Relevant for: New Bloggers, Freelancers, Writers, WordPress Users, GoDaddy Users
A while back, a copywriter friend of mine (joncorral.com) wanted to take his blogging to the next level. There’s a few distinguishable platforms and “levels” of blogging, so it’s natural to get confused in the mix. Here’s a quick run down and short how-to for setting up a domain name (www.example.com) that you’ve bought with GoDaddy and “pointing” it to your WordPress.com blog (example.wordpress.com).
Problem: I bought the domain name (https://www.example.com) at GoDaddy but I’d like it to point to my WordPress.com blog. I don’t know how to get it to do that and I keep hearing words like “DNS,” “name servers” and “hosting plan.”
Jon’s E-mail
Hey Rob, hoping I could enlist your help.
I’m trying to switch from joncorral.wordpress.com to joncorral.com. Purchased the domain from GoDaddy. Entered joncorral.com into “Add domain to blog” and received this:
Domains
Credits
Domain mapping is available for $9.97 per domain per year, registration not included. Note that some forms of payment (eChecks via PayPal) may take several days to process.
Possible problem with joncorral.com
We were unable to verify that joncorral.com is pointing to WordPress.com. If you own this domain, follow the directions below to get it ready for your blog. If you don’t own it, try a different name to see if something else is available. If the domain is available, you may be able to register it with another registrar and then map it to your blog.
How to fix it
Using the DNS tools provided by your domain registrar, remove any existing nameservers and add the following:
NS1.WORDPRESS.COM
NS2.WORDPRESS.COM
NS3.WORDPRESS.COM
Then come back here and try again. It may take several hours for our system to recognize the changes.
If you need help, or if your registrar recommends a different solution, please contact support via the Help link at the top right of this page. We will help you sort it out.
Called GoDaddy and their solution is to set up a monthly hosting plan with them. I thought switching domains would be simpler. Clearly I have no idea what I’m doing. Any suggestions?
First, understand that WordPress.com is a website that hosts your blog for free at their website. They give you a “subdomain” which is just a fancy word for a name before their name. Example: https://SUBDOMAIN.wordpress.com.
Second, a domain name (meaning the web name owned by you) needs to be purchased from a registrar, typically for around $6-10 per year. I use GoDaddy.com. In many cases when you purchase a domain name, you also purchase a hosting plan. A hosting plan includes space on the registrar’s servers & data centers as well as internet connectivity. Your domain name can be hosted with your registrar and point anywhere on the web. Your website data can reside on the registrar’s servers or on the servers of your choice (i.e. WordPress.com). It’s up to you!
IT Arsenal’s Response
WordPress.com currently hosts your site and gave you the subdomain joncorral.wordpress.com.
You bought the domain joncorral.com from GoDaddy (check to see if you bought hosting space with them as well, domains are typically a yearly fee for about $6-10, while hosting is a fee of about $4-6 per month).
Those are the facts I know.
There are a hundred ways to get a WordPress blog working, but from the information given, it seems the easiest will be to point the domain you bought from GoDaddy to your wordpress subdomain. You can follow the above set of instructions under the words “How to fix it.”
The other solution I would propose is to export all of your data out of WordPress.com (your subdomain) and use GoDaddy for hosting as well as your domain registrar (you’ve already done this by purchasing the domain with GoDaddy). The full independent version of the WordPress software (meaning when not connected to WordPress.com) has more options for customizability, plugins and themes. Most of the big guys are probably running their own hosted blog because of the customizability.
Installing the independent WordPress software is simple because they provide a user friendly installer: https://en.support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/
The simplified process looks like this:
- Export content from WordPress.com.
- Buy hosting from GoDaddy (you already have link hosting and domain).
- Install WordPress from GoDaddy’s easy hosting connection.
- Choose the theme you want to use or use the default.
- Import data from WordPress.com export.
- Check to see if all goes well & fix any errors.
Okay, so now that you understand the problem, here’s the 2 minute fix.
Did you find this helpful? Do you have a support question that could help out your business? Drop us a line and get some real help.
I am sure that this tutorial will surely help me to boost up my sites. I am thinking about the commenting arena in my blog and site. But spam detection is not in my mind. I will surely use it now.
I am sure that this tutorial will surely help me to boost up my sites. I am thinking about the commenting arena in my blog and site. But spam detection is not in my mind. I will surely use it now.
Nice article for any domainbie.
Heh, domainable, thanks Jonathan. We’re just starting out here, thanks for
stopping by, much more to come and feel free to drop us a line if you need
some IT advice.
Nice article for any domainbie.
Heh, domainabie, thanks Jonathan. We’re just starting out here, thanks for stopping by, much more to come and feel free to drop us a line if you need some IT advice.
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