Very few registrars allow multiple "CNAME" addresses, for a single DNS host.
When I diagnose DNS address problems, I generally recommend
Add the addresses highlighted in green.
Remove the addresses highlighted in red.
I find that it helps to have the old address visible, while the new address is being composed. This does not always produce the desired result, unfortunately.
Many registrars do not allow multiple "CNAME" addresses, for DNS hosts - and the zone editors reject new address attempts.
When DNS addresses for a Blogger custom domain need to be corrected, I recommend
Add the addresses highlighted in green.
Remove the addresses highlighted in red.
I recommend correction in this order, so the blog owner can view the current (incorrect) addresses, while adding new (correct) addresses. This compensates for various zone editor syntax oddities.
Making corrections in this order - adding correct addresses, then removing incorrect addresses - does not always produce the anticipated results. If the zone editor checks as each individual address change is made, we see the result.
"That name is reserved (already in use)."
Some zone editors check, immediately, when a second "CNAME" is entered, for a given "Host" address. When multiple "CNAME"s are forbidden, and the zone editor checks for multiple "CNAME"s immediately, we have a problem.
Other zone editors check for a correct address complement, when Saving multiple zone editor changes - after all additions and removals are successfully made and verified. These zone editors do not present a challenge - as long as the blog owner removes all incorrect addresses.
When the incorrect addresses are not removed properly, we see the result.
That name is reserved (already in use).
This leads the blog owner to cancel the recommended correction - and we wait, in vain, for the domain to come online.
In a worse case scenario, we can even end up with another case of "Another blog ...".
Right now, though, we can only diagnose the problem, one domain at a time.
Some registrars have zone editors which forbid multiple "CNAME"s for specific addresses - and check, one entry at a time, for mistakes. This may cause a problem, with a #Blogger blog owner making custom domain DNS address corrections, when instructed to "Add addresses highlighted in green.", then "Delete addresses highlighted in red."
Some blog owners buy domains, for publishing a Blogger blog, and ask about how to address the domain.What address do I use for "Points to"?
Other owners may ask a similar question, referencing "Destination" or maybe "Target".
There is no real difference, between all 3 labels. "Destination", "Target", and "Points to" all refer to the same DNS address value.
To compound the confusion, 4 different addresses are required, when addressing a Blogger custom domain root.
Defining the DNS servers used by the domain root ("naked domain") requires 4 address records - and the labels used, in the zone editor, will vary from registrar to registrar.
We know of 3 different labels, used by Blogger custom domain instructions.
The referential Blogger document How do I use a custom domain name for my blog? uses 3 labels to identify the 4 name servers, which are provided by Google. Blogger uses the triplet label "Destination, Target, or Points to" as their example.
Note that not all registrars use "Name, Label, or Host" and "Destination, Target, or Points to" - because not all registrar zone editors display addresses in a neat column based display.
Google provides 4 name servers, to give us multiple redundancy.
Google provides four mutually redundant individual servers, each responding to a specific IP address - for custom domain clients to address the domain root, in a round robin sequence.
There are 4 name servers provided by Blogger, to address a custom domain root.
Each domain root name server entry uses 2 important label values ("Name, Label, or Host" - and "Destination, Target, or Points to") - with a zone editor that displays addresses in columns.
Each label may have 1 of 3 values, depending upon the zone editor provided by the registrar.
Here is the Dig Log, for the domain root. Look at the 2, 4, 6, and 8, in the 4 address entries.
mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.32.21
mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.34.21
mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.36.21
mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.38.21
In the GoDaddy zone editor, you'll see these entries depicted as
Host Points to TTL
@ 216.239.32.21 1 Hour
@ 216.239.34.21 1 Hour
@ 216.239.36.21 1 Hour
@ 216.239.38.21 1 Hour
The GoDaddy zone editor uses the labels "Host" and "Points to".
Similar labels ("Name", "Label" and "Destination", "Target") are used by various other registrars, in their own zone editor.
A Zone Editor display, showing the base DNS addresses, for GoDaddy.
Here is the display, used by GoDaddy, for "nitecruzr.co.uk".
Here is the zone editor display, as provided by GoDaddy.
Do you see the 4 address records, beneath "Points to"?
