Blogging network like WordPress.com provides you sub-domain addresses like http://example.wordpress.com but you can register a new custom domain with us, such as yourdomain.com and then map it to your existing WordPress.com blog. So that when your website visitors arrive, they will see your own domain name in their browser instead of something prefixed with WordPress.com which is your original website address.
We also provide affordable and world class WordPress Hosting plans which you can subscribe to and get complete control over your blog. Because self-hosted WordPress blogs have many advantages over the free blogs hosted on some other domain. Blogs hosted at free blogging networks doesn’t allows you to use Google Adsense instead they themselves display adds on your website. You are not allowed to sell add spaces unless you get 25,000 something pageviews/month. Another disadvantage is you cannot install plugins.
Here are some reasons why you should go for a Self-hosted WordPress site:
- There are many Affordable Web Hosting plans & one click WordPress Install function: WordPress is 100% free but it requires a paid hosting or server. There are many bloggers who assume that website hosting is something extremely expensive and installing WordPress manually is very difficult. Well, we provide you a one click install feature for automatically starting your WordPress blog in minutes. Know more about our hosting plans and features here.
- You are the Master and Owner of your content: On a self-hosted blog you are the only owner of your content. Whereas when you use a platform like WordPress.com or Blogger, the ownership also goes ambiguous.
- Access to thousands of FREE Plugins, Resources and Themes: On a self-hosted blog you can install and try any as many plugins and themes you want unlike to WordPress.com where you can a limited set of features.
- You get the Power to take your own Decisions: Unlike to blogs at WordPress.com, when you self-host your website, you can freely take decisions because then there is no long list of terms and conditions written by someone else for your website.
- We are here to Help you: Authors and programmers at SANGKRIT.net are always there for you. Even you can ask them about common WordPress issues and errors. This is very much unlike to other hosting services, SANGKRIT.net not only provides you support on domain, hosting and server but it helps you to design and run your website better.
There many-many more reasons but this tutorial is offcourse not about discussing the disadvantages of free hosted websites so if you like to know more about it, simply Google the terms.
[heading size=”15″ margin=”10″]Registering And Mapping Domain To WordPress.Com Blog[/heading]
Step-1 Register a Domain
Sign-up your free SANGKRIT.net account here then:
- Visit our Domain Registration Page.
- On Domain Name Search field, enter the domain name you want and then select a domain extension (like .com .org etc) using the drop-down list.
- Click GO.
If in-case the domain name you have searched is already been registered by someone then don’t worry, we provide available alternatives. Likewise you might be able to select a .co or .biz domain extension rather than .com or .org etc. Or you can search for another similar domain name.
If the domain name is available then follow the on-screen instructions and complete your checkout process.
Step-2 Mapping Your Domain To Your WordPress.Com Blog
Now you own a domain name, so login to your WordPress.com blog and Visit Dashboard -> Store -> My Domains page and click “Map a Domain Name You Already Own” button. Type the domain name into the form present on the top of the page then click ‘Go‘ button.
Likewise you already own your domain name, so use that domain by clicking the “Yes, I already own this domain name. Map it to my WordPress.com blog.” button.
Keep in mind that domain mapping at WordPress.com is not free instead it is a paid upgrade that costs $13.00 per domain, every year. Complete the process.
Step-3 Updating Name Servers
Next step is to update your domain name servers to the following:
NS1.WORDPRESS.COM
NS2.WORDPRESS.COM
NS3.WORDPRESS.COM
How To Change the Nameservers Of Your Domain Name?
Login to your SANGKRIT.net Account Manage here. From My Products section, click Manage Domains and select the domain you want to modify. Now above your list of domains, click Nameservers and select the nameservers and add your name server (given above).
Visit your Dashboard -> Store -> My Domains page and select radio button next to the domain you have mapped and then click the Update Primary Domain. This is to make your old example.wordpress.com sub-domain address automatically redirect to your new domain address.
After you have updated your name servers, it may take time from 24 to 48 and sometime upto 72 hours, but normally very less. At that time you would be seeing your old holding page or error message whenever you try to load your domain, so don’t panic. Give it some time.
For learning more about domain management, you can DOWNLOAD our FREE QUICK DOMAIN MANAGEMENT PDF GUIDE here.