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Lesson 9: Setting Up a Domain Name

Now that you’ve gotten familiar with Blogger, you should look at setting up a Domain name. I’ve heard horror stories: bloggers have experienced theft of their blog or the blog simply disappeared. Setting up a domain name protects your blog.

When I first started blogging, I was fuzzy about the difference between a domain name and hosting. It was all a confusing mix of information overload.

• Domain–in simple terms, a domain is your personal place on the Web. If you are looking to present your blog in a professional light, purchasing a custom domain  is a good approach.
• Hosting–in the usual scenario, you pay for monthly site hosting, which, many bloggers feel, is an unattractive option out of the starting gate.

Now, I’ve mentioned that you can set up a free blog with Blogger. The good news is that for a low fee, you can purchase a custom domain for one year.

As for hosting, my thoughts are: why pay for monthly hosting when, via Blogger, you can have your site hosted for free? If you purchase a domain name via Blogger, your site hosting continues–without charge. That’s a good deal in my books.

Recap

• You can set up a free blog with Blogger
• You can purchase your own custom domain
• Your site hosting continues, free of charge.

 Video:Purchasing and Setting up a Custom Domain Through Blogger