The labels in the address records differ, from registrar to registrar. The "Name, Label, or Host" address values (here, shown as "@") will differ, from registrar to registrar - but the "Destination, Target, or Points to" address values will not differ. A properly addressed domain will have the same 4 "Destination, Target, or Points to" address values, as every other properly addressed domain.
mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.3n.21
Each address will have one of four values for n: 2, 4, 6, or 8.
Complementing "Destination, Target, or Points to", we have another label set.
Complementing the 3 "Destination, Target, or Points to" label address values, for addressing the 4 name servers provided by Google, we have a similar set of 3 "Name, Label, or Host" label address values.
Addressing "Name, Label, or Host" is somewhat simpler - as all 4 entries are identical to each other, for any domain root address entry.
The Blogger instructions, like the GoDaddy zone editor, use "@", when addressing the domain root. The zone editor value used, however, may differ from registrar to registrar.
Any blog owner, wishing to have a working custom domain, needs to understand how to setup a domain for the registrar involved.
The end result.
Both the "Name, Label, or Host" - and the "Destination, Target, or Points to" - label triplets are only examples. Other unidentified registrars may use other labels.
Some registrars - such as 1and1 in their instructions 1&1 Help Center - Enter a CNAME for Your Subdomain - do not use a column based display. Neither "Name, Label, or Host" or "Destination, Target, or Points to" is part of the 1and1 instructions.
Considering the Blogger instructions, and the terminology required, Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue will not soon run out of blog owners, requesting assistance for making their custom domains work.
Some #Blogger blog owners, in the process of setting up their blogs using custom domain publishing, find that labels "Name", "Label", or "Host" - and "Destination", "Points to", or "Target" - are only examples, in the Blogger Help document.
There is no attempt at standardisation, used by the thousands of different Internet registrars, in their dashboards (aka "zone editors").
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!category-topic/blogger/kMDo0O1xtDM
Custom domain setups continue to confuse blog owners - and lead sometimes to frustration, expressed in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue.
When I am trying to set up a custom domain for my new blog, I'm not getting the 2nd CNAME Record, but the settings get saved.
In some cases, the domain may be operational - and other times, the domain will be broken, and no corrective instruction is provided.
The details in the instructions, Blogger Help: How do I use a custom domain name for my blog?, are misleading - and have resulted in broken domains.
The Blogger instructions are confusing.
5. Go to your domain registrar's website and locate the DNS (Domain Name System) settings in the control panel.
Not a lot of details, there.
10. Before you move onto the final step, wait about an hour for your DNS settings to activate. If you attempt the final step before your settings are activated, we'll let you know with a warning message.
All registrars don't use "3600" second TTL.
That's 2 examples of possible problems.
Publishing a blog to a custom domain is so much easier - and produces more reliable results - if you follow basic principles.
- Learn to use your registrar's zone editor.
- Learn to read a Dig log.
- Setup the DNS addresses, for your domain.
- If necessary, add domain ownership verification.
Learn to use your registrar's zone editor.
The registrar dashboard / zone editor is the portion of the registrar's website, that is created to let you, the domain owner, setup your own domain.
The zone editor is unique, for every different registrar - just as every website is different. One of the signs of uniqueness is hinted, by Blogger.
Each CNAME is composed of two parts - Name, Label or Host and Destination, Target or Points to.
These two (only two) terms here refer to the most essential details, in the zone editor, that make your domain operational. The two details have no consistent names - so we use examples.
The first CNAME is the same for everyone, Name being "www" and Destination "ghs.google.com."
That one sentence is the most essential, for all domains. It looks so simple - but it's so easy to get it wrong. Not every blog owner will see "Name" and "Destination" in the zone editor display. This leads to many imaginative - and wrong - alternatives.
Each registrar labels their zone editor, as they see fit. I've seen other terms used, in addition to the 6 implied. Both "Name, Label or Host" and "Destination, Target or Points to" are merely three examples, for each of these two essential elements.
These details are only hinted, by the Blogger instructions.
- Go to your domain registrar's website and locate the DNS (Domain Name System) settings in the control panel.
- Now it's time to enter the CNAMEs. Where it says Name, Label or Host simply enter "www" and list ghs.google.com as the Destination, Target or Points to.
