How to domain use blogger

Last time, I have talked aboutimportance of custom domain name for BlogSpot blogs and anyonewho is on free blogging platform like BlogSpot.comor WordPress.com, it’s my recommendation to use a custom domain name instead of free domain name.If you are a starter, let me clear your doubts regardingfree domain name Vs. custom domain name.*.For starters: How to create a free blog on BlogSpot PlatformWhen you start a blog on BlogSpot.com, you usually get a domain name like (name.blogspot.com) and this is what we call as a free domain name. Where as custom domain name is something like name.com. A good example is ShoutMeLoud.com which is a custom domain name. There are endless benefits of using a custom name foryourBlogSpot bloginstead of free name, andyou can read all about it here.Now, setting up the custom domain feature in BlogSpot is a bit of technical part, butthis DIY guide is targeted tonon-technical people.Here I’m sharing the complete step by step guide which you can follow toadd a BlogSpot custom domain to your blogger blog.In this case, I’m assuming you have purchased domain name fromGoDaddyand you have access to your BlogSpot blog.Complete Guide to Setup BlogSpot With your CustomDomain Name:Very first thing which you need to do is to purchase a domain name, which will usually cost around $11 forone year. The advantages you will get with custom domain name is worth your investment on domain name.More over, think about whatsounds much better: ShoutMeloud.blogspot.comor ShoutMeLoud.com.If you have never purchased a domain name before, here are guides which will help you to select the right name for your blog.*.Read:How to decide name of your blog*.How to find best domain name for your websiteI recommend you to read it, and decide the name of domain which you want to buy. I highly recommend you to try buying .com domains instead of any other (.info, .org). In 2016, you can also consider buying new domain name extensions with .guru or.video.Once you have decided upon the domain name, head over toGoDaddy and purchase your domain. (5 minute work).Now, I assume you have two things with you:*.Your BlogSpot blog up and running*.You have access to your domain nameWe have to make changes at two places, and once yousetup the custom domain feature of BlogSpot, Googlewill take care of all traffic migration and you will not lose any traffic Orback links.Add Register domain name to your BlogSpot Blog:This is the first step where you will be adding the register domain name to your blog. Simply login to your BlogSpot dashboard, and head over toSettings > Basicsand you will see an option which says Publishing >Blog address >+ Setup a 3rd party URL for your blog:View Original ImageHere you need to add the domain name that you have purchased, and after adding the domain name, it will give two CNAME records and 4 A recordswhich we will be needing in the next step.Click on + Setup a 3rd party URLfor your blog, and add the domain name which you have purchased.View Original ImageNote: You need to add domain with www as prefix. (See above screenshot for better understanding)Once you have added the domain name with www, you willsee an error saying “We have not been able to verify your authority to this domain. Error 12..” and you will get the CNAME record that you need to configure (See below screenshot)Now. once you have these CNAME details, it’s time to loginto your domain control panel, and make changes.Now, follow the next step of thisguide and your BlogSpot customdomain name setup will be finished in no-time.Setting up CNAME and A Recordfor BlogSpot Custom-Domain NameLogin to your Godady account dashboard & click on manage domains. You will see a screen like this:*.Click on the domain namewhich you have purchased inside your dashboard, and you will be on Manage domain page.*.On the next page, click on DNS zone file to start adding the record.(See below screenshot for the reference)*.Click on Add record & from the pop-up select CNAME record & add boththe record one by one from your BlogSpot setting screen. Here is both the image to make it easy for you to understand the setupAdding 1st CNAME recordClick  on Add another & copy thesecond CNAME record from your BlogSpot page:Adding 2nd CNAME recordClick on finish & on the next page you need to click on Save changes.*.. In case if you do, feel free to ask me for help viacomments.Adding A records to your Domain DNSThis is the last step where you just need to add 4 I.P. Address into your A record. The process is going to the be the same as above, all you need to do is add A record instead of CNAME. I’m sharing one screenshot which will show you how to add A record, and similarly you can add all 4 A records.*.Click on Add record, select A name under record type. In the Hostname part add @ andon Destination IPv4 address add 216.239.34.21Like this you need to have total 4 A record and your final screen for A record will look like this. Here are the  I.P. address of 4 A record which you need to add.216.239.32.21216.239.34.21216.239.36.21216.239.38.21Here is the final screenshot of my A record page onGodaddy:View Original ImageNow once you have setup CNAME and A record, you need to wait for 5 minutes to 4 hours for this changes to reflect globally. You need to go back to your BlogSpot dashboard, and click on save changes.If the CNAME & A record has been updated globally, this time instead of showing error “We have not been able to verify yourauthority to this domain. Error 12.“, your custom domain will start working. In my case, it tookonly 5 minutes.If you see error  that means, youneed to wait for some more hours to add the custom domainname. So, here is the final screenshot which I see:Once it’s added, Google will takecare of redirection part, and anyone if opens your BlogSpot blog address, he/she will be automatically redirected to your new custom domain name.This will also work seamlessly for internal pages, andyou will not lose any traffic or link-juice.One last thing:Also, you need to click on Edit here, and redirect non www version of your domain to www. Simply click on Edit and check the options which says “Redirect xxxx.com to www.xxxx.com”View Original ImageHere is theofficial help page from BlogSpot teamfor setting up Custom domain name.The whole process may look technical, but once you are inside the dashboard and follow all the steps mentioned above, itwill be easier for you to implement.buy domain from GoDaddy & setup custom domainIf you have been blogging on BlogSpot platform for a while or for long time and not using BlogSpot custom domain feature, I highly recommend youto start using it for better branding and to make your blog look more professional.If you are stuck anywhere in the process and need some help, feel free to let me know via comments. If you enjoyed reading this tutorial and find it useful, do share it on Facebook and Google plus.