Having been using Blogger for the past 3 years, I can confidently tell you that it's possible to host a blog on Blogger without the the Blogger blogspot default subdomain extension in your blog domain name. Infact your readers many not even know that the blog website is built on Blogger CMS.
Blogger
Blogger is a CMS owned by Google where you can quickly set up a blog site. The beauty of creating a blog on Blogger is that it is hosted by Google for free, so you need not to worry about hosting. Blogger platform also gives a free web domain address.
One of the disadvantages of creating blog on Blogger is that it has blogspot.com extension on the domain name at the time of creating. Another disadvantage is that
after creating a blog with a blogspot on the name and you later decide to get a .com, .org
etc custom domain you may not get that same domain name, most times the domain
name has been taken, and you would need to make adjustment on the name. But if
you follow the method here you will choose your domain name once and without
.blogspot.com on it.
Why do you need to have a blog without blogspot?
- It doesn't look professional: When your blog site domain name has .blogspot.com, your authority on the niche you are writing will be questioned. Readers may ask, if you have this knowledge about this niche, why would you be using a free blogspot domain? Your blog will not look professional.
- Low Click Through Rate: Many people don'`t click on a site with blogspot on search engines results even when such site contains vital information that can meet their search intents.
- Your Blog URL May be Regarded as Spam: Because blogspot is free, people now create spam sites with it. People can mistake your site as one of those spam sites.
- It will be had for you to get backlinks. Even when you give outbound link to other sites, most of them will Disavow your links. Some websites have software that do not allow URLs with blogspot to link to them. They do this to checkmate spamming.
- This will equally affect your Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
How Do You Create Blog on Blogger without Blogspot on the name?
To remove the “blogspot.com” from your blog address, you
can switch to a new custom domain name through the Blogger service. Once you set
up your blog, Blogger automatically forwards your blogspot blog to the new custom domain.
To do this, follow the following steps
- Go to Blogger.com create Blogger account using your gmail account. If you already have an account, sign in to your Blogger account.
- Click the “Settings” tab under the title of the blog that you want to move to a custom domain.
- Click “Publishing” in the Settings navigation menu at the top of the page.
- Scroll to the “Buy a Domain” section. Enter your preferred domain name in the box beside “What address would you like your blog to have?” This is the part of the address that follows the “http://www." prefix
- Select your preferred top-level domain from the drop-down list. Options include “.com”, “.org”, “.net”, “.info” or “.biz.”
- Click the blue “Check Availability” button. If the address is already taken, amend or replace your preferred address name, and then click “Check Availability” again. Repeat this step until Blogger displays domain is available. Click the “Continue to Registration” button.
- Input your name and contact details into the input fields displayed. Blogger automatically fill up the fields with the information you entered when you set up the Blogger account, you will only need to complete missing information or correct mistakes.
- Tick the check boxes to confirm that you have read and agreed to the terms and conditions for Blogger and GoDaddy, the Web host that partners Blogger for custom domains. Click the blue links above the check boxes to read the terms and conditions in full.
- Click the “I Accept. Proceed to Google Checkout” button. If you have a credit card, debit card or electronic payment method registered on your Google Account, sign in with your account user name and password to pay with this method. Otherwise, enter the payment method information -- account name, number and card expiration date -- into the applicable input fields. Once you’ve confirmed the purchase, Blogger will transfer your blog to the new domain and replace the “blogspot.com” address with the new domain name.
Now you have successfully created a blog on Blogger
without blogspot on the name. Your blog will appear professional.
If you already have an existing blog on Blogger with blogspot, you can also change to a custom domain following the steps above. You can also buy a custom domain for your Blogger blog from any other web host companies, but to do that you have to first create a blog on Blogger with blogspot on the name and then redirect to a custom domain.
How to Redirect Blogspot Domain to a Custom Domain
This process is applicable to existing blog with blogspot you want to change the domain to custom domain name from other web host companies other than GoDaddy. To use this process, you must first create a blog with blogspot or you have been using blogspot domain name and now want to change to custom domain.
Follow the steps below
- Log into your Blogger account
- Select the blog you want to add custom domain
- Go the menu bar, click on Settings
- At the Settings, scroll down to locate Publishing
- Under Publish select Subdomain and enter custom domain you have bought. If you have not bought any custom domain and wish to buy from Google partner, Godaddy, click on Buy Domain and follow instructions.
- After entering your custom domain, click Save. Google will display an error message that your domain property was unable to verify. You need to verify your ownership of the domain by setting up you’re A/AAAA and CNAMES in your domain host DNS records. Copy the CNAMES provided by Google. Don’t click Save yet until you successfully add the CNAMES in DNS records
- Go to your domain name host. Click on CPanel, locate DNS
- Select add records in DNS, enter the records provided by Google accordingly. If you don’t have access to CPanel on your domain name provider client dashboard, contact their support to assist you in entering the records.
Once you have successfully entered the A/AAAA, CNAMES, go back to Blogger and click Save. Remember, when you contact your domain name provider to assist you, you have to wait until they inform you that it's done before you click Save.
The DNS setting may take up to 24 hours to propagate.
The next thing you are to do now is ensure error does not occur in redirecting visitors from your blogspot.com domain to your new custom domain.
Step 1: Set up Redirect domain
Locate Redirect domain under Publishing on your Blogger Setting
Type your new domain without www where you see From, and your domain with www where you see To. Enable the radio button. It will display something like: yourdomain.com to www.yourdomain.com
This is to allow access to your site whether your domain name is entered with www or without www on browser.
Step 2: Set up HTTPS
Locate HTTPS ( it is located immediately after Redirect Domain)
Change the HTTPS status to Available by enabling the radio button
Set up HTTPS Redirect by enabling the radio button
This will ensure that visits to HTTP are redirected to HTTPS
Your blogspot.com has HTTP so any visit through it will be redirected to your custom domain that has HTTPS. Also, anywhere your new custom domain appears with only HTTP it will be redirected to HTTPS without error page occurring.