Learning how to look, in the zone editor, is much more reliable than being told what to look for.
Learn to read a Dig log.
Compared to the confusion behind the registrar's zone editor, a Dig log is simplicity.
There are three basic DNS configurations, which produce a reliable domain for publishing a Blogger blog. 99.99% of all blog owners will use only one of the three.
ourdomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.32.21
ourdomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.34.21
ourdomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.36.21
ourdomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.38.21
www.ourdomain.com. 3600 IN CNAME ghs.google.com.
This is the asymmetrical DNS address configuration. Excepting one known variation, the asymmetrical configuration - with no options - is most reliable.
Setup the DNS addresses, for your domain.
As long as you have access to the zone editor, and understand the above issues - "Learn to use your registrar's zone editor" and "Learn to read a Dig log" - the rest will fall into place.
Unfortunately, not everybody has zone editor access. Similar to Blogger dashboard access, registrar dashboard access is not always a done deal.
Even having zone editor access, the Blogger instructions can mislead.
- Optional: You can also enter A-records, which links your naked domain (example.com) to an actual site (www.example.com). If you skip this step, visitors who leave off the "www" will see an error page.
- Optional continued: After completing Step 8, enter your domain name in the format example.com, and list the I.P. addresses shown below in the "A" section. You'll need to create four separate A-records which point to four different Google IPs.
Many problems, reported in the forums, indicate that using the domain root properly is (should be indicated as) a necessity.
Once again, the domain root, configured properly, should not be suggested as an option.
- Before you move onto the final step, wait about an hour for your DNS settings to activate. If you attempt the final step before your settings are activated, we'll let you know with a warning message.
All registrars don't use one hour TTL.
Be careful of the TTL setting. Unless you know better, stick with the registrar's TTL setting - and try to understand the effects of TTL latency.
If necessary, add domain ownership verification.
Returning to the Blogger instructions, we see
The second CNAME is particular to your blog and your Google Account, and is therefore different for each person.
Not every blog owner will see the second CNAME - whether or not the domain is properly setup.
The Blogger dashboard Publishing wizard only displays the "Error 12", and the second CNAME, under specific conditions. In some cases, the blog will be published to the domain - and the second CNAME will not be provided.
You may not see the instructions for the second "CNAME", until your base addresses are right. If you need the second "CNAME", the "Error 12" display will provide details - when the base addresses redirect properly. If the blog publishes, a second "CNAME" is not necessary.
That is my suggestion. Get the addresses right, before you start - then publish to the domain URL.
If the blog publishes to the domain, and the addresses are wrong, the domain will be broken - or unreliable.
The bottom line.
It's good to have instructions, they suggest the need for proper domain setup technique. Just don't be surprised if following them blindly gives you a broken domain - and an offline blog.
If you are lucky, the blog will appear offline immediately after using the Publishing wizard - and you will know that there is a problem to be fixed. Other times, you (or some readers) might not realise a problem until months or years later.
In the latter case, we'll see you, one day, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue.
I published my blog to my private domain, last month - and the blog pageviews have been in the crapper, ever since!
The instructions supplied by #Blogger, for setting up a custom domain published blog, can be misleading. Blindly observed, they can lead to an immediately offline blog - or to a blog that is online for some, and intermittently offline for others.
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!category-topic/blogger/Jv0fT5cws3U
After too many years of Blogger blog owners struggling with setting up their custom domains, Google is now selling domains - though right now, in a select number of countries.
Having ended "Buy a domain", and its problems - and now dealing with blog owners setting up domains purchased through numerous registrars, and those problems - Blogger / Google has cleaned up the domain purchase and setup process.
This year, we see Google Domains - where Google actually registers domains, and can control the DNS hosting. And, they have developed a clean and lean dashboard / zone editor, for maintaining their domains.
I setup a Google Domain, several months ago.
Adding DNS addresses to a recently purchased Google Domain is quite simple. Start by logging in to Google Domains.
Once you login, you have the Google Domains dashboard Home page. Find your domain, in the list - and select the "DNS" icon,for your domain.
That gives you the "DNS" dashboard, for your domain. This is also known as the "Zone Editor", in some instructions. Scroll to the bottom of the "DNS" dashboard, and "Custom resource records".
