontrol.com.
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN NS ns53.domaincontrol.com.
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN NS ns12.domaincontrol.com.
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN NS ns11.domaincontrol.com.


nitecruzr.net@ns54.domaincontrol.com.:
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN A 216.239.36.21
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN A 216.239.34.21
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN A 216.239.38.21
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN A 216.239.32.21
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN NS ns54.domaincontrol.com.
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN NS ns53.domaincontrol.com.
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN NS ns12.domaincontrol.com.
nitecruzr.net.  3600 IN NS ns11.domaincontrol.com.


www.nitecruzr.net@ns11.domaincontrol.com.:
www.nitecruzr.net. 3600 IN CNAME ghs.google.com.


www.nitecruzr.net@ns12.domaincontrol.com.:
www.nitecruzr.net. 3600 IN CNAME ghs.google.com.


www.nitecruzr.net@ns53.domaincontrol.com.:
www.nitecruzr.net. 3600 IN CNAME ghs.google.com.


www.nitecruzr.net@ns54.domaincontrol.com.:
www.nitecruzr.net. 3600 IN CNAME ghs.google.com.

The log is not complicated, to parse. For each URL, each authority server is identified, and Dug. In the case of this domain, hosted on GoDaddy, we see each URL, Dug from each of 4 authority servers, one by one.

If a DNS inconsistency existed, the above log would show the differing DNS addresses - such as eNom hosted domains show, from time to time. Given this tool, it may be easier to look for DNS inconsistencies, when problems with custom domains are reported, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

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When Using "Buy a domain", Prevent Interruptions

One of the saddest problems reports, seen in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, and mentioning the custom domain purchase process, starts with

I had a problem with my credit card, and had to get my bank to allow my purchase. But now, I see

We found an existing order for this domain. Please contact support.

or maybe

I had to answer the phone after I started my purchase, and now the domain that I wanted isn't available. How do I get the domain that should be mine?

These problem reports are from people who did not understand how simple the domain purchase process is.

1. Select an available domain.
2. Provide registration and payment information.

That simplicity is based on a monolithic restriction.

The purchase process does not allow for interruption.

It is to your advantage, when purchasing your domain, to complete the purchase, quickly.

The domain purchase process is similar to the blog setup process, as you choose an available blog name. When you identify an available and useful URL (or domain name), you need to select (or pay for) that URL (domain name) immediately. As you purchase the domain name of your dreams, remember that there are, at any time, up to 3 groups of people looking for a domain.

1. You.
2. Other Blogger blog owners, looking to buy a domain for their Blogger blog.
3. People outside Blogger / Google, looking to setup a website.

Unfortunately, only one of you can have the domain name of your dreams.

Look again, how simple "Buy a domain" is.

1. Select an available domain.
2. Provide payment information.
3. Done. Get to work, planning the migration process.

The longer you take, between starting Step #1 and completing Step #2, the greater the chance that you may see

Sorry, this domain is not available.

as you complete Step #2.

In some cases, and when you specifically see

We found an existing order for this domain. Please contact support.

we can offer you an alternative.

1. Clear cache, cookies, and sessions (all 3!), restart the browser, and try again.
2. Wait 48 to 72 hours, and try again.

This alternative allows you to "try again". It does not guarantee that the domain that you chose will still be waiting for you, when you try again. A popular domain name, based on some major cultural news event, may be gone in a matter of minutes. Wait 48 to 72 hours - and your guess is as good as mine.

Maybe, we should rewrite the purchase process.

1. Prepare.
   • Call your bank, and get your credit card cleared for the purchase.
   • Get a cup of coffee.
   • Unplug the phone.
   • Close the door of your office.
2. Select an available domain.
3. Provide payment information.
4. Done. Plug the phone back in, and rinse out the coffee cup.

Take 15 minutes out of your busy schedule, and get the purchase done. Then, return to normal life.

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Research Custom Domain Problems From The Beginning Of The Purchase

Sometimes, researching a problem, with a custom domain published blog, involves a Who Is lookup, to determine key domain details - like DNS server namess, purchase date, registrar name, and others. Starting with the properly spelled domain name is essential, to getting a useful Who Is lookup. In cases where the blog / domain owner can't spell the domain name consistently, you can start even more basically.

To determine the details about a domain purchase, when you have any doubt, ask for a copy of the invoice or receipt. If the transaction was conducted electronically, copy and paste of the key information is most useful. If the transaction involved a paper trail, have the receipt scanned, and a picture posted somewhere that you can view.

The invoice or receipt, for any domain purchase, will help identify - and confirm or deny - key details.

• Correct domain name - spelling.
• Purchase date.
• Name of registrar.

All of these details are useful, in researching a problem with a custom domain published blog.

Starting with the domain name, verified from the invoice or receipt, you can use any of several similar Who Is lookup tools.

• DomainTools.
• MXToolbox.
• Name ("who.is").
• Network-Tools.

Having multiple complementary tools can be useful, many times - both as backup (in case one is offline, for some reason) - and to confirm or deny unexpected results.

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Buying A Custom Domain Requires A Working Bank Issued Credit Card

As Blogger in general, and custom domain publishing in particular, becomes more popular in Asia and Africa, we are seeing more problems with the Blogger / Google domain purchase process. The basic problem, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, will be expressed so simply.

My blog is showing an off-site redirect.

You're about to be redirected.

The blog that used to be here is now at http://www.mydomain.com.
Do you wish to be redirected?

What do I do now?

Some time ago, this report would have been diagnosed as spurious DNS addresses - and we would point out the necessities of proper custom domain DNS addressing, when setting up the domain yourself. Nowadays, an increasingly common diagnosis, for this problem, is an unsuccessfully purchased domain, using the Blogger / Google "Buy a domain" or Google Apps purchase process.

Some blog owners, preparing to purchase their domain, confuse the required bank issued credit card with an alternative - the bank issued debit card. When purchasing products in stores, a "debit card" looks and works the same as a "credit card". Apparently, not every "debit card" may work the same, with the Blogger / Google Apps "Buy a domain" process. It appears that in some countries, notably in Africa and Asia, debit cards are becoming a popular alternative to credit cards.

In some cases, the blog owner will check with his bank, and will find a token charge of $1 (or the local currency equivalent minimum purchase amount) posted to the account - but the $10 (or local currency equivalent) charge will not be found. Possibly, Google Checkout will show the notation

Payment declined : No reason provided

The "Buy a domain" process will appear to work, and the Blogger blog "mybloggerblog.blogspot.com" will be re published - in Transition - as "www.mydomain.com". The blog owner will find out later - after Transition expires and the republishing is completed - that the BlogSpot URL now shows an "off site redirect", because the domain was never registered.

The blog owner may receive email mentioning a problem.

Your service might be suspended.

Please pay your amount due, $10.00.
You have no valid forms of payment available for automatic charging.
Your bank or credit institution has declined an automatic payment with your Visa ...XXXX and provided the following reason: No reason provided. This form of payment can't be used. Please contact your bank for more information, then click the "Re-enable form of payment" link.

Apparently, bank issued credit cards work differently from debit cards, in the "Buy a domain" process. The bottom line is that, with the "Buy a domain" process mentioning "credit card", you will need to provide just that - and a "debit card" may not provide a reliable alternative. The reference Google Checkout: Troubleshooting Payments may provide insight here.

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