A Blog Published To A Custom Domain Has A New URL - And No More

We see occasional signs of naivete, in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?, about custom domain publishing.

Can I publish to a custom domain - and still use the Blogger dashboard?

and

Can I publish to a custom domain - and keep my comments and posts?

and

Can I publish to a custom domain - and avoid TOS restrictions?

Some blog owners seem to see custom domain publishing as more than it actually is.

When you publish your blog to a non BlogSpot URL (aka custom domain), using a proper setup, your blog now has a new URL.

The BlogSpot URL continues to work - and to direct search engines bots, search query results, and visitors, to the blog.

If your blog uses Google+ Comments, you won't see the comments published to the BlogSpot URL - although the comments will still exist, and be visible, in Google+.

Some accessory gadgets will stop working, temporarily, shortly after the new URL starts working. This is an unavoidable result of the Internet address lookup infrastructure, aka DNS.

Other than those details, you'll have the same blog as before - just with an extra URL, that may be more valuable to the search engines.

• The Blogger blog will still be hosted by Blogger / Google, and will use the Blogger dashboard for maintenance and publishing.
• The blog will be served subject to Auto Pagination.
• The blog will be subject to the same content restrictions - both porn labeling, and malware / spam deletion, will be consequences of any infractions.
• The blog will be subject to the same deletion recovery restrictions.

Just as any time you change the URL of your blog, you'll face changes in external relationships, such as with your readers, and with search engines and other services. Don't do this without careful planning, and methodical execution!

For the few times when your domain fails, see my troubleshooting check list - but prevent problems best, by first setting it up properly, and by observing your own limitations.

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Confusion Over Custom Domain Expiration Dates, Caused By Google Apps Email

We're seeing some panic today, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, from a few blog owners who have received email, which implies that their custom domain registrations are approaching expiration - and can't be renewed.

I registered my domain several months ago, through Google. I have the receipt for the payment in my email, my Google Wallet account, and my credit card statement.

Why am I getting this email now, some months after registering my domain - but well before my registration should be expiring?

Our records indicate that the payment for registering your domain mydomain.com was unsuccessful.

Payment failures happen for a variety of reasons (such as insufficient funds or an expired card). You can update your payment information to resolve the issue.

Please log in to your account and update your payment information. If you take no action, your domain will not be renewed on .

This confusion is especially unfortunate, given the recent discontinuation of the very popular Google Domain Registration option, which drives the Blogger "Buy a domain" wizard. It is reminiscent of a similar episode, almost a year ago.

When this confusion is reported in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, it's not difficult to dispel the panic. Several helpful websites provide registration look up services for the domains in question - and allow us to easily verify that there is no sudden flood of registration problems.

• DomainTools.com
• Name.com
• Network-Tools.com

Overview for mydomain.com
Registrar Info
Name  ENOM, INC.
Whois Server  whois.enom.com
Referral URL  http://www.enom.com
Status  clientTransferProhibited

Important Dates
Expires On  December 01, 2013
Registered On  December 01, 2012
Updated On  December 01, 2012

We have identified a popular topic in Google Apps Forum: General Discussion, where this issue is being discussed, and which has been forwarded to Google Apps Support.

Please watch the Google Apps discussion, or this blog post, for updates. And get back to work, on your blog.

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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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Enabling Blogger, If You Now Have An ISP Provided Email Account, That Uses Google Apps Based GMail

We're seeing problem reports from some confused blog owners, who are apparently customers of ISPs who have made the switch, from using a private email infrastructure, to using GMail based email (administered using Google Apps).

When I try to sign in I get this message.

Blogger has not been enabled by the administrator of the domain

How do I administer my blog?

We've known, for a while, that having a Blogger account based on a Google Apps provided GMail account may not be a good long term strategy - particularly if the Apps account is based on a domain which you own, and the domain was purchased to host one of your blogs.

Possibly considering the latter scenario, Blogger / Google now requires that you enable the Blogger service, for any new Google Apps controlled domain - if you wish to use email addresses in that domain to host Blogger accounts. This is a safety measure, helping to prevent you from having a Blogger account that you can't control - or can't recover access when you forget the password.

All of that is fine - when you control the domain that you wish to use to host your Blogger account. But what if you don't control the domain? What if you previously setup a Blogger account based on your ISP's email domain - then later the domain administrator decides to upgrade the domain, to use GMail based email? What happens to your Blogger account?

Short of convincing the domain administrators for your ISP that you have a genuine and urgent need to have a Blogger account, based on an email address that they provide, you're going to need a new email address - provided by someone other than Google, or your ISP (school, employer, what have you).

Start by setting up an email account in some third party web service - maybe "Yahoo.com". Then, you have two possibilities. If you're reading this article just before your ISP makes the switch, and you can still use your Blogger account, transfer control of your blog(s) to a new Blogger account that's based on your new email address.

If you just discovered the change by your ISP - maybe because you now see the bad news

Blogger has not been enabled by the administrator of the domain

you are going to have to recover control of your blog, based upon access to your ISP's email account - and setup a new Blogger account based on your new non ISP based email account.

1. Generate a new account recovery email message.
2. Setup a new email account, outside your current email service.
3. Clear cache, cookies, and sessions.
4. Restart the browser.
5. Login to your current email service, find, and open the email message.
6. Click on the link in the email message.
7. Setup a new Blogger account, based on the new email address.

Whatever you do when setting up your new Blogger account, please make sure to verify the email address - and setup recovery options, carefully.

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Enabling Blogger For Your Private Domain

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Blogger Accounts, And Domains Based On Google Apps

We've know, for a while, of the downsides of having a Blogger account that's based on an email address that's provided by a Google Apps based domain. Some people are unknowingly using email that is based on Google Apps administered service - and they are not even the administrators.

A few would be blog owners - or members (of a private or team blog) - are using Google Apps administered domains for their email. This detail never becomes relevant to them, until they try to join or setup a Blogger blog.

When I click on the invite link, and try to set up a new Google account, I get the message.

Blogger has not been enabled by the administrator of the domain xxxxxxx.edu.

What do I do, now?

When you are a prospective blog member or owner, and you are using a domain that you control and own - and are able to access the Google Apps administrator account for the domain - you may be able to enable the Blogger service, for the domain. If you are merely one user of the domain, where your email service is hosted, the situation won't be that simple.

If someone else controls the email domain, where you need to use Blogger, you have 2 choices.

• Convince the domain administrators to enable the Blogger service, in their domain.
• Setup a web based email account, outside your current service.
  • Recover control of the blog, using the current email address.
  • Transfer control of the blog, to a new Blogger account.

Neither solution is ideal.

Not all domain administrators, even for those domains which use GMail services for non "gmail.com" email addresses, believe Blogger blogs to be an essential service. Some believe blog publication to be a frivolous or insecure activity, and will intentionally block use of Blogger in their domains - possibly mandated by a Corporate Security Policy. These administrators are unlikely to attend to your need with any amount of urgency.

Some educational institutions or corporations, which are now using GMail in their private domains, may also consider use of non domain, or web based, email as suspicious activity. This may also present a challenge to you, when you need to use Blogger.

You'll have to make a personal decision, when you are faced with an email account that does not permit Blogger accounts. Just understand the possible reasons why the choice is necessary.

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