There are the 4 x "A" + "CNAME" entries. You will have a different domain - but your address entries will be otherwise similar to what you see (with either "ghs.google.com.", or "ghs.googlehosted.com.").
Add the first address entry. Paste "216.239.32.21" into the box labeled "IPv4 address", and hit "Add".
Add 3 more addresses - "216.239.34.21", "216.239.36.21", "216.239.38.21" - in the same way. Then, change "@" to "www", select "CNAME" in place of "A" in the pull down menu, enter either "ghs.google.com.", or "ghs.googlehosted.com." into the address box, and hit "Add" for a 5th time.
Checkout the zone editor, for your domain. It should be similar to what you see, above. This is the well known "asymmetrical" DNS configuration, provided by "Buy a domain", not so long ago.
I don't think manual DNS address setup could be much simpler.
With the new domain properly addressed, wait 24 to 48 hours hours for the domain to propagate, then go to the Settings - Basic page of the Blogger dashboard.
Select "Setup a Google Domains URL for your blog", and follow instructions.
Use the "Setup a Google Domains URL for your blog" link in the Publishing wizard, in Settings - Basic to connect the blog to the domain.
Then get to work, publishing more content in your newly addressed blog.
We periodically see signs of naivete, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, about registrar dashboard access.How do I add addresses to my domain?
orHow do I move my domain, to Square Space (Tumblr, WordPress)?
orHow do I terminate my automatic yearly domain registration?
Too many blog owners treat their registrar accounts as other blog owners treat their Blogger accounts.
When it becomes time to access the registrar's dashboard (or zone editor) too many blog owners are unprepared. Having not bothered to access the zone editor previously, they have no idea how to start - and since they now have a real need to change registration options, change DNS, migrate the domain, ... they panic. And after panicking, they blame Blogger for not telling them, long ago, to setup and maintain the registrar dashboard access account.
In some cases, neither Blogger or Google had anything to do with a domain purchase. Identifying domains purchased directly from a registrar, some time in the past, can be the first challenge, when dealing with a panicked domain owner.
There are 3 different ways that a domain may have been purchased.- Directly from a registrar.
- From a registrar through Blogger / Google, using "Buy a domain ..." (Blogger) or a Google equivalent.
- From Google, using Google Domains.
Registrar direct purchase
The process of buying a domain directly from a registrar - with registrar provided dashboard / zone editor access - is the method most used currently. It is also the method which presents us with the most challenge.- All registrars do not provide the right options / services, for hosting a Blogger custom domain.
- Some registrars have helpful tech staff, who provide bogus advice, and ignore Blogger instruction.
- When help with correcting a bogus setup is needed, we cannot provide as complete advice, because we are not familiar with all registrar dashboards.
One of the benefits of custom domain publishing is that a Blogger custom domain is capable of working with almost every registrar in the world - and this becomes its biggest weakness.
If this will be your first domain, I recommend Google Domains - if you live in the USA. Registrar direct is a good choice, for experienced domain owners - but not for novices.
Theoretically, a Blogger custom domain is capable of working with any non Google website, in a domain cluster. Not all Google competitor services are this versatile; some services require the use of specific registrars or name servers.
Universal registrar compatibility is an advantage for Blogger - and a disadvantage too. That aside, when it comes time to renew or migrate a domain, purchased directly from a registrar, the blog owner has only to contact the registrar directly. Neither Blogger Help, Blogger, or Google is involved with registrar direct purchases.
Buy a domain
The most popular purchase method, which is no longer available. is "Buy a domain for your blog" (aka "Buy a domain") - or a Google equivalent, used by some blog owners. "Buy a domain" was a popular Blogger dashboard option, for several years. It offered an attractive package price of $10 USD for the domain, with several options that would be extra cost when buying registrar direct.
Besides the popular purchase price, "Buy a domain" provided automatic setup of the 4 x "A" + "CNAME" configuration, aka "asymmetrical" DNS configuration - with registrar dashboard / zone editor not involved. When it worked properly, domains purchased were turnkey operations. You could buy a domain now, have the blog online in 15 minutes, and have the search engines start indexing in 2 - 3 days.
"Buy a domain" did have several drawbacks, though.- The online purchase process required two parallel processes - bank payment and DNS configuration. The two processes did not always work together.
