I've been super long overdue to get a custom domain name for a while now, but I was intent on getting other priorities taken care of first, like the new site design and getting established on Instagram. However, it was becoming increasingly obvious that I couldn't put it off anymore, so I was super excited to see the new Google Domains. There are pros and cons to it (see below), but it's the right option for where I'm at right now with blogging, so I went with it! And now I'm *drumroll please*.... robinandrosedesign.com!
Pros and Cons to the new Google Domains
Pros:
It was really easy to do. Just go to domains.google.com and search for available domain names. Find the one you like and add it to your cart!
I'm still on Blogger, so the transition for me was seamless. I just chose to forward it to my blog. I've heard that other hosting sites like godaddy.com can be a hassle (haven't tried myself), so I really appreciated the ease of setup.
I get a custom email address! I thought this was really cool. You can now email me at robin@robinandrosedesign.com, easy peasy! Just set it up to forward to an existing email address, log in to that email to confirm, and you're good to go!
It was really affordable. Most domain names are $12 for the year. I like that I only have to pay once a year and it's a really great price as well. The prices are based on predicted popularity (I think), so some domains are a little more expensive.
Cons:
I didn't quite realize this until we had finished, but the domain name just forwards to your blog. What that means is someone can input your domain name to get to your site, but once they get there, it will still say "blogspot" or whatever in the web address. I'm still playing with it, but it looks like it also still shows up as blogspot when I post links on Google + and that sort of thing.
It may not be a long term solution. I'm not exactly sure of the mechanics of the forwarding I mentioned above, but that's probably not going to be something that's workable long term. I'm planning on getting off blogger and doing another redesign of the site next year if the blog continues to grow.
It's still in beta. It's a new program and may change and evolve in the coming months.
Regardless of the cons, I am super super super excited to finally have my custom domain name. It makes me feel way more legit!
Happy Wednesday!
-Robin
I do not evеn know how I ended up here, ƅut I thought this post
ReplyDeletewas greаt. I dоn't know who you are but certainly you're goіng to a famous blogger if you aren't
already ;) Ϲheers!
my site; "cape Verde holidays"