- The purchase could be made from a limited number of countries, because the electronic international banking process did not support all countries.
- Registrar access, for "Buy a domain" purchases, was provided through the Control Panel / Google Apps dashboard. Setting up Control Panel access, using the Google Admin login, and the Google Apps domain account, was not a simple task.
Google Domains
Now, we have a third purchase method - Google Domains. A Google Domains purchase only involves the domain registration, with DNS setup done by the blog owner, using a clean and lean dashboard / zone editor. This makes the electronic banking more reliable, both domestically and internationally. Instead of using Control Panel / Google Apps, Google Domains uses the standard Google "One account" login, and the Google account that most blog owners will use for Blogger / GMail / YouTube etc.
Google Domains is a vast improvement over both registrar direct and "Buy a domain" purchases, even though it requires DNS setup by the blog owner - though right now, for USA residents only. The Google Domains dashboard / zone editor is easier to use than either of the dashboards provided by eNom and GoDaddy, the "Buy a domain" registrars. And both the flaky eNom DNS service, and the bogus GoDaddy DNS setup advice, will become things of the past.
With Google Domains using a standard Google "One account" login, neither the registrar login, nor Google Control Panel / Google Apps, will be involved to access the Google Domains dashboard / zone editor.
When you setup a Google Custom Domain for your blog, the essential first step is to setup one or more Address referrals. An Address referral will be entered as either an "A" ("Host") or "CNAME" ("Alias") record, and will consist of 2 essential components.- A "from" address.
- A "to" address.
How you enter the "from" and "to" records is an essential issue - and is not universal in nature. Please note that the terms "from" and "to" are not well defined. If you find this confusing, my apologies.
Note that in this article, as throughout my blog, I'll show extracted Dig logs to describe any Address referral.
When I setup my custom domain, "nitecruzr.net", on GoDaddy, I'll use the the GoDaddy Domain Manager. Your DNS host may, or may not, be GoDaddy, and your setup may, or may not, be the same as I describe.
When I setup a "CNAME" referral, I might define a local host "blogging" ("from"), as referred to a distant host "ghs.google.com" ("to"). I'll define host "blogging.nitecruzr.net" by entering "blogging", and the DNS Manager will add the ".nitecruzr.net" for me. We then say that the "from" address is relative to the domain, or is a "relative" address.
blogging.nitecruzr.net. 3600 IN CNAME ghs.google.com.
When I setup an "A" referral, I might define a local host "@" (aka the domain root) ("from"), as referred to a distant host ("to"), using an IP address. If I define the "to" address as "64.233.179.121", this is an "absolute" address - an IP address cannot be relative to a host name. An IP address has to be absolute.
nitecruzr.net. 3600 IN A 64.233.179.121
When I setup a "CNAME" referral, I refer the "to" addresses by host name. I'll enter the "to" address as "ghs.google.com", and the Domain Manager will add a trailing ".", giving my "CNAME" referral an absolute address.
blogging.nitecruzr.net. 3600 IN CNAME ghs.google.com.
Do you see the trailing "."?
GoDaddy adds the trailing ".", in most cases!
That's better!!
Not all DNS Hosts work this way!
With some DNS Hosts, if I enter a "to" address as "ghs.google.com", this will be taken as a relative address. The Domain Manager may then add the domain name on the end.
blogging.nitecruzr.net. 3600 IN CNAME ghs.google.com.nitecruzr.net.
Obviously, I do not mean to define a "to" address as "ghs.google.com.nitecruzr.net". When I setup a "CNAME" referral for these DNS hosts, I then enter the "to" address name as "ghs.google.com.", signifying an absolute address. The DNS Manager then does not add a trailing ".nitecruzr.net", and all's well.
However, I do have to know whether the Domain Manager configures "CNAME" referrals, by default, with absolute, or relative, addresses for the "to" addresses. Knowing this, I can correctly enter a "to" address with, or without, a trailing ".".
Some registrars have large server farms - and lack consistency.
Occasionally, we may encounter registrars where most servers may expect "absolute" addresses - and a few may expect "relative" addresses. Alternately, most servers may expect "relative" addresses - and a few may expect "absolute" addresses.
Such a tiny detail - and so essential. You may need to consult with Customer Support, from time to time.
